Yolande credits WCH with connecting her to Canada as a new immigrant. And now, she’s giving back.
Yolande Hirdaramani vividly remembers the first time she walked into Women’s College Hospital. She had been in Canada for less than a year, having left her home country of Ceylon – now Sri Lanka – with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Pregnant with her second daughter, Yolande was referred to Women’s College Hospital by her family doctor, the late Dr. Elizabeth Harrison.“Elizabeth said to me, ‘I’m not just referring you to a hospital… I’m referring you to the hospital – the hospital of the future,’” Yolande recalls.
Her first experience at a Canadian hospital, Yolande says that she felt a sense of calm when she arrived at WCH for her first appointment.
“New immigrants can feel so lost – everything is so strange in a new country,” she reflects. “But I felt so confident coming to Women’s College Hospital. The hospital means a lot to me because it connected me to Canada.”
Wanting to give back to the hospital that helped her feel at home in her new country, eight years ago Yolande set up a regular monthly donation. Since then, her contributions – just like yours – have helped WCH provide a refuge of calm and healing for countless other women and their families from around the world through our Crossroads Clinic, Toronto’s first and only hospital-based health clinic exclusively serving refugees. Established in 2011, the clinic serves 400 to 500 new patients each year and provides vital services.
To Yolande, and to you, we give our deepest thanks for your generosity. It’s only with the support of our donor family that Women’s College Hospital is more than just a hospital – it’s the hospital.
Learn more about becoming a monthly donor and set up your monthly donation today. Your generosity will help more women like Yolande receive the support they need to get back to their health and their lives.
