Tiverton based nuclear operator Bruce Power and Ronald McDonald House sent eight local kids who have faced health challenges to the concert of a lifetime with their families.
Ronald McDonald House helps to support families with sick children while they seek medical treatment. They provide accommodations, resources and even meals sometimes with the goal of ensuring families are together while children get the healthcare they need.
Executive Vice President at Bruce Power James Scongack tells Bayshore Broadcasting, the nuclear generating station has a longstanding relationship with the Rogers Centre and often buys Blue Jays tickets to donate to charities or to show appreciation for their workers, but they also hear about the concerts that come to the Rogers Centre.
Bruce Power bought the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Toronto tickets back when they first went on sale, then thought about who they would like the tickets to go to.
Scongack says “We’ve had a longstanding partnership with the Ronald McDonald House in a number of ways. So we reached out to Ronald McDonald House and asked them if they could select eight families from Grey Bruce and Huron counties that have either used the Ronald McDonald House in London or the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto for this opportunity.”
He adds, “TaylorSwift is a phenomenon and to connect these pieces together was an amazing opportunity. I’m glad we were able to do that with the Ronald McDonald House.”
The families were surprised with the tickets and all went together to the Taylor Swift show in Toronto this past Saturday night.
Scongack says, “It was really exciting and just a recognition of the fact that these families have obviously been through a lot, been through challenging times both the kids and the families.” Scongack says they thought it would be a great opportunity to give them a really positive memory.
He says, “We are based in a rural area and there are times where, in order for kids to get the best treatment possible, they need to go to a centre like London or Toronto. So the Ronald McDonald House certainly provides that opportunity for those kids and families to be together as much as possible during those challenging circumstances. It’s something that impacts the whole family, impacts the parents, impacts siblings and clearly the kids who are undergoing treatment or care.”
He says, “These kids and these families, when you meet them you really just realize how special they are and what they’ve been through and despite all of that— people who have just an incredible outlook on challenging situations and life. So it was really heartwarming.”
Scongack adds, “At any given time there are kids and families who are going through health challenges and I think, outside of being able to do something very special for these kids and families, it’s just a good reminder that the work the Ronald McDonald House does, the work that a lot of local charities do to support families that are in these situations, just how important that is because it goes beyond the medical care, it goes to families being able to be together and that, more than anything is so important when people are on this journey.”
He adds, “The continued support that we can provide local organizations, provincial organizations and the Ronald McDonald House in particular, that has this infrastructure in place so that when families are in those situations, they have somewhere to stay, and most importantly they can be together and close, just really how important that is.”
See the kids’ reactions and their trip to the concert in the video below.
From Shake it Off to Love Story, we know we had The Best Day last weekend helping to make some much deserving Swifties’ Wildest Dreams come true. We were honoured to partner with @RMHCSWO to help the families experience their concert era with @taylornation13. #taylorswift… pic.twitter.com/LrW1Cwlykn
— Bruce Power NGS (@Bruce_Power) November 19, 2024