From PRNewswire/ Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations
Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations (CCHF) announces a new, multi-year partnership with TD Bank Group (TD) to help improve adolescent health. Through the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s global corporate citizenship program, this donation of $15 million nationally over 10 years will support CCHF’s network of children’s hospital foundations serving children from coast to coast to coast. This includes an initial $500,000 program grant to SickKids Foundation to create a youth-friendly online health hub on the hospital’s dedicated health resource AboutKidsHealth.ca
For 26 years, TD has been a supporter of children’s hospitals in Canada through their Children’s Miracle Network partnership, which has raised more than $95 million. Their cumulative contribution to date, supports revolutionizing treatment and care through research, creating healing environments, and delivering the right care at the right place at the right time.
“There has never been a time where adolescent physical and mental health has been more pressing,” says Andrea Barrack, Global Head, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank Group. “Through the TD Ready Commitment, we are thrilled to support Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations in creating improved health outcomes for Canadian youth over the next ten years.”
Based on current findings from Accessing Centre for Expertise (ACE) at the University of Toronto, adolescence is a dynamic period which has a significant impact on a person’s overall health and development. Six pressing priorities for youth in Canada include:
- Mental Health
- Relationships with food
- Sexual and reproductive health
- Gender Identity
- Chronic Conditions
- Transitions to adult care
The research also concluded that racialized, LGBTQ2S+ and low-income youth experience pronounced health issues, confirming what Canada’s children’s hospital see on the ground. These health inequities are also being further exacerbated by a multitude of factors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While adolescents face considerable health challenges, this phase of development is also one of hope. It has been framed as a “window of opportunity”, during which interventions have the potential to profoundly impact health and developmental trajectories. CCHF will work with its member hospital foundations to direct TD’s donation to the most pressing local needs. Please click hereto access the full whitepaper and gain more information on the partnership.
“We are thankful for a long history of support from TD, and its employees in support of children’s hospitals across Canada, both nationally and locally. Through our renewed strategic partnership, we will begin to focus on an important area of health relating to adolescents during this critical and complex time of their development,” says Mark Hierlihy, President & CEO of Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations. “TD’s support of programs at our network of children’s hospitals and investment in youth will have a long-term payoff to Canada.”
TD’s investment includes an annual program grant of $500,000. Member foundations will be able to apply for the grant on an annual basis to deliver programs aligned with the TD Ready Commitment. SickKids Foundation is the first recipient and will use the grant to create a national online resource that will empower youth, their caregivers and care providers to better manage adolescent health needs and risks.
“Although adolescents may not ask directly, they value and look to their healthcare providers for trusted information about their physical and mental health as well as behaviours that may impact their health,” explains Alene Toulany, an Adolescent Medicine Specialist at SickKids. “Having a central site with evidence-based information about current adolescent health issues will assist young people across the country looking for reliable answers to their often-sensitive questions. Active engagement of teens in the development of this online resource will also ensure that we are reaching all young people in meaningful ways.”