Courage is a big word for a little person. And yet, every day some of the smallest members of our community show big physical, emotional and intellectual courage during treatments for acute and chronic conditions–everything from heart surgery to cancer treatment.
The Bravery Bead program recognizes the courage of children in the face of medical adversity. It begins as a child enters treatment at Grand River Hospital. Each kid is given a cord necklace with their name spelled using beads. From then on, every step of a child’s journey is marked with a bead on a necklace (or necklaces). Treatments, tests, pokes, procedures, hospital stays, significant events and other milestones are recorded in vivid colours and shapes on a wearable timeline that can stretch for metres and metres.
The Bravery Bead program at Grand River Hospital is funded solely by donation and distributes over 350 beads per year.
More than a string of beads, each bead has a unique and important meaning:
- Train, plane or car bead: Travelled to get treatment
- Teddy bear bead: Spent time in isolation
- Pink bald bead: Lost hair to chemo
- Wow bead: Did something they were afraid to do
- Heart bead: Heart transplant
- Golden bead: Taken off life support
- Sparkly yellow discharge bead: Given when finally going home
COMPLETING PAYMENT
Select your donation amount, or enter a custom donation amount above.
Once you have selected your donation amount and clicked donate, it will take you to a shopping cart experience. From there you can review your total and then click complete payment at the bottom of the screen before being taken to a secure payment information page.
TAX RECEIPTS
Tax receipts are automatically sent once you have completed your payment information and checked out. If you do not see an email come through with your tax receipt, please check your junk or spam email folders. The email subject line is Grand River Hospital Foundation Donation Receipt.
If you still cannot find it, please contact Jesse Borden, Fulfillment Manager & Donor Advocate at 226-750-2074 or info@grhf.ca for support.
When donating, any information entered in the billing address fields on the payment screen will be used to generate an automatic tax receipt. If a company name is added here, the tax receipt will be issued to the company.
If your donation is in honour of a friend or loved one, you can email them a digital e-card upon making a donation.
E-cards are available for donations made in memory and in celebration of someone, and each e-card allows you to customize the message being sent. In order to send an e-card, you will need to know the recipient's email address.
When you reach the completed payment screen, you will see the available e-card options, or you can click this link to send an e-card and message directly.
The Foundation will only notify individuals upon request. You can use the cart note function to provide a message and contact details for the recipient.
