During its second annual virtual auction, Tech4SickKids raised $50,755 CAD, bringing the combined amount raised from both virtual auctions to $110,000.
Tech4SickKids’s current goal is to raise $25 million by 2023 to modernize SickKids with the aim of modernizing Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
“#Tech4SickKids are a group of individuals who are passionate about tech and how it can improve lives in a tangible way,” said Fatima Zaidi, co-chair of the campaign and CEO of Quill.
The campaign’s total fundraising is now $9 million since Tech4SickKids was created in 2017.
The live auction took place on November 3rd and was hosted for the second consecutive year by entrepreneur Amber Mac along with Tech4SickKids’ Fatima Zaidi (BetaKit Director of Operations Laura Gabor is co-vice chair of Tech4SickKids’ event council, in an independent capacity).
A portion of the $50,755 raised last week ($40,050) came through as direct donations. The rest came from the virtual auction selling items and services from donor organizations, including BetaKit, which contributed towards a date night package valued at $700. Other donor organizations included Willful, which donated a Prince Edward County getaway valued at $1,000, and Brainhub with a UX audit valued at $8,000.
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Tech4SickKids attracted a number of Canadian donors during this auction including CIBC, Interac, Osler, and Uberflip. Other general donors to the campaign include Autonomic co-founder Amar Varma, Wave co-founder Kirk Simpson, as well as OMERS Ventures and Zensurance.
“We’re so grateful for all the bidders, sponsors, volunteers and donors who made [the] event possible,” said Zaidi to BetaKit. “Our goal through the end of 2023 is to get $25 million.”
Part of the organization’s goal of fitting the SickKids hospital with the latest technologies and renovations includes an Artificial Intelligence in Medicine for Kids initiative, a resource hub to lead AI projects, as well as building emergency rooms equipped to use tech and AI to deliver better health outcomes for kids.
Tech4SickKids noted that the upgrades are something that SickKids desperately needs.
“Parts of the building no longer meet modern building codes,” says SickKids on their campaign page. “We’re not just building a hospital, we want to lift pediatric health-care to new heights.”