With a combined 37 years worth of donating to the SickKids Foundation, RE/MAX Hallmark agents Jillinda Greene and Helga Teitsson joined the foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) team at Momentum, an annual conference celebrating accomplishments in awareness and fundraising for CMN hospitals.
“One of the most important components when in a crisis and unfamiliar situation is to be in the hands of confident, knowledgeable and guiding individuals who not only have the information to help, but the compassion as well,” Greene said. “Momentum demonstrates the levels of compassion and knowledge on so many different levels, from the Champion kids and their families, to the healthcare providers, foundation staff at each hospital to the corporations with a focus on philanthropy in the workplace.”
RE/MAX Hallmark, the Toronto brokerage both women are a part of, was the top-donating RE/MAX brokerage to the SickKids Foundation in 2014.
Toronto’s RE/MAX Realtron was the the top-donating brokerage to SickKids in 2015.
Greene knows first-hand the impact children’s hospitals can have on families. Her daughter, born in 1982 as a preemie, was treated at SickKids for a hernia at only a few months old (and at a weight of 4.5 pounds). As a premature baby, Greene’s daughter had to be given a blood transfusion to increase her red blood cells before undergoing surgery. Although it was under tense circumstances, Greene said she recalls how caring, understanding and supportive SickKids staff were during her daughter’s treatment.
Her daughter grew up to be a healthy and confident child and is now married and living in London, England. Having the opportunity to attend Momentum reinforced Jillinda’s belief in the power of believing.
Greene shares her thoughts on the Momentum experience below:
Champion Kids, they gather together from all over North America. Armed sometimes with oxygen tanks, steadied by canes, some in wheelchairs, these kids, their families and their healthcare teams have a message: Hope. Their maladies are as diverse as their backgrounds, distant geographies and collective purpose. They strive to defy the odds with state of the art advancements in medicine, technology and stamina. Standing in unified strength, health and science researchers, professionals and practitioners’ align to care, nurture and hopefully cure their tenacious innocent patients. At RE/MAX, a philanthropic goal has been to give generously and consistently through a volunteer at source commission cheque donation. Agents can option to have their company contribute a tax-deductible contribution directly to their local children’s hospital. As a single mother, over twenty-five years ago, I made those arrangements. I have never noticed or missed my donations, yet on mass with others in the plan, a difference has been made.
This story was adapted – with permission – from one originally featured on the SickKids Foundation website.
