June 20, 2019

Investing in our Communities: St. Paul's Hospital Foundation

Senior management from Leith Wheeler joined leadership of the St. Paul’s Foundation yesterday to unveil a plaque celebrating the firm’s commitment as a Founding Campaign Partner to the new St. Paul’s Hospital. The announcement comes on the 30^th anniversary of Leith Wheeler’s relationship with St. Paul’s, when the firm’s partners made its inaugural contribution. Due to open in 2026, the new facility located near the intersection of Main Street and Terminal Avenue promises to be world-class for its patient- and community-focused care, innovative medical research, and teaching.

Greatest Needs

Consistent with the culture that underlies Leith Wheeler’s tag line, “Quiet Money,” the contribution is purposely designed to make a big impact without a lot of fanfare. As such, the focus of the funds will be on providing for the “Greatest Needs” within the hospital.

“We like to say that when you give to Greatest Needs, you do the greatest good,” said Dr. Ron Carere, Cardiologist and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Providence Health Care” (PHC). “That’s because Greatest Needs is an incredibly far-reaching portfolio that quite literally touches every patient and every caregiver right across PHC.”

Dr Carere went on to describe examples of where “Greatest Needs” funds have proved crucial to patient care: in providing specialized equipment for kidney transplants, establishing a specialized clinic for renal maternity patients, funding the research that discovered a gene linked to peanut allergies, and providing a heart-lung bypass machine that revived a man clinically dead for 52 minutes while preserving full brain function.

Leith Wheeler President & CEO Jim Gilliland said, “We are pleased our gift can be to an organization with whom we share so many values: integrity, discipline, innovative thinking, and giving. All of these things embody Leith Wheeler’s culture and are clearly practiced daily within St. Paul’s.”

Leith Wheeler President and CEO Jim Gilliland (centre), together with staff (L to R) Jon Palfrey, James Dungate, Karey Irwin, Michael Job, Mike Wallberg, Cecilia Wong, and Dave Jiles, along with Board Advisor Nola Joorisity and Director Gordon Gibbons. 

 

The plaque, which reads: 

"Leith Wheeler Investment Management is proud to support our clients, friends and neighbours in a wide range of charitable initiatives that improve lives in the communities we serve.

While we spend much of our time focused on helping our clients achieve their long-term investment goals, we do not want our legacy to reflect investment performance alone. We believe in community. In family. And in building these things up when we can.

In the spirit of these beliefs, and as the partners at Leith Wheeler celebrate the 30th anniversary of our partnership with St. Paul's Foundation in 2019, we were inspired to donate $500,000 to the most urgent needs that arise anywhere in St. Paul's.

Looking ahead, we are proud this legacy will endure through our commitment as a founding campaign partner for the new St. Paul's Hospital."