We are fortunate to have thousands of people in our community who are dedicated to supporting The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). Whether through a personal donation, corporate gift, or by participating in an event; individuals across this city are raising critical funds to help shape the future of health care in Eastern Ontario.

Below are a few of the highlights from the past year:

Flash Mob kicks off its first-ever White Coat Challenge

Last fall, TOH staff joined dozens of representatives from local companies to kick off the first-ever White Coat Challenge with a flash mob in support of The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre. The flash mob, which broke out at the St. Laurent Centre, involved white-coated TOH staff and supporters from corporations including Accenture, Gartner, Innovapost, IT/NET, Mitel Networks Corp., RBC Royal Bank and Trend Micro Canada – who danced and performed for delighted onlookers. The group raised $121,146 to bring the latest life-saving technology to patients undergoing chemotherapy. A video of the flash mob, which was posted online, became the top not-for-profit video on YouTube for that day.

Ride the Rideau returns!

Eastern Ontario’s most successful single-day cancer fundraiser returned for the second year last fall, with more than 715 riders raising $1.8 million for cancer research. An incredible $2.7 million has been raised to date through this event and Ride the Rideau organizers are now hard at work to bring this fundraiser back for a third year. The event supports innovative cancer research that is happening right here at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, including the development of personalized therapies; stem cell research; maximizing the potential of cancer clinical trials and the development and testing of cancer-fighting viruses.

The Ottawa Hospital Foundation named Ontario’s most efficient

In 2011, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation was ranked as the most efficient hospital foundation in Ontario and one of the top foundations in Canada by MoneySense Magazine in the much-anticipated annual ranking of Canada’s Top 100 charities. With more than 82 per cent of spending going directly to programs at The Ottawa Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the Foundation scored grades of A+ in the categories of overall charity efficiency, as well as governance and transparency.