Michael Garron Hospital teams up with Marc Garneau Collegiate students for Vital Venture Fund 2026 video campaign

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

Michael Garron Hospital is partnering with students from Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in East York to highlight the hospital’s equipment needs.

The Vital Venture Fund 2026 saw the high school students work with physicians at MGH and create 90-second videos presenting the need for different pieces of medical equipment. Community members will vote on the video that makes the best case for the equipment to be purchased.

The project with the most votes will receive immediate funding from the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund. The Kassams’ investment into Michael Garron Hospital directly supports the diverse population of East Toronto.

Mitze Mourinho, President of Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, said it’s important for the community to have a voice in its local hospital.

“MGH is a real community hospital. That’s something I came to learn very quickly when I joined. The community is heavily involved in everything that we do,” she said.

“We often talk about how the work of the hospital is beyond the four walls. The care that is provided does not just happen here at the hospital, it happens in the community.”

Having local schools involved in the Vital Venture campaign made sense, as it serves as an opportunity to teach students about the need for hospital funding and how it impacts patient care.

Gillian Evans is the principal of Marc Garneau Collegiate, located at Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard and the third-largest high school in the TDSB, and she said the school welcomed the opportunity to have students take part in the campaign.

“They had this wonderful idea to have the Thorncliffe/Flemingdon Park area to be a part of it and have a say,” said Evans. “It’s fundamental to have a voice in the wider community and see the work they’re doing have a direct impact on it.”

Marc Garneau students in Grade 9 and 10 with an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and health sciences were chosen to work on the campaign. They came from both a student organization for those interested in healthcare professions, and the SheSTEM program, a group that encourages elementary school girls to enjoy STEM.

“We started with those groups and asked if there was interest. Every single person put their hand up,” said Evans. “There’s a large appetite to be part of something bigger than themselves. It’s always great as a school community to be part of something wider.”

Mourinho agreed that the Vital Venture Fund video project came together nicely, and she said she hopes the students involved see and understand the issues healthcare is facing and nurture a continued interest. 

“They were engaged right from the start. They came prepared, they had already done their homework when we introduced them to the clinicians. They really came prepared and super enthusiastic, armed with questions, curious, and certainly creative in their approach as they engaged with us on this journey,” she said of the students.   

Beyond coming up with a case for their piece of equipment, students also got to see firsthand how hospital fundraising works, go to meetings, use video production skills, and improve social skills by interacting with peers and professionals.

The needed hospital equipment the students chose to champion are fetal monitors, vascular ultrasounds, continuous ECG cardiac monitors for emergency rooms, essential instruments for operating rooms, non-invasive bladder scans, EMG Machines and NIM Monitors, newborn warmers, and diagnostic scopes.

Results from the fundraiser Vital Venture Fund 2026 will be shared at a Thursday, March 5, event at the hospital with students, clinicians, and the Kassams in attendance to celebrate the achievements of the campaign and thank everyone involved.

Voting by community members is open until Wednesday, March 4, and the videos can be viewed by going to https://mghf.ca/vote