CancerCare Manitoba has received the single largest donation to a healthcare organization in the province’s history.
16 months after first finding out about the gift, Patti Smith, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation president, was on hand Wednesday as the foundation received a donation of $27 million dollars. The money comes from the Paul Albrechtsen Foundation.
Albrechtsen immigrated to Canada from Denmark in 1954 with just $50 to his name and he settled in Virden, where he established Paul’s Hauling Ltd., which at the time was a one-truck transportation operation that hauled salt water and oil for the petroleum industry. It has since grown to where it is today with branches in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.
Smith says the donation is life-changing and it will provide those who suffer from cancer more hope moving forward.
“I saw a lot of tears on Wednesday, this is a massive gift,” said Smith. “I can hardly imagine what it must feel like to invest money in something like this that can make such a big difference immediately."
Smith also said she was overwhelmed and after keeping the secret for 16 months, she is very pleased that the big news is now public.
Of the $27 million donated, $17 million of which will be going towards the refurbishment of the research lab facilities on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, which will be renamed the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute.
"The facility is more than 20 years old and standards have changed," said Smith.
$4 million is for a suite of single-cell technology machines that will allow for different analysis of how cells are reacting and interacting with each other in a tumour. $2.5 million will go towards genomics and $3.5 million will go towards the building of the Paul Albrechtsen Centre for Hope at the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre in Brandon.
“This money really allows us to propel cancer research forward,” offered Smith.
The Paul Albrechtsen Foundation in the past also donated $13.4 million to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and $7 million to the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, as well as another $8 million to the Reh-Fit Centre. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights was also the recipient of $1.5 million.
