Parents for SickKids 2026
Parents4SickKids
May 3, 2026
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Parents for SickKids 2026
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
May 3, 2026
2 - 5 PM
Parents for SickKids 2026 is an unforgettable afternoon that brings together families, changemakers, and future champions of children’s health for a celebration filled with purpose, connection, and heart.
Set against the elegant backdrop of the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, this inaugural event offers a unique high tea and small bites experience, inspiring speakers, live entertainment, engaging activities, and powerful stories from the frontlines of cutting edge pediatric care. Guests will also enjoy an exciting silent auction and special raffle draw.
Blending joy, connection, play, and philanthropy, this is a one-of-a-kind gathering for those who believe every child deserves a brighter, healthier future.
Our Parents for SickKids 2026 inaugural event will be co-chaired by Jodi Kovitz and Sumeet (Sonu) Dhanju-Dhillon who share a passion around improving the future of children's health in Canada, and produced by an outstanding team of volunteers to be announced soon. If you’d like to join our volunteer team, please reach out to jodikovitz@gmail.com or sdhanju-dhillon@torkin.com.
Jodi founded Parents for SickKids as a passionate member of the SickKids Foundation Board of Directors and a grateful SickKids parent—deeply inspired not only by her daughter Lily’s journey, but also by the many thousands of children whose lives have been touched by SickKids Hospital. She previously co-founded #Tech4SickKids and participated on the Foundation's last Capital Campaign Cabinet.
Why It Matters
Proceeds from the 2026 event will directly fund tthe inaugural Parents for SickKids Fellows in areas such as paediatric oncology and brain and mental health, two of SickKids’ most urgent priority areas.
These fellows will help advance Precision Child Health—a groundbreaking SickKids initiative transforming care from reactive to personalized, predictive, and preventative. By harnessing genomics, artificial intelligence, and deep patient data, this approach ensures that every child receives the right diagnosis and the right treatment—faster and more accurately.
The stakes could not be higher:
1 in 5
Canadian children lives with a mental health condition.
20%
85%
of childhood cancer survivors experience long-term side effects.
of children with cancer do not survive.
7%
of national cancer research funding.
Childhood cancer receives just
Children with complex conditions represent
<1%
of the
of pediatric health-care spending.
population, but drive
~33%
Rare diseases claim the lives of
14,000
children in Canada every year
Precision Child Health is changing this reality—but it requires bold research, visionary leadership, and community investment. By supporting this event, you’re not just funding research. You’re fueling the future of pediatric care—one child, one family, one breakthrough at a time.
Agenda
This meticulously designed event will feature inspiring speakers, live entertainment, engaging activities and activities for kids 5+, and powerful stories from the frontlines of cutting edge pediatric care. Guests will also enjoy an exciting silent auction and special raffle draw and immersive activations throughout.
You will have a choice of select loose teas (including an exclusive Parents for SickKids Blend) and bites, including: exquisite scones, delectable savories, delightful sweets. These will be served on three-tiered trays at your table. Gluten-free, vegetarian, kosher, halal & vegan options will be available.
2:00-3:00 PM
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Welcome and connections lounge
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Special Photo Opportunity
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Interactive Entertainment & Activations
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Passed Hors D’oeuvres & Mocktails
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Silent Auction & Raffle ticket purchase
3:00- 4:30 PM: High Tea & Bites Experience
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High tea and bites
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Welcome remarks
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Live Entertainment & Performances (surprise!)
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Parents for SickKids Talks Parent and Patient Stories
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The future of pediatric care: Precision Medicine
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Raffle Winner announced & silent auction closes
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Closing Remarks & Parents for SickKids Fellowship presentation
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Connect & enjoy activations
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Candy bar
Join Us
Whether your family has been touched by SickKids or you simply believe in a future where all kids have access to life-saving care, we invite you to be part of something meaningful.
Parents for SickKids is a powerful new event where tea meets transformation—with thoughtfully curated programming for guests aged 5 to 100+.
Date: May 3, 2026 2-5PM
Location: Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto
Come to connect. Come to give.
Come to help shape the future of pediatric medicine.
Host a Table. Spark Impact. $5,000.
Sponsor a table and invite ten special guests—whether they’re family, friends, clients, or team members—for an unforgettable day of connection, community, and purpose. As a table sponsor, you’ll enjoy:
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Premium seating for you and your guests
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Recognition on our event website and all promotional materials (featuring your logo or family name)
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A full-page advertisement in our printed event program
This is more than a table. It’s a seat at the heart of something meaningful.
Get a Ticket: individual or multiple: $500/guest
Purchase individual or group tickets to be part of an unforgettable afternoon of impact, inspiration, and community. Your ticket includes access to the full Parents for SickKids event experience—featuring elegant high tea and small bites, inspiring speakers, family-friendly activities, entertainment, and opportunities to support world-class pediatric care through our live and silent auctions.
Every ticket supports a bold vision for the future of children’s health.
Come for the cause. Stay for the magic.
Join us as an event Sponsor? Contact jodikovitz@gmail.com
Want to donate a silent or raffle prize? Contact jodikovitz@gmail.com
Want to support this event initiative, but can’t attend or want a tax receipt? Donate Now
Tax Receipt FAQs
TAX RECEIPTING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SickKids Foundation is proud to be a leader in fundraising and adheres to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules and regulations regarding the issuance of official charitable tax receipts. We receive various tax receipting inquires and have provided below some of our frequently asked questions.
SPONSORSHIP
A donation by way of event sponsorship is not eligible for a charitable tax receipt. SickKids Foundation provides a gift acknowledgement letter for any sponsorship funds received. Gift confirmation letters are issued when a company has contributed to an event by either sponsorship or Gift in kind donations. Gift in kind (GIK) are donations of goods (including merchandise) to SickKids Foundation. Businesses can deduct the original cost of the inventory as a business expense and not lose the tax benefit associated with the transfer of property. The same logic applies to sponsorship donations. By virtue of being a sponsor, the corporation is receiving benefits in the form of recognition and advertising. The letter allows the business to write off the contribution as a legitimate business expense to reduce taxable profits at year end.
TICKET PURCHASE
As the purchase of a ticket to an event includes participation and the value of attending the event, a tax receipt cannot be issued.
AUCTION ITEM
We do not issue tax receipts for the donation or purchase of an auction item. The purchase of a good is not a donation and therefore is not eligible for a tax receipt.
SickKids Foundation may issue a gift acknowledgment to the donor of an auction item to acknowledge the donation.
DIRECT DONATION – INDIVIDUAL
SickKids Foundation will issue a charitable tax receipt to the individual who made the donation, provided the Foundation receives all of the necessary information for the donor (full name, residential address, email address, phone number and amount donated) so that SickKids Foundation can issue a charitable tax receipt directly to that person. The Foundation issues a charitable tax receipt for personal donations and issues a gift confirmation for gifts from business and foundations. SickKids Foundation will only issue charitable tax receipts in accordance with CRA receipting rules and SickKids Foundations receipting policies and guidelines. DIRECT
DONATION – CORPORATE
For corporate donations from businesses or foundations, SickKids Foundation will issue a gift confirmation receipt. Gift confirmation receipts acknowledge a corporate monetary donation that was made directly to SickKids Foundation. The receipt allows the business to write off the contribution as a legitimate business expense to reduce taxable profits at year end.