What We Do

Money raised by Mining4Life goes toward programs that treat and prevent disease, build and maintain healthy living and promote and advance education.

We believe investing in children’s health today will help to build even stronger communities for tomorrow.

Current Projects

SICKKIDS CENTRE FOR GLOBAL CHILD HEALTH

Funds raised by Mining4Life go toward programs that treat and prevent disease, build and maintain healthy living and promote and advance education – near and far. Your generosity provides support for ground-breaking international research projects, as well as makes fellowships possible for bright, young physicians at SickKids. Fellows like Dr. Sam Brophy-Williams, Dr. Paulo Neves, and Dr. Ovokeraye Oduaran, who are focused on projects ranging from febrile illnesses and reductions in infant mortality, to the investigation of the preconception and pregnancy determinants of undernutrition in infants under six months of age from low- and middle-income countries. There is also the International Patient Program, which helps children from around the world receive care they cannot access in their home countries. Since 1979, over 800 patients from over 100 countries have come to SickKids to receive life-saving care. Children from every corner of the globe deserve high-quality care. Thanks to your support, SickKids is ensuring all children can access it.

BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL TRIAGE PROGRAM

Our 2023 event proceeds support implementation of the Smart Triage and Smart QI program developed through the Centre for International Child Health (CICH) at BC Children’s Hospital. Smart Triage, a simple-to-use digital triaging platform made specifically for low-resource facilities, uses an algorithm that identifies a child’s condition as emergency, priority, or non-urgent, based on easily measurable clinical symptoms captured immediately after a child arrives at a health care facility. Smart QI works alongside Smart Triage to provide a framework for continuous quality improvement through the data already being collected. Improving triaging processes to identify the most seriously ill children is the next step in ensuring that vulnerable children everywhere receive the best care possible and have the best chance of surviving.

EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN

Plan International is helping youth in Peru to shape their futures by broadening their life and employability skills. Last year, Mining4Life’s support of the She Decides project in Loreto, Peru, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, directly reached over 26, 000 young people ages 15-24 through the project activities.

With Mining4Life’s significant contribution of $1.5 million over the next three years, Plan International will address the key barriers faced by youth, especially adolescent girls and young mothers, and position them to pursue safe and sustainable ways to earn a living and lift themselves, and their families, out of poverty. Mining4Life will be supporting phase 2 of this incredible project, which equips youth with life-skills development, financial literacy, and technical training for entrepreneurship and employment, including how to increase savings, start their own businesses and pursue jobs that are safe and secure. She Decides will support transformational changes that creates brighter futures for you in Loreto, Peru for years to come.

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Past Projects

MINING4LIFE CHAIR IN MINERAL NUTRITION

Over 2.5 million children die every year from malnutrition. It’s one of the world’s most pressing health issues.

That is why Mining4Life established a Chair in Mineral Nutrition which is held by Dr. Stanley Zlotkin, Chief of Global Child Health at SickKids Hospital. In 1995, Dr. Zlotkin created Sprinkles a micronutrient powder that would change the story on childhood malnutrition. Made from copper, iron, zinc and other minerals, simply adding it to food protects children against the ravishes of malnutrition.

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EDUCATION FOR GIRLS IN GHANA

A portion of Mining4Life’s 2019 proceeds supported investing in girls and women around the world through Plan International Canada’s Education for Girls in Ghana Project.

A child’s right to learn is not up for debate, yet more than 540,000 children and youth are currently out of school in Ghana, the majority of whom are girls. These children have missed out on a significant portion of their education due to poverty, migration and distance to the nearest school. In many cases, children, especially girls, are never enrolled or are absent for extended periods because household poverty requires them to contribute to their family’s income. When these children are finally able to return to school, they may be too old to enroll in the grade appropriate for their learning level.

Mining4Life’s donation funded the final stages of a large-scale accelerated learning program to catch these children up on the time they have missed, so they could re-enter the formal school system and succeed in their education.

What’s more, Plan International’s partner, Educate a Child, has matched funds donated to this project five times over, so Mining4Life’s $500,000 contribution resulted in an impact of $3,000,000.

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BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL SEPSIS PREVENTION

In 2018 proceeds from the Mining4Life event were used to develop a pilot program aimed at reducing child mortality rates from sepsis through The Centre for International Child Health at BC Children’s Hospital. The Smart Discharges program is a set of tools that are used to identify and treat vulnerable patients pre-and-post discharge. It is currently being used in Uganda and an incredible 30% reduction in deaths has been recorded. Smart Discharges is an efficient and scalable program that can be implemented anywhere, and could mean a significant decrease in sepsis worldwide.

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CAMPAIGN FOR BC CHILDREN

BC Children’s Hospital is the only dedicated full service pediatric care facility in British Columbia. Thanks to the Campaign for BC Children, a new state-of-the-art hospital opened its doors in October 2017.

The Teck Acute Care Centre will provide more room for patients and better involve parents and other family members in a child’s care. Mining4Life was a key contributor in funding the new hospital, and our support was recognized through the naming of The Mining4Life Inpatient Unit.

CARIBBEAN PAEDIATRIC CANCER AND BLOOD PROGRAM

In the Caribbean, one out of every two children diagnosed with cancer does not survive. There is a need to improve early detection of cancer, and to provide more health education.

With the help of funds raised by Mining4Life, Caribbean countries are now providing specialized oncology and haematology training to paediatric nurses and professionals in a handful of communities. The goal is to increase rates of cancer detection and treatment, improving chances of survival for young patients across the region.

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GLOBAL SICKLE CELL DISEASE NETWORK

Every day, 1,000 children across Africa are born with Sickle Cell Disease. Half of them will die before their 5th birthday.

Sickle Cell Disease is a blood abnormality that causes haemoglobin to “clump” in a way that can lead to pain, infection, stroke, and multiple organ failure. Many African nations do not have the infrastructure necessary to treat this disease. The Global Sickle Cell Disease Network unites researchers and clinicians around the world to help find ways to treat the disease.

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THE SICKKIDS-GHANA PAEDIATRIC NURSING EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP (PNEP)

Training nurses can vastly improve healthcare programs in developing communities.

Funds raised by Mining4Life, have helped support the SickKids-Ghana Paediatric Nursing Education Partnership (PNEP), which embarked on a mission to advance both child health and the profession of nursing in Ghana through practice focused paediatric nursing Education. Although PNEP program is now complete, the program achieved and exceeded targets which includes the training of 501 Nurses from all 16 regions in Ghana.

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PETER GILGAN CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND LEARNING

Mining4Life is proud to sponsor the three-storey “neighbourhood” for molecules, cells and therapies at the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning.

This 21-storey tower is a place where researchers and students come together to share ideas that will help transform child health care. The centre, which is located in Toronto, Canada has the capacity to conduct 2,763 active clinical trials in 244 research labs.

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