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Fred Lee's Social Network: Paying it forward for liver, autism fundingBack to video
The 14th edition, presented by Scotiabank, would see its largest turnout of guests help raise $890,000 for the Canadian Liver Foundation. The marquee fundraiser for the B.C. and Yukon chapter, 650 supporters showed up to help the foundation get closer to achieving its mission of a world without liver disease.
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Yours truly, along with Robin Gill, reporter and anchor for Global National, fronted the posh party at the historic Hotel Vancouver.
Chaired by Emily Lin and Dr.Francis Ho, president of the B.C. and Yukon Region of the Canadian Liver Foundation, the dinner drew business leaders, community influencers and medical researchers to the cause to help fund groundbreaking liver research. One in 10 people — almost four million Canadians — are affected by liver disease.
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“Work still needs to be done in terms of educating the public and funding research into the more than 100 known forms of liver disease,” said Ho in front of a balloon-filled room.
The message would resonate loudly with attendees, further amplified by the passionate addresses from liver transplant recipients Paul Quinn, Natalie Williams, Kathy McLaughlin and the Eastman family, whose young son Owen is living with biliary atresia and likely in need of a liver transplant.
The compelling story motivated many to give. Philanthropists Sonny and Florence Leong would lead the charge, presenting a cheque for $300,000 to fund a new screening project related to hepatitis B, a leading cause of liver cancer.
Kevin Ma of Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange would quickly follow with a major gift of his own. Toddlers Julian Xiao and Jacquelyne Ho drew a chorus of oohs and aahs, after donating their birthday money to the effort.
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The memorable night also paid tribute to Dr.Stephen Chung, a leading expert in liver and pancreatic cancer surgery, liver transplantation and transplant immunology — an acknowledged leader in the battle against liver disease.
POWER LUNCH
More than 1,000 people filed into the Parq Vancouver ballroom for the Pacific Autism Family Network’s inaugural Autism Luncheon, reportedly making it the largest autism fundraiser in the country.
Generosity from British Columbians was in full display as community and health care leaders — along with the city’s well-heeled and most generous — came together to support the inaugural efforts led by Wendy and Lisogar Cocchia, parents of a child on the autism spectrum.
Jill Krop of Global TV served as master of ceremonies of the LAUNCH Holiday Luncheon. Led by a committee of 50 influencers, the power lunch was an absolute sellout.
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After many exchanges of pleasantries and air kisses, the crowd eventually settled down for the packed program. Three leading organizations were honoured for their tremendous work with Pacific Autism Family Network (PAFN) and for B.C. families.
The Vancouver Police Department, B.C. Lions and LifeLabs were saluted, with VPD Chief Adam Palmer, Lions’ CEO Dennis Skulsky and LifeLabs’ CEO Sue Paish accepting the awards on behalf of their organizations.
Parents of individuals with autism came on stage to emotionally thank each awarded for allowing their families the opportunity to participate in society in ways they weren’t ever able to before.
Among those sharing their heartfelt stories of raising a child on the autism spectrum were Olympian Silken Laumann and her husband David Patchell-Evans. Thankful for PAFN and the many organizations that have come forward to create more community inclusion initiatives for those with autism, the couple ignited the afternoon of giving with a $25,000 pledge. A torrent of donations would follow.
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Major gifts from Hamid Eshghi, Rick Ilich,David Richardson and others would rain down. It would contribute to a $513,000 total for the groundbreaking Richmond facility.
“Today feels like history-in-the-making. We’re so deeply touched by the amount of community support that came forward to help our provincial families affected by autism,” says Pacific Autism Family Network co-founder Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia.
“We hope that by highlighting these incredible community initiatives to our 1,000 guests, we’ve inspired others to introduce new programs and services that will allow for further inclusion for absolutely everyone,” she adds.
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Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.