Godfrey, Wright and CCF to Be Saluted by Herbie Fund at Annual Mistletoe Ball

The upcoming MISTLETOE BALL will be the last fundraising event run for HERBIE FUND by its Co-Founder and long-time President GINA GODFREY. Godfrey is retiring after 35 years with Herbie Fund, dating back to its inception in 1979.

Herbie Fund enables children from around the globe to receive life-changing or, in some instances, life-saving surgery at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). It is named for its inaugural patient -- Herbie Quinones of Brooklyn, New York -- who was born with a rare birth defect that made it impossible for him to breathe while eating. Alerted to his plight, Gina and Paul Godfrey launched a fundraising campaign that not only resulted in the baby’s successful surgery but the beginnings of a charitable organization with a global reach. At last count, 750 children from 106 countries had received specialized care at SickKids in Toronto through the Herbie Fund. Administration of Herbie Fund will be passed over to SickKids Foundation.

Special awards will also be presented at this year’s gala dinner and auction to DR. JAMES WRIGHT and the CARIBBEAN CHILDREN FOUNDATION (CCF). Dr. Wright will receive Herbie Fund’s Doctor of the Year Award. He will also join the original Herbie Surgeon Dr. Robert Filler as the second ever recipient of Herbie Fund’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Wright has been closely involved with Herbie Fund since he first came on staff at SickKids in 1991, but even more so since he became the hospital’s Surgeon-in-Chief in 2005. Meanwhile, the Caribbean Children Foundation has been selected as this year’s Spirit Award winner, intended to recognize outstanding commitment, loyalty and dedication to Herbie Fund. Founded in 2000 and run entirely by volunteers, the CCF has raised in excess of $1 million to assist children from the Caribbean receive treatment not available in their home country.

The theme for this year’s Mistletoe Ball, set for this Saturday, November 29 at Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel (6:00 pm), is ‘Copacabana’. Guests will be treated to live entertainment and gourmet cuisine, all with a Brazilian flare. The evening’s events also include silent and live auctions.

For more information on Herbie Fund or this year’s Mistletoe Ball, please visit www.herbiefund.com, call 416-813-7812 or email Katie.mchugh@sickkidsfoundation.com.