A gem of a gesture
The Children’s Aid Foundation holds its 30 t h annual Teddy Bear Affair on Saturday night in Toronto to help the most vulnerable children across the country.
To mark this milestone, Tiffany & Co. hosted “Breakfast at Tiffany” recently at its flagship store on Bloor Street for a gathering of donors and supporters of the Gala who collectively have helped raise more than $26 million over the past 30 years.
The group previewed the jewels, gemstones and diamonds from the 2016 Tiffany Masterpieces Collection, curated this year by design director Francesca Amfitheatrof. As part of the morning’s events, Children’s Aid Foundation president and chief executive Valerie McMurtry spoke of the tremendous need to continue supporting children who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment. She also encouraged the backing of the new Teddy Bear Fund later this year, to ensure there will always be a source of stable funding to address the most urgent needs of children in care in our community.
Bright lights lending support included McMurtry, president and CEO, CAF; Maureen Dodig ( she and her husband Victor Dodig, CEO, CIBC, are the honorary chairs of Teddy Bear Affair); Lynn Factor, vice- chair, Children’s Aid Foundation; Laura Curtis- Ferrera, vice-president of marketing, global wealth management, insurance and global business banking, Scotiabank; Sandra Roberts, partner at PWC; Laurissa Canavan, board director; Frances McCart, vice- president, business development, Eagle Professional Resources Inc.; Julie Lassonde, mining executive; and Wendy Eagan, group vice- president, Tiffany Canada.
“We have had such wonderful, long- standing supporters of the gala over the last 30 years,” said McMurtry. “Gifts to the new Teddy Bear Fund will help continue to fill the gap between what children in care need to survive and what they need to thrive.”