Fastfrate’s $500K donation to boost medical research
Fastfrate Group, a provider of transportation and logistics services, on Wednesday announced that they have made a $500,000 donation to the Audrey’s Place Foundation.
This contribution has been forwarded to University Health Network (UHN) where it will accelerate research in two areas: Chiari malformation, led by Dr Michael Fehlings, and repairing and engineering superior organs for transplantation, led by Dr. Shaf Keshavjee.
“Giving back to the communities in which we do business is important to Fastfrate Group. Any donation that we can provide to Audrey’s Place Foundation directly helps our community, either through funding scholarships for nursing students or valuable research at University Health Network. We are proud that we can provide this support,” said Manny Calandrino, CEO of Fastfrate Group.
“Philanthropy is critical to advancing medical research,” said Louise Aspin, SVP and chief development officer at UHN Foundation. “The Tepper family are generous supporters of UHN. We are honored that their foundation, Audrey’s Place Foundation, and Fastfrate Group have now also stepped in to support the work of Drs. Keshavjee and Fehlings.”
Chiari malformation affects 1% of children and occurs when the skull develops at a much slower rate than the maturing brain, which can eventually damage the spinal cord. Research led by Dr. Fehlings at UHN’s Krembil Brain Institute focuses on better predictive tools and treatment approaches to manage spine and spinal cord disorders, including Chiari malformation.
Dr Shaf Keshavjee serves as surgeon-in-chief of the Sprott Department of Surgery at UHN. He is also the director of the world-renowned Toronto Lung Transplant Program at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre, which completed the first single and double lung transplants decades prior. It has also developed innovations that allow it to use 40% of the donated lungs it receives compared with 15% elsewhere in the world.
“Audrey’s Place has supported UHN for many years, and with this generous donation from Fastfrate Group, we were able to provide critical additional funding for this valuable research into Chiari malformation and organ transplantation,” said Audrey Tepper, founder of Audrey’s Place Foundation.
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Congratulation to Fastfrate Group for having the foresight to give back to the community and in particular Audrey’s Place. Having previously been associated with Fastfrate (Pool Car Days, Toronto IHC Truck Supplier) I am pleased to see this group develop into another great supporter of Transplant. Extending its goodwill to a vital part of the Health Care Community give others encouragement to participate further,, Great Stuff.