Major gift supports initiatives to improve patient outcomes
L-R: Jonathon Lyon, President & CEO, HSC Foundation; Heather Williams; Bob Williams, O.M., President, Swancoat Investments Inc.; and Stefano Grande, President & CEO, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.
The Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba announce a million-dollar donation from Heather and Bob Williams. With a goal to support both charitable organizations, the Williamses have allocated $600 thousand to the HSC Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign and $400 thousand to Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba’s Better Futures campaign.
“Heather and I have always been inspired by philanthropy and volunteering. We’re lucky and excited to be able to donate this money to foundations that make a difference for so many people,” said Bob Williams, O.M., President, Swancoat Investments Inc. “We know that the government can’t do it all, but these Foundations, who are on the front line, know how to make a positive difference in our health care. We’ve donated to the HSC Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Foundation in the past, and will in the future, because we have seen positive results in what they have done to improve our health care.”
Operation Excellence is HSC Foundation’s multi-year capital campaign to tackle surgical wait lists and improve patient outcomes through major investments in technology and facility enhancements. The campaign aims to revitalize HSC as a surgical centre of excellence and innovation.
“Heather and Bob have been long-standing supporters of the HSC Foundation,” said Jonathon Lyon, President and CEO, HSC Foundation. “Since their first gift in 2007, we’ve witnessed firsthand how much they believe in our vision to change health care delivery in Manitoba for the better. We’re incredibly grateful for their continued support—including an initial gift to Operation Excellence in 2024—and for their passion for innovation in health care.”
Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba’s five-year Better Futures campaign continues to support transformational enhancements at Manitoba’s only children’s hospital with facility and critical infrastructure improvements, innovative programs, and leading-edge pediatric research.
“The passion both Bob and Heather have for supporting the needs in our health care system is inspirational and this donation to Children’s is making a big difference. Their donation of $400 thousand was leveraged at our annual gala to bring in an additional $1.2M in funds for the hospital,” said Stefano Grande, President and CEO, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. “It’s truly humbling to see how philanthropy can create change in our health care system. We’re grateful to Bob and Heather who continue caring for kid’s needing Manitoba’s only Children’s hospital.”
In addition to their support of Operation Excellence, Bob Williams is also a member of the HSC Foundation’s Bannatyne Legacy Circle, a community of supporters committed to supporting HSC through an estate gift. Heather Williams, a former nurse, continues to give back to the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba as a long-time volunteer at Nearly New—a volunteer-run thrift store on Portage Avenue where all proceeds go towards the Children’s Hospital—and as the past president of the Children’s Hospital Guild of Manitoba. With more than 120 member volunteers, the Guild supports the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba through annual fundraising projects including the Bear Essentials Dinner & Fashion Show.
For more information or to donate to HSC Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign, visit www.operationexcellence.ca. For more information or to donate to the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s, visit www.goodbear.ca.
About the Health Sciences Centre Foundation: The Health Sciences Centre Foundation rallies individual, corporate, and institutional donors in support of HSC Winnipeg—Manitoba’s hospital. By inspiring Manitobans to donate, the HSC Foundation enhances patient care and accelerates innovation at HSC through the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology, the development of new clinical spaces, and the promotion of ground-breaking research. Through specific, timely, and essential investments, the HSC Foundation helps to deliver tomorrow’s health care, today.
About Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba: Let’s make anything possible.
You can help a sick or injured child with a gift to Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. Since 1971, with incredible donor support, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba has raised more than $265 million to help children get the best care experience possible by funding leading edge equipment, improved health care spaces, and child and family-focused programs in hospital at HSC Children’s Hospital – Manitoba’s only children’s hospital. The Foundation also supports more than 300 world-class pediatric medical researchers, at our Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, involved in nearly $20 million of research and clinical trial activity each year with the goal of ground-breaking cures and clinically proven supports for pediatric care in Manitoba and around the world.
