Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor

North York Chiropractors raise money for defibrillators

Maria DiDanieli   

News

September 10, 2008 – Toronto, Ont – Members of the North York Chiropractic Society, in conjunction with members of the York Peel Chiropractic Society, hosted a Chiropractic Community Blue Jay Day in support of The Mikey Network.

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.”

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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”.


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