Tavistock, Ontario, Canada, Community Guide

HOME

LOCATION
HISTORY
EVENTS
BUSINESS
SERVICES
CLUBS
SPORTS
BOOKS
BIRTHS-DEATHS
AND MARRIAGES

CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
WORLD CROKINOLE

Contact Us!

Hats Off to Chemo will exist
as long as cancer does!

On May 1, 2000 a new charity that collects hats from celebrities, corporations and individuals and distributes them to children and adults undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy was officially launched. Hats Off to Chemo (Canada) hopes to distribute 20,000 hats across Ontario in its first year of operation, to be followed by a national campaign that will see more than 50,000 hats distributed across Canada in 2001.

"Anyone who has seen a friend or family member undergo chemotherapy understands the tremendous physical and emotional effects that accompany this type of treatment," says Tammy Burton, director and co-founder. "A new hat may seem like a small gesture, but it fulfills a practical need for people undergoing treatment and it serves as a demonstration of the care and concern of the greater community."

Some people wrongly believe that when the 20,000 hats goal is reached, Hats Off to Chemo will be nothing but a memory. But "it will exist as long as cancer does!" declares Mrs. Burton from the Hats Off to Chemo head office at 36 Regent Street in Shakespeare, Ontario. "Or until chemotherapy is a thing of the past" adds her husband Les, who is a staunch supporter of his wife's project.

Hats Off to Chemo was founded in 1999 by Tammy Burton and Charlie Higgins, in honour of a friend who was diagnosed with cancer. Tammy read an article in a magazine about a project being undertaken by an 11-year-old girl in Alabama and called her to ask if she could bring it to Canada. Tammy and Charlie were given the rights to promote it anywhere in the world and plans are already underway for similar projects in Britain and Australia. It took the pair about 8 months to develop the Hats Off program through volunteer time away from their own jobs. Tammy is president of Symbidium, a special events consulting firm, and Charlie is the manager of technical support for Eastern District, Union Gas.

They are presently linked with seven of the eight cancer centres in Ontario with each hospital taking a different approach to distribution of the hats. Some have a hat tree where patients can make their choice while one children's hospital uses a treasure box of hats for the kids to choose from.

It's not only chemo patients that can take advantage of this program, but entire families are embracing the idea, from parents to brothers and sisters. And baseball caps are only a portion of the hats available. Tammy says they have been given straw hats, knitted hats, blossom caps, top hats, wide-brimmed hats and stetsons.

The organization has already received its first celebrity hats signed by Detroit Red Wing Dino Ciccarelli and the Tragically Hip's Paul Langlois, and just recently a special request for a 2000 Blue Jays hat was fulfilled.

Union Gas Limited was the first to support Hats Off to Chemo by acting as a collection depot at its office in Kingston, Ontario. Sears Canada is the second company to partner with Hats Off to Chemo and is a welcome addition. Donations can now be made at any of the 569 Sears locations in Ontario.

"Because Hats Off to Chemo doesn't campaign for funds, we rely on the support of companies like Union Gas and Sears Canada," says Tammy. "Partnering with these companies allows us to raise awareness of our charity, as well as distribute hats to adults and children undergoing chemo and radiation therapy."

Anyone interested in supporting Hats Off to Chemo can drop off hats at any of the Sears Catalogue, Retail and Furniture Stores across Ontario including Victorian Days and Nights here in Tavistock.

Cancer centers and support groups that wish to contact Hats Off to Chemo can call Tammy Burton Executive Director (519) 501-7518 or send an e-mail to hatsoff@orc.ca. More information is available at the charity's web site at http://www.hatsoff-to-chemo.org/.

Hats Off to Chemo is a cashless charity that accepts hats only (new and used) and distributes them to children and adults through regional cancer centres and cancer support groups.