Jonathan Tong, left, and Simon Leith created the Breakfast of Champions, an annual event that has raised $250,000 in three years for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The donors: Jonathan Tong and Simon Leith
The gift: Raising $250,000 and climbing
The cause: Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children
Jonathan Tong and Simon Leith have been close friends since their high-school days in Toronto. Today, they are both lawyers and active in the non-profit sector.
A couple of years ago, Mr. Tong and Mr. Leith, both 31, decided to organize a fundraising event that would raise money for a worthy cause and help young professionals network. They came up with Breakfast of Champions, an annual event that has raised $250,000 in three years for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.
"It has snowballed," said Mr. Leith, a lawyer at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto. "It's pretty amazing the support we have received."
This year's breakfast, on Oct. 30, will feature Toronto Mayor John Tory and about 30 executives from a range of companies. Tickets cost $89.
Mr. Tong, a lawyer at Aird & Berlis LLP, said the event has two main objectives; to encourage young professionals to mix with senior executives and to get more young people involved with charities. And so far it's working.
"Just to see it grow like it has, it's unbelievable," he said.
Paul Waldie