The Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation's 'Grow On Windsor' campaign is off to a quick start.
The campaign officially launched Monday morning at Ambassador Golf on Sprucewood Avenue and received a combined $1.6-million donation to mark the kick-off from a handful of businesses, organizations, foundations and local philanthropic leaders.
Foundation executive director Houida Kassem says it's the largest donation to date to help kick-off the campaign.
She says it's the 10th year for the campaign with money raised supporting the purchase of a new DaVinci Surgical Robot and other vital lifesaving equipment that's needed.
Kassem says the combined donation to help launch the campaign is 'proof' to how generous the Windsor-Essex community is.
"We don't typically do anything along these lines but it just happened that there is six donors that came forward, each individually and we talk about our Grow On campaign being a campaign that is about teaming up, about being collaborative and it was perfect to announce that altogether, that they all came together in support of this great campaign," says Kassem.
She says the combined donation is a huge injection of funds towards the campaign.
"The cancer program comes to us annually and the need seems to grow and grow each year," she says. "So having this is going to certainly help in the purchase of the DaVinci and also the other equipment that's needed as well."
Kassem says it made sense to team up with the community to raise funds for a DaVinci machine.
"Mostly because the DaVinci that we did fund a decade ago is no longer functioning so we need another one," says Kassem. "So the DaVinci is critical to care for not only prostate but also for kidney patients as well."
This year's fundraising goal is $2.7-million.
According to the local cancer centre foundation, the DaVinci Xi allows surgeons to operate with greater vision, range of motion, precision, and stability than ever before.
The campaign wraps up at the end of November.
Kassem says last year's campaign raised just shy of $500,000.
