Former NHLer and London Knight Brandon Prust has issued a challenge to Londoners to match his foundation's $25,000 donation toward accommodations for families with sick children.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families with children undergoing life-saving treatment are having difficulty finding a place to stay while their loved one is in hospital, as regular accommodation options are not available.
"There are still children being diagnosed with cancer, being born premature, receiving life-saving care for diseases and more; these haven’t gone away. But the ability for families to stay on the hospital campus has. And they need financial support to stay in a hotel,“ Prust said in a statement. “The Brandon Prust Foundation has always been there to support children and families, so when I heard about this need I knew we had to do something to help."
The Brandon Prust Foundation raised the first $25,000 last month through an Instagram gardening challenge issued by Dave Moore, the owner of Clintar. Moore pledged $1,000 to have Prust do some maintenance on his lawn. The 2005 Memorial Cup champion rose to the occasion, spending hours working on Moore's lawn, before challenging three more people to do the same.
In order to double the total funding for the Children’s Hospital’s family assistance program to $50,000, Prust is now looking to the public to match his foundation's original donation. The program helps cover the cost of hotel accommodations, in-hospital meals, groceries, parking, travel, drugs, and internet access for families of sick kids.
"Children’s Health Foundation is grateful for this wonderful gift of $25,000 from The Brandon Prust Foundation. With their generous support, families will have one less worry when caring for their sick child during this global crisis,” said Scott Fortnum, president and CEO of Children’s Health Foundation.
Last year, 1,657 families were helped through the family assistance program. Since the start of the global pandemic, the number of families requesting help for accommodations through the program has spiked.
Anyone who wants to donate can do so online at www.prusty4kids.com.
Please donate to https://t.co/a93UMouypN to help support families forced to stay in hotels and not with their child due to the covid-19 pandemic. Let’s help them focus on their child and not the financial burden that comes with them being in the hospital. Thanks for your support! pic.twitter.com/aNl9pVBUeF
— Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8) April 23, 2020
