The event, which took place July 27^th, 2008  - when the Jays faced the Seattle Mariners - raised enough money to enable the donation of four more “MIKEY” defibrillators.

The Mikey Network (www.mikeynetwork.com) is a charitable organization that was founded in 2003 to raise awareness about heart-healthy lifestyles. The group is devoted to helping victims of cardiac arrest by placing MIKEY units (public access defibrillators) in public venues.  To date The Mikey Network has committed 300 units, with a total value of just under $1 million.

“We are very proud and excited to support The Mikey Network” says Dr. Joel Weisberg, Vice President of the North York Chiropractic Society.  “In a very short period of time, The Mikey Network has made a remarkable impact in our community and across the Greater Toronto Area. They are vocal advocates of leading a healthy lifestyle, and their community interventions have a real chance to profoundly change the story of someone’s life.”

MIKEYs can deliver a life-saving shock to victims of cardiac arrest. More than 6500 people suffer cardiac arrest in Ontario each year. Public-access defibrillators, like the MIKEYs, can increase the odds of survival by up to 50 per cent by delivering this shock within the first two to six minutes.

Covering two sections of the stadium’s seating behind first base section with Mikey supporters, the Chiropractic Community Blue Jay Day was able to draw additional attention to this important cause.  This year, the fundraising efforts of this group of chiropractors, and the community work of The Mikey Network, were even highlighted in a pre-game video shown on the Jumbotron. 

Tickets for the Chiropractic Community Blue Jay Day were sold through participating chiropractors’ offices, and included admission to the game and a special commemorative T-shirt. Participating doctors also collected donations on behalf of The Mikey Network. 2008 marked the second year for this fundraiser, and the addition of generous corporate sponsorship from Heathwood Homes, Tribute Communities, Jaytex Inc., and The Gibraltar Group.  Over $8000 dollars was raised this year for a two-year total of $12,000.

Morth Henkle, the Executive Director of The Mikey Network, described the chiropractors’ Community Day simply as “awesome”.  Upon receiving news on the success of this year’s event, Mr. Henkle’s response was "an amazing amount of proceeds....  GREAT WORK.  Greatly appreciated".

The funds donated by the North York Chiropractic Society have been directed toward supporting an exciting new initiative.  Through the Mikey at Home program, Toronto’s renowned SickKids hospital and The Mikey Netowrk collaborate to provide eligible high risk children a portable defibrillator unit.  These defibrillators allow children with life-threatening heart conditions who have traditionally required hospital residence to leave return home to their families, when they might not have otherwise been able to do so safely.

Over a two year period, five defibrillators have been donated to the Mikey at Home program as a result of the Chiropractic Community Day, representing five families that have been able to be reunited and restore some normalcy to their lives.

The North York Chiropractic Society is a voluntary organization. “Community involvement is one of our priorities” says Dr. Weisberg.  “The Chiropractic Community Blue Jay Day is our first event of this kind.  The great response we’ve had demonstrates just how important this issue is to our community”.