That is the first and most important thing we need to say. Thank you to all the volunteers who handed out food, signed people in (more than 600 people this year!), set up, took down, painted faces and made everything run so smoothly.

NICU friends, reunited

Thank you to the Toronto Firefighters Union who once again donated a bouncy castle, and to the Toronto Fire Department for bringing their shiny red fire truck. You are always a huge hit!  Thank you to amazing Amanda from the Toronto Public Library who told stories and entranced our kids with her puppet antics.  Thank you to the team from ToroLUG who brought fantastic Lego creations and tons of play brick. Thank you to the astonishingly talented Aryaan Kanji who dazzled us all with his dance performance which brought together jazz, pop and Bollywood.  Thank you to the Estates of Sunnybrook for letting us use that beautiful, beautiful tent and making everything so easy for us. It’s a magical location for a picnic! 

Thank you to Uday Mohan who took such gorgeous photographs, some of which you will see in the gallery below. And thanks to our families who shared their photos of these amazing moments.  Oh – and to Cheryl Nobel – you are not only a great nurse, but you have quite the photographer’s eye!

Thank you to our sponsors who provided support and prizes: CIBC, Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse, Jack Astor’s, the Barter Network, Barbuti Men’s Wear, Jacadi, Pusateri’s, the McEwan Group, Roots Canada, Moore Packaging, Triple Properties, Derma Spa, New York Fries/South Street Burger, Fairmont Royal York, and Thirty One Gifts.

Thank you to Pizza Hut who so generously gave pizza, to Panera for the delicious chocolate chip cookies, to Kiju Organic for the juice, and to Longo’s for providing all those strawberries!

Thank you to the Sunnybrook grounds and maintenance crew for helping make everything perfect for us. Thank you to all the staff who came and helped … families LOVE seeing your faces and showing their families and their gratitude to you.  Thank you to the members of the Family Advisory Committee who did SO MUCH to make this year’s picnic so fantastic.

And finally – thanks to all the babies and families who came. This is such a special event, and although the Lego and the cookies and all of that is really nice, the real treat is getting the chance to see you again.  We are part of such a unique community, and it is a joy to come together and celebrate that.

We are still working through scheduling for next year but are looking at June 5 – so please pencil that date into your calendar.  Until then, stay well, be happy, and THANK YOU!

The post 2015 Sunnybrook Preemie Picnic – our biggest ever! appeared first on Your Health Matters.

What’s that I hear? Something about the Preemie Picnic?

That’s right! We’re gearing up once more for one of our favourite events of the year … the Preemie Picnic! As many of you know, every year we host a grand celebration of our NICU graduates, our families and our staff. This year, our Preemie Picnic will be on Sunday, June 22, from 11-3. The usual suspects will be there (TOROlug with their Lego, Toronto firefighters with their truck, the nurses with the facepaints), and we will have some other special guests along for the ride.

We are very excited to welcome the Toronto Public Library who will have a story tent, and also happy to say that the drummer who delighted us three years ago will be returning to lead workshops.  For more about Njacko Backo, please visit his website.

Thanks to wonderful support from Sunnybrook and the Compass Group, we will be in our regular spot behind McLean House, just north of the hospital.  For a look at the location, check out this map of the Estates of Sunnybrook. We are in the triangular park behind McLean House.  Please do not park in the McLean House lot when you arrive;  rather, follow the signs for the Preemie Picnic and park in our reserved lot. (Parking is free, by the way!)

We couldn’t do any of this without the amazing Family Advisory Committee, or without the donors who give so generously. This year we offer our thanks to Pizza Hut, Freshco, Tropical Treets, The Barter Network, the Compass Group, Whittamore Farms, Scholastic Canada, the Toronto Firefighters Association, TOROlug, the Toronto Public Library, our Sunnybrook NICU doctors who sponsor the workshop, and all of the wonderful volunteers who help out!

We invite all past and current families to attend. If you have any questions or thoughts about the picnic, please let us know, either by posting here or by emailing Kate (kate.robson(at)sunnybrook.ca) Can’t wait to see you all!.

The post Preemie Picnic: June 22! appeared first on Your Health Matters.