When they started the fund, the Birrells shared the story of their little boy who loved trains and astronauts, the colour green and the movie Apollo 13 starring his friend Tom Hanks, in hopes of finding a way to save him. Now they're sharing his story to help researchers save the James Birrells yet to be born.
Reilly, for one, believes the James Fund "will make the difference. It's no longer about what happened to James," he says. "I think the impact of the James Birrell story is to change what has been the story of neuroblastoma in the past to what it could be in the future. The ending to that story hasn't been written yet. Maybe Syd and Pam are actually writing the ending right now."
The James E-mails: Now in print
The collection of e-mails that Syd Birrell sent to friends, family and others during his son's battle with neuroblastoma is available at select bookstores as well as online. Ya Can't Let Cancer Ruin Your Day: The James E-mails, with a forward written by actor Tom Hanks, was published to help raise awareness and research funds into neuroblastoma, the rare cancer that took James Birrell's life in December 2001. You can order it at chapters.indigo.ca or greentrainbooks.com.
In another fund-raising effort, Hanks designed Space Mouse, a six-foot, 700-pound Mickey Mouse statue. Seventy-five of these statues were auctioned, with the $15,000 raised going to the James Fund. MDS Nordion donated the money, and the mouse will be placed in the lobby of The Hospital for Sick Children.
Put your money where your heart is
How do you choose where to spend your health charity dollars? Follow your heart, says Lisa Hartford, manager of media relations and communications at Imagine Canada. Research conducted by Imagine Canada, a new umbrella agency for charities and nonprofit organizations, shows that we donate for very personal reasons. "Just as the personal story of James Birrell engaged researchers, what we know about donors is that they engage for the very same reasons -- because they are compassionate and concerned about a cause."
Compassion is the No. 1 motivator for giving, followed by a personal belief in the cause and, thirdly, by being personally affected, says Hartford. "I encourage people to look for causes that touch their family and community and to direct their donations to something meaningful to them on a personal level," she adds. Large charities allow donations to specific funds. The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, for example, allows you to direct dollars to the James Birrell Fund. United Way has a similar policy. Visit canadahelps.org for links to more than 80,000 charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency.
