In April, Leadership Sinai held its third annual Hold ‘em for Life Charity Challenge. This third-party poker tournament has raised a cumulative total of more than $1.7 million, a portion of which supports Leadership Sinai’s commitment to cancer researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. 

In May, the sixth annual Unicorn Dream Dinner, hosted by author and former television host Dini Petty, raised funds for the programs of the Max and Beatrice Wolfe Centre at the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai.

In the same month, Eyes Wide Open, Leadership Sinai’s Spring Ball, welcomed hundreds of people to a spectacular evening of entertainment at This is London Nightclub in support of Leadership Sinai’s $3-million pledge to an All-Star Team of six cancer researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Glen Abbey Golf Club was the scene of the 14th Annual Mount Sinai Hospital Classic Golf Tournament, presented by Equitable Trust. This event has raised more than $2.2 million for cancer research since its inception.

Three innovative Centres were officially opened in the latter part of 2008. The Sydney & Florence Cooper Family Education Centre offers students across the health-care spectrum an inter-professional environment that brings together technology, educators and teaching programs. The Cyril & Dorothy, Joel & Jill Reitman Centre for Alzheimer’s Support and Training is a unique facility offering training to caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. The Joseph and Mildred Sonshine Family Centre for Head and Neck Diseases is a patient care and research facility dedicated to surgery and treatment of thyroid nodules and cancer.

In 2008/09, two new research chairs were created: The Angelo and Alfredo De Gasperis Families Chair in Colorectal Cancer and IBD Research and the Camille Dan Family Research Chair in Translational Cell Biology.

With the dual theme of celebrating the Hospital's 85th birthday, as well as the past, present and future of Mount Sinai, guests at the annual Legacy Sinai Recognition Event in November enjoyed an afternoon tea and Legacy Sinai lapel pin presentation. In the same month, the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation hosted its first-ever “Our Shining Stars” event, welcoming donors to view their star on our lobby wall.

The "Sinai Speaks" lecture series kicked off in October and November with presentations by Dr. Jacqueline E. James, Dr. Reinhold Vieth and Dr. Julia Knight. The lecture series presented several talks this year, each time welcoming a larger audience of appreciative supporters.

On September 15, 2008, Eagles Nest Golf Course in Maple played host to the Auxiliary’s inaugural golf tournament, Drive fore a Cure. Emceed by CTV news anchor Ken Shaw, the event was a sold-out success, raising $234,300 for the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre. Tie Domi, Jeff Johnson and Nic Carriere were among the celebrities who braved the unseasonably cool weather, along with 144 participants in proud support of Mount Sinai.

On October 26, 2008, the Auxiliary’s third annual Behind Closed Doors event wowed participants who were treated to a look at some of Toronto’s exclusive private art collections. The day was complemented by an elegant brunch at The Four Seasons Hotel. The event netted over $300,000 for the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre and featured The St. Thomas Minto as title sponsor. Presenting sponsor AXA Art graciously hosted a dinner reception at the ROM’s C5 Restaurant as a special thank you to participating art collectors.

Jazz crooner Matt Dusk was the headlining act at the Auxiliary Ball 2008 on April 29 – an extravagant night of cocktails, dinner and dancing at the Royal York Hotel that raised over $1 million in support of the Auxiliary’s Healthy Babies and Advancing e-Meds pledges. Seven hundred guests enjoyed the evening’s entertainment which included singer/impressionist Tom Stevens, and live and silent auctions with exotic prizes.

The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Ontario Science Centre, with support from CIHR, partnered to launch a Café Scientifique public outreach event series. The six events featured Lunenfeld researchers participating as panelists alongside colleagues from other local healthcare and education institutes discussing timely health-related issues. The events drew full-house crowds to a downtown pub for several evenings of lively science debate and discussion.

The Lunenfeld’s youth outreach program SciHigh hosted its first Science Fair this year with Toronto Grade 6, 7, and 8 students presenting their science projects to a jury comprised of Lunenfeld principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Students tackled topics ranging from heart disease and lung cancer to debates on organic versus non-organic moisturizers.

The first Science Rendezvous, a multi-destination science and innovation festival, attracted hundreds of curious science fans to the Lunenfeld for lab tours and workshops. Attendees learned how to extract DNA from a banana, details of forensic techniques that help to solve the “perfect crime”, and how scientists ‘run a gel’ to measure and analyze DNA. The goal of Science Rendezvous is to give the general public a better understanding of the exciting research discoveries made in Canada.