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Janine Purves, left, and Tina Tehranchian pulled together the grassroots event to raise money for York Central Hospital.

The Donors: Tina Tehranchian and Janine Purves

The Gift: Raising $40,000 and climbing

The Cause: York Central Hospital

The Reason: To buy new IV pumps

Tina Tehranchian and Janine Purves have been involved in fundraising events around Toronto for years but they rarely felt their efforts connected with the local community. So a couple of years ago, they decided to put together a grassroots event that would raise awareness, and money, for their local hospital, York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ont.

"We came up with the idea of doing an event that would be exclusively for women," said Ms. Tehranchian, who works as a financial planner with Ms. Purves at Assante Wealth Management Ltd. "Since we are both financial planners, and we are advising people about retirement and issues that have to deal with aging, we thought 'Why don't we do this fundraiser to raise awareness about the hospital and address issues around aging?'"

They came up with an annual half-day conference aimed at women 40 and older called the Joy of Aging. The event features speakers on a range of topics including nutrition, dermatology, financial planning and long-term care. Local businesses also set up booths and there are contests and a fitness break. More than 200 women bought tickets for each of the first two conferences, which raised $40,000 in total for the hospital. This year's event, on Oct. 23, is expected to raise $25,000.

The money will help buy high-tech intravenous pumps, which cost about $9,000 each and deliver antibiotics, pain medicines and nutrients to patients. "York Central Hospital needs more than $4-million to upgrade its pumps," Ms. Tehranchian said. "What the community usually doesn't realize is that, yes, hospitals are provincially funded but the province only gives them operating funds."

The conference has done far more than raise money, she added. "I sit on a few charity boards so I'm always involved in some sort of fundraising activity and many of them are pretty lavish events. Those are fun in their own ways. But I've gotten so much satisfaction out of the Joy of Aging because it has allowed us to really connect with the community."



pwaldie@globeandmail.com

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