Dazzling lights and sparkles decorated every space in The Carlu, as evening gowns, party crowns, food, seafood and dessert stations, casino games, and performances filled the fifth annual Glitter charity gala. On Saturday, April 14th, over 400 Chinese-Canadians attended this whimsical event in support of SickKids Hospital.
100 percent of the funds raised went into the redevelopment of operating suites at SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children).
What can we say… the event reflected real effort. Honorable cause.
Former SickKids patient, Emily Hui, and a current SickKids patient, Olivia Khieu (five-years-old) were among the performers who delivered a moving and impressive performance.
Emily was born in Hong Kong with a cleft lip and palate. She arrived at Toronto at five, and received surgery at the Hospital.
Throughout her childhood, Emily was no stranger to the hospital, often meeting with language pathologists to help with communication growth.
Today she is an accomplished performer and vocalist. Olivia arrived at SickKids via an ambulance for open-heart surgery at the age of five.
She is now a healthy five-year-old with a wild passion for dance.
The Glitter event proudly displayed true compassion of Chinese-Canadians.
Glitter is hosted by The Chinese Cabinet, composed of members of the Chinese-Canadian community, who sought the SickKids Foundation for this yearly partnership. In four years, they have raised $3.8 million for the hospital.
This year, funds raised will go into Project Horizon, a campus redevelopment plan to allow SickKids new facilities and technology for a better specialized care.
Project Horizon is the re-imagined inspirational hospital of the future. It aims to take the experience of patients and their families to the next level, enabling the delivery of state-of-the-art care and service capacity.
Frank Luk, Glitter Founding Chair and Chinese Cabinet Co-chair was a parent of a former SickKids patient. “I am honoured to have the opportunity to give back to SickKids, a place that is so close to my family’s heart, and thrilled that so many members of the Chinese-Canadian community have rallied to make an impact: both here where we live and in the country we come from.”, says Luk.
Congrats to the committee for raising $375,000 for the 5th annual SickKids.
Also check out Glitter 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Photos by Nick Lee
