Swinging for Hope – Bunzl Raises Record Funds for Revolutionary Pediatric Brain Tumour Treatment
July 12, 2023
Burlington, ON – July 13, 2023 –Bunzl Canada is proud to have hosted its 23rd annual Ripple of Hope golf tournament in support of the Arthur & Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.
On July 11th, Bunzl Canada, its vendor partners, and customers of its cleaning and hygiene, safety, industrial, grocery/retail/processor business segments gathered at Greystone Golf Club in Milton, Ontario. Participants enjoyed a day of golf, fundraised and increased awareness for Toronto SickKids’ advanced pediatric brain tumour research initiatives.
Over the last two decades, Bunzl Canada and its supporters have raised over $1.75 million to fund the revolutionary work at SickKids Hospital to combat life-threatening pediatric neurosurgical conditions. This year’s 23rd annual tournament surpassed $60,000 in donations alone.
Distinguished as the world’s largest research centre for brain tumour research, the team at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, led by Dr. James Rutka, has led to the discovery and development of MRI-guided focused ultrasound technology to treat children with brain tumours. This revolutionary breakthrough offers a less intrusive way to deliver targeted chemotherapy to aggressive and terminal Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) pediatric brain tumour.
Since the last annual fundraising event, Dr. Rutka and his team, in partnership with the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, received approval to begin a world first clinical trial with the newly developed MRI-guided technology.
“I’m very pleased today to announce that we’ve enrolled the first patient on this clinical trial. This is the first patient in the world who has been treated for this disease with this [MRI-guided] technology,” said Dr. Rutka.
“I’ve been at this for over 30 years, and this is the first time in my career I’ve been able to take a research breakthrough from the bench to the bedside, treating the very first patient in the world with this novel strategy,” said Dr. Rutka.
MRI-guided focused ultrasound technology allows doctors to bypass the blood-brain barrier and directly target aggressive tumours within the brain stem. Dr. Rutka and the research team at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital plan to continue clinical trials of this transformative treatment, and hope to open the trial worldwide.
“Bunzl has been amazing in its support of our research efforts over more than 20 years now which is pivotal for us to do these types of clinical trials,” said Dr. Rutka. “Without that support, we wouldn’t be talking about going from concept to clinical trial as we can today.”
“Words can’t express our appreciation for the support and contributions from our vendor partners and customers,” said John Howlett, Bunzl Canada’s President. “We’re excited to continue to support Dr. Rutka and his amazing team at SickKids Hospital as they continue to develop revolutionary treatments for children battling this devastating disease.”
About Bunzl Canada
Bunzl Canada Inc. (bunzlcanada.ca) provides the cleaning and hygiene products and equipment, food and retail packaging, safety products and industrial supplies which keep over 45,000 Canadian businesses running optimally, every day. The company brings its customers the advantage of global sourcing, product innovation and national scale combined with responsive local service and deep category expertise. Bunzl Canada Inc. is a division of Bunzl Distribution USA, LLC.
About Bunzl Distribution
Bunzl Distribution USA, LLC (bunzldistribution.com), headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., is the largest division of London-based Bunzl plc, an international distribution and outsourcing group. With more than 100 distribution centre throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, Bunzl supplies a wide range of products to food processors, supermarkets, retailers, convenience stores and other users.
Media Inquiries
Margo Hunnisett
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Bunzl Canada Inc.
margo.hunnisett@bunzlcanada.ca
(905) 630-3749