Cedars Honoured to be Co-Recipient of Gary Carter Fundraising weekend

MONTREAL, April 5, 2012 – The Cedars Cancer Institute is honoured to be a co-recipient of funds raised at the Montreal Baseball Project’s upcoming fundraising weekend that will pay tribute to beloved Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter who passed away in February.

Taking place on June 15 and 16, events will reunite the 1981 National League East Champions Montreal Expos and will feature a celebrity golf tournament in Ile Perot, a fan fair and baseball clinic open to the public, and a gala dinner and auction at the Sheraton Centre Downtown. 

Carter became involved with the Cedars Cancer Institute in the 1980s when he participated in many annual golf tournaments.

“Gary Carter put Cedars on the map just by his presence,” said Jim Hindley, who was president of Cedars at that time. “And Gary often talked about Cedars when he was on the road. He was a great ambassador for Cedars and a one-of-a-kind friend, and he is truly missed.”

Cedars is proud to be a part of this tribute to a true baseball legend, said Dr. Roger Tabah, Chair of the Cedars Medical Advisory Committee and Surgical Oncologist at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).

“Not only does Gary Carter mean a lot to Montreal, he means a lot to Cedars as well,” Tabah said. “I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the event organizers as well as to the Carter family for including Cedars in this special weekend, which is perpetuating Gary’s legacy of generosity.” 

“The celebration of Gary Carter’s life will continue on July 9th at the 34th Annual Cedars Golf Classic,” added Bruce Shadeed, Chairman of the Board of the Cedars Cancer Institute.  “This is the event that brought Gary Carter into the Cedars family, and we look forward to honouring him.”

The Executive Director of Cedars, Jeff Shamie, announced that the funds raised by the Montreal Baseball Project and the Cedars Golf Classic will go towards The Best Care for Life Campaign.

“Cedars is proud to be part of the MUHC’s landmark Campaign which is supporting the ongoing construction of a new Cancer Centre at the Glen site next to Vendome metro station,” stated Shamie.  “Each day this new Centre is becoming closer and closer to reality and we look forward to opening day in the summer of 2015 when patients and their families will start to benefit from this state-of-the-art facility.”

For more information or to buy tickets for the Montreal Baseball Project’s fundraising weekend events go to mbp2012.com or call 514 448-4758.

About the Cedars Cancer Institute

The Cedars Cancer Institute is a hospital-based charity whose mission is to provide comprehensive cancer care for all cancer patients from pediatric, to adolescent and young adult (AYA), through to palliative care being treated at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).  The Cedars Cancer Institute fulfills this mission by providing much-needed funds to:

• Purchase state-of-the-art diagnostic oncology equipment
• Improve facilities for treatment and care of the cancer patients, such as the creation of the Cedars Breast Clinic at the RVH, renovations to Sarah’s Floor – the haematology/oncology division at the Children’s, renovations to the Palliative Care Unit at the MGH and so much more…
• Cedars CanSupport program and Wilfrid Howick Humanitarian Endowment Fund offer free, psycho-social, practical and humanitarian assistance to cancer patients and their families
• Support cancer research with the Henry R. Shibata Fellowship Award
• Provide 2 Annual Visiting Professorships in Oncology which bring world-renowned researchers, educators and physicians to the McGill teaching hospitals; the Vivian Saykaly Visiting Professorship in Medical Oncology and the Edward J. Tabah Visiting Professorship in Surgical Oncology
• Improve public awareness of cancer related issues through lectures and education.

About the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and The Best Care for Life Campaign

One of the world’s foremost academic health centres, the MUHC offers exceptional and integrated patient-centric care, research, teaching and technology assessment. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, it is highly committed to the continuum of care in its community. The partner hospitals of the MUHC—the Lachine Hospital, the Montreal Chest Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, the Montreal Neurological Hospital, the Royal Victoria Hospital and The Montreal Children's Hospital— value multidisciplinary service throughout the lifespan, innovative technologies and practices, strategic partnerships and leadership in knowledge transfer. The MUHC is currently carrying out a $2.355-billion Redevelopment Project on three campuses—the Mountain, Glen and Lachine—designed to provide healthcare professionals with an effective environment in which to ensure patients and their families get the best care for life. The campuses are also anchored in best sustainable-development practices, including LEED® and BOMA BESt guidelines muhc.ca/construction

The Best Care for Life Campaign is an unprecedented philanthropic effort aimed at raising the funds needed to complete the McGill University Health Centre’s Redevelopment Project as well as the Capital Development Plan. muhc.ca/cause