A brush of hope
Published Wednesday November 4th, 2009
Celebrities from coast-to-coast are giving those with kidney disease A Brush of Hope - now they're asking you to do your part.
Actors, musicians, athletes and media personalities have created canvas paintings that will be up for bid on eBay for 10 days, from Nov. 5-15, with all money raised going to support kidney research.
Tim Fox, executive director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada's New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island branch, came up with the idea for the fundraiser when he was working with the Ontario branch of the organization.
"I was an avid eBay user at one time. I had my computer up and was searching through eBay and at the same time I was watching the Rick Mercer Report and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool to have a painting by Rick Mercer? There's got to be a way to do a fundraiser here.' It just sort of developed from there," says Fox.
Though he hasn't managed to get a painting by Rick Mercer yet, since the auction began he's collected an array of work by actors, musicians, athletes and media personalities across the country.
"I just started looking up celebrities through their management contacts on the Internet and fired out a few to see what would happen. Brent Butt (of Corner Gas fame) was one of the first ones who agreed. When Brent was onboard, I thought, 'Oh, this could work.'"
Some of the celebrities have been absolutely fantastic, says Fox, such as Alex Lifeson, the guitarist from Rush.
"Alex Lifeson paints every year for us and every year he promotes it for us. He has even done endorsements that we can use when we approach other celebrities," he says.
"Being an international star, he pulls a lot of weight," says Sandy Goodine, development and programs co-ordinator with The Kidney Foundation of Canada's New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island branch. "Everyone knows who he is."
Though this is the fourth year for the event, this is the first time it is being done out of the local branch.
"I wanted to move east. I fell in love with the whole of the Maritimes and I put in a request to the Foundation to put in a transfer if anything came open," says Fox.
When the executive director position became available with the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island branch, he jumped at it. When he came east, he brought the event with him.
This year, the branch has collected a wonderful lineup of artwork, with a few more expected. Already in are pieces by NHL #1 draft pick John Tavares, Steve Smith, Alan Thicke, Chris Cummings, Julian Austin, Stompin' Tom Connors, Rita MacNeil and Mandy Silk. Leonard Cohen has donated a print to be auctioned off as well. Local personalities have also gotten creative on canvas, including radio personalities Freddy Mack, Trevor Doyle and Brent Buchanan, CTV news reporter Andy Campbell and Premier Shawn Graham.
How the auction works is very simple, says Fox.
"We post all of these on eBay beginning Nov. 5th. It's a 10-day auction, so they run Nov. 5-15, and anybody anywhere in the world can bid on them," he says. "The easy way to look them up is to type Kidney Foundation into the search field on eBay."
All of the bidding will start at $49 U.S. They list in U.S. funds as this makes it more accessible to people all over the world, he says.
On top of the online auction, the local branch of The Kidney Foundation is holding two gala events. The first is being held in Fredericton at the Delta on Thursday, Nov. 5, to kick things off.
"We'll have a computer set up so anyone who comes can bid," says Fox. "We'll also have a silent auction, and a live auction of a few key items."
Mandy Silk and Overdrive will be playing at this Brush of Hope Gala. Tickets are $20 and the fun gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Then, on Friday, Nov. 13, there will be another gala in Saint John. Among the entertainment that evening is Chris Cummings.
"It's sort of book-ending the time (the artwork is) on eBay," says Fox.
To get tickets for the Fredericton gala, contact the local branch of The Kidney Foundation at 453-0533 or kidneynbpe@kidney.ca, or stop by Endeavours on Queen Street.
"Another real bonus of moving this project to New Brunswick is that, for the first time ever, we got sponsorship from an art supply place," says Fox. "Luke (Randall) at Endeavours was fantastic. He worked directly with ColArt, which is the biggest supplier in the world of art supplies."
The canvases, brushes, pencils and everything else they needed for the celebrities to create art were supplied at no charge. As well, UPS came on board as a sponsor as Darren Martin, the president of the Fredericton chapter of The Kidney Foundation, is an employee at UPS.
"They are donating all of the shipping of the materials to the artists and back from the artist to us," says Fox. These kinds of donations are a huge help to a non-profit organization.
"The Kidney Foundation has been around since 1964, it has been in New Brunswick since the 70s. Basically what we do are two major things. We fund research and that research goes into all kidney-related illnesses," he explains.
The strides made through that research comes back to help those with kidney disease in the province through things like slow nocturnal dialysis. The research was done in other locations in Canada, but it has come back to serve people in New Brunswick.
"A Brush of Hope is specifically research-based so all the money raised on this will go to our national research programs," he says. "Considering people are contributing (to the auction) from all across the country, it is a good way to give back to them as well."
The local branch also offers a variety of patient services, such as providing information and referral, and an emergency short-term funding program for people in financial need in relation to their kidney treatments. They also do advocacy work, and promote kidney health and organ donation awareness.
To learn more about The Kidney Foundation, its programs and services, visit www.kidney.ca or call the local office at 453-0533. You can also check out the celebrity paintings on Facebook.
More Live It!
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
