Maggie Kong was a longtime patient at St. Michael’s Hospital, cared for by our Family Health Team physicians as well as specialists in diabetes and endocrinology, ophthalmology, gynecology and lung disease. Maggie knew she wanted to express her gratitude for the care she received, and before she passed away in 2018, she left instructions for her daughter, Lana, to direct funds from her estate to support St. Michael’s in some meaningful way.
St. Michael’s Foundation set to work on a plan with Lana to direct $1,000 of Maggie’s legacy to cystic fibrosis research, and $5,000 toward the purchase of an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine through a matching gifts program.
During our Giving Tuesday campaign in 2019, Maggie’s $5,000 gift quickly became $55,000. The hospital bought the ECG machine which is now being used in the General Internal Medicine department. “That represents a 10 to 1 return on the initial $5,000, which is a spectacular way to increase its impact,” Lana says. “My mom would be so pleased—and our family is thrilled that the campaign was so successful.”
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