Flames gift ignites
Reach! initiatives

The Calgary Flames have donated $5 million to the community, a portion of which will be designated to Reach!, the joint fundraising initiative of the Calgary Health Region and the University of Calgary.

“The Flames have been blessed to find ourselves the recipient of an outpouring of generosity and support from a city that’s embraced us right from the beginning,” said Ken King, Calgary Flames president and CEO.

“Our owners are great Calgarians who personally, and through the Flames organization, seek to give back to southern Albertans with this gesture. ”

Although final details of the Reach! gift from the Flames Foundation for Life are still to be determined, the following areas will be supported:

• Public health and wellness—through the Markin Institute for Public Health, dedicated to providing better community solutions for disease prevention and health promotion.
  • Heart health—through the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, dedicated to providing an integrated heart health program for southern Alberta, including patient care, research, education and health promotion.
• Neuroscience—through the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the only neurological institute of its kind in western Canada, dedicated to advancing research in neurological and mental health.
• Project NeuroArm—the NeuroArm robotic system will be the world’s first image-guided surgical robot built in collaboration with MD Robotics, the creators of the Canadarm.
• Bone and Joint Health—through the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute, dedicated to research, treatment, access and new advances in prevention and wellness, making Alberta’s bone and joint health care the best in the world.

“We are grateful for the generosity and commitment to community the Flames Foundation for Life demonstrated with this significant gift,” says Bill Sembo, Co-Chair of Reach!.

“The owners of the Calgary Flames have a remarkable history of supporting health innovation in this community, and this recent gift reinforces the importance medical research and excellence in care has for the people of southern Alberta.”

The Flames Foundation for Life is at the heart of all Calgary Flames fundraising efforts, which have included $24 million in funding to education, medial research, health, amateur sport and recreation.
Reach! is a five-year, $300-million joint fundraising partnership between the University of Calgary and the Calgary Health Region designed to raise targeted philanthropic dollars to build on excellence within Calgary’s existing health system.