VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 5 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18TH 2018
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TREE OF HOPE
JELANI GRANT/TORONTO CARIBBEAN Throughout the night guests filled out their donation cards and had a ribbon signed with their name displayed on stage. The ribbons were pinned to the new Tree of Hope, presented at The Olive Branch of Hope’s(TOBOH) 16th Annual Fundraising Gala. Hosted by Dr. Nickett Donaldson-Kabwe and Patrick Archibong, the fundraising dinner was held at the Paradise Banquet and Convention Centre. A full course dinner was served to the sounds of vocalist Susan Grogan and BluSoul. Raffle prizes as high as $1,000 were awarded to guests and a door prize of one return ticket to Barbados was also up for grabs. Toronto’s Consul General of Barbados, Haynesley Benn was in atten-
dance at the gala to support the cause and spoke briefly about the difference the organization has made for so many people. “you give women a lot of hope and I trust that we men will continue to support,” he said. “The foundation is standing on the promises of the lord…the Olive Branch is standing on a solid foundation and everything around them is sinking sand,” said TOBOH President Andrea Moncrieffe. Moncrieffe congratulated both founders surviving cancer, reminding guests and TOBOH members to be proud of the progress made thus far. Leila Springer was diagnosed with stage three advanced breast cancer and Winsome
Johnson was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. It was at this time that they both realized black women were not being regarded the same in the eyes of the healthcare system. In fact, a study, conducted between 2010 and 2014 by the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Cancer Review, found that black women were the most likely to die from breast cancer. Keynote speaker for this year was surgical oncologist Dr. Lisa Newman, who provided attendees with a greater awareness of breast cancer through her slideshow of medical studies and cases. Continued On Page 10