The Hope Ties Us Together campaign encourages Alberta Health Services staff, patients and visitors to write messages of hope on ribbons destined for the construction fence of the new Calgary Cancer Centre.
The campaign was born in August 2019 when PCL Construction provided a progress update on the new centre to the Patient & Family Advisory Council. The conversation quickly turned to how a connection could be created between the healing work already happening in CancerControl Alberta and the new building.
“Encouraging people to write a message on a ribbon gives them a very unique and powerful opportunity to show what the new Cancer Centre means to them,” says Donna Oswell, a patient and family advisor. “Together this wonderful project will contribute to the development of a sense of community, which is vital for the new Calgary Cancer Centre.”
Toby Hendrie, project lead, PCL Construction Management, adds: “We were already proud to be ‘building hope’ at the new Calgary Cancer Centre, but the messages on the ribbons really reinforces the importance of the new facility to staff, patients and their families. The construction team have also started adding their own personal and inspirational messages of hope, support, remembrance and survival.”
If you would like to write your own message of hope for Hope Ties Us Together, the project team has recently launched an online method to collect messages. Please visit them online and project staff will write on your behalf.
To date, more than 400 ribbons have been collected. Messages of love and hope include:
“Building strength together.”
“ TBCC is a healing and caring place.”
“ I miss you grandma and grandpa.”
“ You’re always in my thoughts!”
“ So grateful we will have this new facility which will benefit so many people from patients to workers to families, and a fantastic community to build it!”
(Re-printed with permission from AHS)
