Shakespeare, Ontario, 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 in Kingston today. 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. “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.”
Hats Off to Chemo is a cashless charity that accepts hats only and distributes them to children and adults through regional cancer centers and cancer support groups. Donations are currently being collected at the Union Gas office Kingston, Ontario and at the Hats Off to Chemo head office at 36 Regent Street in Shakespeare, Ontario. The organization has already received its first celebrity hats signed by Detroit Red Wings Dino Ciccarelli and the Tragically Hip’s Paul Langlois.
Hats Off to Chemo was co-founded in 1999 by Burton and Charlie Higgins, an employee of Union Gas Limited in Kingston, in honour of a friend who was diagnosed with cancer. “It's easy to fall into a feeling of helplessness when someone you care about is undergoing treatment for cancer,” says Higgins. “Hats Off to Chemo was a simple concept that allowed us to do something to make a difference, and to start doing it right away.”
Cancer centers and support groups that wish to contact Hats Off to Chemo can call (519) 501-7518 or send an e-mail to hatsoff@orc.ca. More information is available at the charity's web site at www.hatsoff-to-chemo.org.
For more information contact:
Tammy
Burton
Charlie Higgins
Founder Director, Hats Off to Chemo
Founder Director, Hats Off to Chemo
(519) 501-7518
(519) 501-7518