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The gala began with the guest of honour herself hosting an “interactive mixology session” where she made a few of her favourite cocktails. Participants had pre-purchased their own kits, which were delivered ahead of time to their homes. They made their own cocktails along with her live.

Next, the event featured Maya Rae, an incredible singer-songwriter. Maya was a great choice for this event as she aims to write songs that convey a message of self-love and female empowerment: “The main message that I want to get across to my listeners is to promote one’s authenticity, and to bring hope and empowerment to those who listen.”

Through the pandemic, if there was a leader who has brought hope and empowerment each week to the people of British Columbia, it was Dr Henry, which made it fitting that throughout the program, donors, staff, and volunteers all had a chance to give her a shoutout to show their appreciation.

When Esther Moses, Executive Director at Congregation Beth Isreal, was asked what inspired them to honour Dr Henry with this award, Esther said the following:

“Our Senior Rabbi & I had spoken with Dr. Henry during her telephone conferences to faith groups regarding our operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We listened to her reports to the public, and witnessed the respect that Dr Henry garnered in BC, across Canada, and around the world—for the effective leadership that she showed during an ever-lengthening crisis.

Dr Henry’s actions and behaviours show leadership in this world, and they exemplify Jewish values that we hold dear. We believe that the saving of a life, known in Hebrew as Pikuah Nefesh, is the most important act in which we can engage. Dr Henry has done everything possible to save the lives of British Columbians. We also believe that we are obligated to work with the value of chesed, kindness. We cannot image that there is a kinder leader than Dr Henry. Her message of “this is our time to be kind, to be calm and to be safe” exemplifies the teachings we hold sacred.”

-Esther Moses, Executive Director at Congregation Beth Isreal

We are truly thankful to Esther, and everyone at Congregation Beth Israel for this unforgettable night, both to honour Dr Henry, and for their incredible donation to our Foundation!

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Our Executive Director, Kristy Kerr, was a guest on Doug Nelson’s The Discovery Pod in March, just as we were finding ourselves entering new territory, within our organization and the world.

Doug asked Kristy “What’s motivating those donors to make gifts to this Emergency Response Fund?”

“… a gift to us in our Emergency Response Fund is a gift to support the people of British Columbia. It’s that genuine sense of, ‘I want to give back to help others’… It’s giving [people] that sense of control that they are doing something to make a difference to slow the spread of COVID-19 and ultimately stop this pandemic.”

Reflecting back on those words, and to their conversation, it couldn’t have been more prescient–over 1,000 individuals have donated so far, providing more than $400,000 to support one of the key BC-wide pandemic response projects that will help our public health experts understand, prevent, and prepare for future waves of COVID-19.

We understood early on that the world was changing; and we knew that people wanted to help, to have some control over a very uncontrollable situation. So to all our donors, we are grateful for your support, we appreciate all the kind messages, and you are a major part of the success we have seen in BC.

To those who have championed evidence-based information, we see you, we feel a connection to you, and we thank you. To the staff team and Board of Directors at the Foundation, to all the amazing people we have the privilege to work with at the BCCDC, and to Dr Bonnie Henry and BC’s political leadership, we express our gratitude.

To everyone in BC who is playing their part, we’re immensely grateful to all of you. The collectivity of our individual actions has made a visible, population-level difference. We’re watching British Columbians take actions to protect broader society; we’re watching Activate Health in action.

To all those who’ve played a role, we appreciate you. This is your success.

Thanks to our collective leadership, good decision-making at the right times, dedicated experts and the public, and a little dose of luck, we’re in a place we can be proud of and grateful for. But BC: we’re not done yet. While we’ve seen incredible success in BC, we need to remain cautious, vigilant, prepared, and aware. And it’s imperative we continue to invest in research that will keep us safe in the future. We at the Foundation are committed to that, and we’re all-in. We hope you remain all-in with us.

Check out our COVID-19 resource page for resources, infographics, and information on how you can help.

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