www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday November 25, 2006 - 13 Going all out By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF )ff big for Loyola Kids Believe in SickKids Awards spotlights top young philanthropists in Ontario -- and more than 100 youths gathered for the awards Monday -- at the same time the SickKids Spirit of Giving survey shows m ost Canadian parents foster the idea of donating to charity in their children. Also at the awards were two Nobleton youths recognized for rais ing more than $15,000 at a Rock 4 the Kids concert. While Loyola picked up the award for Top fundraising group, the top tribute donation went to Toronto's Cole Rodness, 13, who raised $22,000 at his Bar Mitzvah by requesting donations be made to SickKids in lieu of gifts. The Spirit Award went to Kingston-area eightyear-old Sydney Whyte, who helped raise $10,000 through homemade bracelet sales, head shaving pledges, and piggy bank donations. "Regardless of the size of the donation, these extraordinary chil dren all deserve to tie celebrated," said Paula Roberts, Vice President, S trategic C om m unications, SickKids Foundation. "As a philanthropic leader and an advocate of children's-physical, m en tal and emotional well being, we think it's im portant to foster empa thy in children and to teach them See Fashion page 16 They went all out last year for th eir Infusion fashion show -- and this year, St. Ignatius of Loyola students got it all back from Sick Kids. On Monday, Toby W hitfield, an 18-year-old Ryerson business m anage m ent student who graduated from Loyola last June was in Toronto. He was there to pick up one of SickKids Foundation's first Kids Believe in SickKids awards on behalf of his alma m ater -- and all those who helped make it happen. The award honours young leaders who have raised money on th eir own for SickKids. Last year's Infusion fashion fundraiser ,raised a whopping $16,000 that was directed to the newly established Kids Believe in SickKids program. On March 30,2005, models from every level of the school wore fashions donated by many local businesses down the runway at a fashion show that offered everything from appetizers to desserts -- as well as fashion. More th an 550 guests attended. The $20 tickets were sold out and even more donations made. A banner was signed by all the students who had had some connection to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, either them selves o r' th eir PHOTO COURTESY OF SICK KIDS FOUNDATION RECOGNITION: From left, St. Ignatius of Loyola principal Jerry Boissonneault, Mary Jo Haddad, President and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children, and Loyola graduate Toby Whitfield. family or friends. The banner boasted a lot of signatures. "We knew we wanted to do a big event," said Whitfield, in a cellphone interview from the awards reception. The school had never done a fashion show before, though the trend has become a popu lar one among Oakville high schools. Although Whitfield was president of the school's stu dent council, the fundraiser was done outside the function of the school council. It had four co-chairs and num erous teachers on its planning committee. Whitfield said not only was the aim to go big, and to ben efit Sick Children's Hospital, to involve as many students as possible. Many who otherw ise weren't "involved" in school activities did get involved. Many of them have gone on to further participate in school life outside of the classroom, said Whitfield. "Sick Kids was an im por tant charity and im portant to us because so many students at our school had gone to Sick Kids. It represents hope to so many stu d en ts," said Whitfield. The Loyola students had num erous goals in mind when they embarked on the idea. They wanted to motivate many within the school com bur also munity. They wanted to show the com m u nity how m uch they could achieve. And they wanted a good cause to benefit from their efforts. The students worked with local businesses and prom inent business people in town to secure sponsor ship of funds and gifts-in-kind. Many retailers donated services to help off set the cost of producing a m ulti scene fashion show. Delmanor Glen Abbey is Oakville's premier retirement residence for active adults. We emphasize independence and individuality in a community environment that promotes an active mind and a sound body. In short, we believe in Living We// and we'd like you to join us. If you would like to join us at one of these events or to book a tour, just call Margaret Milley 905-469-3232. DELMANOR Glen Abbeys D e d ic a te d . D is tin c tiv e . D e lig h tfu l. 1459 N ottinghill Gate just south of Upper M iddle, w est of Dorval 9 0 5.4 69.3 23 2 www.delmanor.com