ViTreo

View Original

ViTreo's Annual Best of Weekly News Recap

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: January 3, 2020

Margaret-Ann Armour in her office with "Nellie" (Folio)

Sansa Stark: What do dragons eat, anyway? Daenerys Targaryen: Whatever they want. -- Game of Thrones Final Season.

Welcome to our second annual "Best of the Recap". We have reviewed all of the sector news we shared inthe weekly recaps from 2019. We reviewed almost 1000 articles and posts to bring you these stories. Beginning next week, we will return with our regularly scheduled ViTreo Weekly News Recap. Until then, enjoy revisiting these top stories and welcome to 2020!

This year's highlights

Best tiny fundraisers of 2019

  • Easy peasy, lemon squeezy: Sisters' charity lemonade stand raises $100,000 in 10 years (CBC) EDMONTON STORY The lemonade sisters are at it again. Congrats ladies. You rock. "Much can change in 10 years but for Edmonton sisters Taylor and Sydney Woodworth, one thing has stayed the same: an unwavering determination to make lemonade from lemons — and then sell it to raise money for the Stollery Children's Hospital. By the time the girls shut down 2019's edition of the weeklong lemonade stand [...] they'd surpassed $100,000 raised since setting up their first lemonade stand on their driveway in 2009." 7/30/19

  • 13-year-old boy sells Xbox, does yard work to buy his single mom a car (CBS) A day-making story. "A single mom from Nevada said she was in 'complete shock' after her 13-year-old son gave her a grand gift she never expected from a boy his age. Krystal Preston posted the heartwarming story on her Facebook, sharing that her son, William Rabillo, surprised her with a car." 4/2/19

  • A 10-year-old boy had an idea to help poor people. Fourteen years and 8,000 bikes later, he’s still at it. (Washington Post) *"In 2005, Winston Duncan was traveling with his mother in southern Africa when he saw an old lady and a young boy walking down a road together. He thought of his own grandmother, who used an oxygen tank, and wondered how he could help the old lady and others he had seen enduring long walks in Africa. Duncan, who lived in Arlington, was 10 at the time, and his solution was to give them bikes [...]. With his mom, he started Wheels to Africa, an organization that for the past 14 years has taken bicycles donated from residents of the Washington metropolitan area and shipped them across the world to people in need." 1/18/19

back to Top

Be still my beating heart: Most moving stories of 2019

  • 'Guardian angel': Contractor tricks senior into accepting free roof (CBC) Nova Scotia STORY *I heart this story. So much! "Jeremy Locke often drove by Jeanette MacDonald's Glace Bay, N.S., home, watching the roof deteriorate. The owner of a roofing and construction company, Locke thought the roof had been partially repaired and that a company would return to finish the work [...]. But to his surprise, when he approached MacDonald with an offer to fix her roof for free, she turned him down [...]. So Locke changed tactics. 'Businesses often run raffles and draws for free items so I told Jeanette that our company was going to have a raffle, or a draw, for a free roof,' said Locke. MacDonald agreed to take part in the raffle, not realizing she had the only ticket." 11/1/19

  • 3rd graders surprise classmate with toys after he lost all his in house fire (CBS) Children know how this works. "Students at a Tennessee elementary school came together to surprise a classmate who lost all his toys in a house fire [...]. Daniel lost all of his belongings in a house fire two weeks ago. So, Daniel’s third grade classmates held a secret toy drive to replace all the ones he lost in the fire." 10/2/19

  • The World’s Fastest (Old) Man (New York Times) His record-breaking speed is equivalent to 25 km/hr. Or, for the runners out there, 2:23 minutes per km. "Charles Allie is 71 years old, and he is fast. Chances are, he is a much faster runner than you are — faster, in fact, than you ever were. Last year in Spain he broke his own world record in his age group for the 400 meters by more than a second. That is essentially a quarter-mile, one lap around a standard running track. He crossed the tape in 57.26 seconds." 7/10/19

  • This carpenter builds crutches for kids. Now it’s his turn to walk. (National Geographic) "WHILE ON ASSIGNMENT for National Geographic at a children’s hospital in Zambia I saw David Miti, a man without legs, sitting on a bench making crutches. The poetry of the moment hit me and I asked if he would share his story. Miti built a career as a truck driver and a carpenter. Then, at age 34, his life changed forever." 6/7/19

  • 'Everybody feels free here': Baltimore club for adults with disabilities fosters love, friendship & inclusion (Baltimore Sun) I heart this. "By the time the doors open 15 minutes early that Saturday night, dozens are lined up to get inside. Women wear wedges and bodysuits that hug their curves. Men sport collared shirts and their favorite sneakers. Some have caregivers guiding them; others need wheelchairs. Many wear the signature T-shirts stamped with the logo, Club 1111." 5/23/19

  • 'You have to wrap your arms around them': Sask. man recognized for work with Indigenous youth (CBC) SASKATOON STORY This is a beautiful story. One teacher, the right teacher, can make all the difference. "Sean Lessard believes a cup of tea can change everything. That's why he had 250 of them. Lessard, a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in north-central Saskatchewan, wanted to do something about the high dropout rates among Indigenous kids. So when he got his first teaching job, he had tea individually with all 250 Indigenous students in the school [...]. Lessard continued the tradition for several years, watching with pride as increasing numbers graduated and thrived." 4/28/19

  • Teens hailed as heroes for rescuing young boy dangling from Grouse Mountain chairlift (Global News) VANCOUVER STORY A spectacular case of heroism. "Five young skiers are being praised for saving a boy who was dangling from a chairlift on Grouse Mountain." 2/28/19

  • WHO SAYS I CAN'T (ESPN) Read this. Watch this. I love this guy. "How could someone born without arms or legs, who's never held a football, teach high school players how to throw, tackle or block? Rob Mendez is doing it as head coach of a California JV team." 2/16/19

back to Top

Icons, idols, and heroes of 2019

  • Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is Time's Person of the Year (CBC) Go Greta!"Greta Thunberg, the teen activist from Sweden who has urged immediate action to address what's being called a global climate crisis [...] was named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019." 12/11/19

  • Alex Trebek chokes up reading heartfelt Final Jeopardy message (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT Lovely. Really lovely. "Unflappable Jeopardy host Alex Trebek's smooth demeanor was given momentary pause [...] when he suddenly encountered a heartfelt message from a contestant." 11/12/19

  • Elon Musk casually tweeted that he'd donate $1 million to a tree-planting cause. Jack Dorsey, Tobi Lutke, and YouTube are following suit. (Business Insider) Love this. "Musk promised to donate 1 million trees to #TeamTrees, a campaign started by the YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, otherwise known as 'MrBeast.' The tech executive caught wind of the campaign [...] replying to Donaldson's tweet calling the campaign 'cool' and inquiring 'where are the trees being planted' and 'what kind of trees.' Upon explanation, Musk responded [...] in the thread: 'Ok, sounds legit, will donate 1M trees.' 10/31/19

  • The commanding love – and faith – of Mister Rogers (Globe and Mail) What an amazing reminder from a great man. "The Toronto International Film Festival has just begun, and one of the more anticipated movies on offer is A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the story of fictional Esquire journalist Lloyd Vogel profiling broadcaster Fred Rogers, who is played by Tom Hanks." And here, a quote from Mr. Rogers himself. 'I’m wary of people who insist on trying to make other people feel bad about themselves. The more I look around me and within me, the more I notice that those who feel best about themselves have the greatest capacity to feel good about others.'" Thanks to ViTreo associate Mick Mulloy for sharing this great article about a great human. 9/6/19

  • Dame Jane Goodall awarded 2019 Prize for Outstanding Environmental Peace (RTL Today) I heart this women. "Goodall is renowned for her innovative community-centered approach to conservation, highlighting the idea that putting local communities at the heart of conservation can improve the lives of those beings surrounding that community, as well as the environment." 7/1/19

  • ‘Philanthropy Changed My Life’: Elton John on What’s Next for His AIDS Charity (Chronicle of Philanthropy) "Elton John may be the best-known advocate on the planet in the battle against HIV/AIDS. He started his nonprofit 25 years ago as the epidemic was bursting into the world’s consciousness. The deaths of Rock Hudson, Arthur Ashe, and Rudolf Nureyev, among many other celebrities, helped fuel concern about the rapid spread of the infection. John’s foundation has since raised more than $400 million and is getting an extra push because he is making fundraising a part of his farewell tour — and it probably won’t hurt that Rocketman, a biopic of the star, is coming out May 31." 5/21/19

  • Hero of the Week: David Attenborough Dedicates His Last Years to Saving the Planet (Goalcast) Sir Attenborough, we can never thank you enough. "An icon across four generations, he’s the voice that everyone instantly recognizes: David Attenborough has delighted, entertained, educated and inspired countless people across the world. Aged 93 now, the naturalist has turned his full attention to raise the alarm of climate change, a cause that captivated him from childhood." 5/10/19

  • Logan Boulet Arena: Lethbridge renames centre after Humboldt Broncos player who donated organs (CBC) LETHBRIDGE STORY "Lethbridge city council unanimously voted [...] to rename the Adams Park Ice Centre the Logan Boulet Arena, in memory of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash victim whose organs were donated after his death." 4/1/19

back to Top

2019: Making History

  • Arctic U: Yukon passes bill to create first university in Canada’s North (Globe and Mail) YUKON STORY Congrats! And about time. "Canada will finally have its first Arctic university. This past week, the Yukon Legislature passed a bill to make Yukon College a university. It will be an institution with an Indigenous flavour that will make it as unique as the region it is to serve." 12/1/19

  • For first time in history of Canada's National Ballet School, more boys than girls will graduate (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Benjamin Alexander performs routine barre exercises in his afternoon class in a large bright studio within Canada's National Ballet School (NBS). The set syllabus is taught by a male instructor, and Alexander, 16, is also surrounded by nine other boys — something that's now completely normal. In Alexander's Grade 12 class, there are 16 boys and 11 girls, marking the first time in the institution's illustrious 60-year history that female ballet dancers are outnumbered." 9/19/19

  • Central Library named to Time magazine's World's Greatest Places (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Boom! How great is this! "Calgary’s Central Library received international acclaim [...] from one of North America’s most influential publications, Time magazine, with a mention in its top 100 World’s Greatest Places of 2019." 8/22/19

  • 'We've now seen the unseeable': Black hole photographed for 1st time (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT Awe inspiring. You will be able to mark this point in time as 'before we ever saw a black hole' and 'after we saw a black hole for the first time'. "Black holes have been mysterious and elusive — until now. Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) have, for the first time, photographed one. 'We've now seen the unseeable,' said Avery Broderick, a physicist at the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute who was part of the international EHT research team." 4/10/19*

  • Thousands of Raptors fans celebrate 'unbelievable' NBA championship win (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors. You galvanized a nation. We are grateful. "Dozens of cities across Ontario also held packed viewing events, as did many other places from coast to coast, including Halifax, which threw a massive outdoor block party. Montreal shut down two city blocks to allow the improbable: people cheering a team from Toronto. Thousands braved the rain, forming a red tide, as organizers handing out 'We the North" T-shirts.' 6/14/19

  • Canada passes 'Free Willy' bill banning whale and dolphin captivity (CNN) CANADIAN STORY This is fantastic! "Canada's House of Commons passed a bill [...] to make it illegal to hold a whale, dolphin or porpoise captive, punishable by fines up to $150,000 USD. It's known colloquially as the 'Free Willy' bill, named after the 1993 movie in which a young boy frees a killer whale from a US amusement park." 6/10/19

  • 'This is historic': Indigenous leaders applaud choice of Russell Mirasty as new Sask. Lt.-Gov. (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY What a terrific choice! "Former RCMP F Division Commander Russell Mirasty has been named Saskatchewan's lieutenant-governor, the Office of the Prime Minister announced [recently]. He is the first Indigenous person to occupy the position in the province [...]. Mirasty, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, joined the RCMP in 1976 and became the first Indigenous person to command an RCMP division." 7/17/19

  • Video of the Complete Descent of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (Kottke.org) This month, humanity celebrates one of our crowning achievements. Fifty years ago, we landed on the moon. Landing on the moon took ten years and the direct efforts of over 400,000 people and the collective efforts of all humankind. Even knowing the outcome, this video is riveting. I recommend watching it on the big screen if you can. 7/18/19

back to Top

Women owned 2019: The future is female

  • Karen Kain, dancer-turned-artistic director, to retire from National Ballet (CBC) CANADIAN STORY What a legacy! Canada's National Ballet is one of the top ten classical ballet companies in the world. Not least because of Ms. Kain's artistic leadership. "Ballet superstar Karen Kain will retire as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada in January 2021. The ballet's board of directors said [...] Kain will step down from the post but remain with the company as artistic director emeritus. The announcement comes nearly 15 years after Kain assumed the creative reins in 2005, and 50 years after she joined the company as a dancer in 1969." 10/25/19

  • 'A bit emotional,' Margaret Atwood receives rare honour from Queen Elizabeth (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Lovely. Well deserved. "The Queen of Canada has presented the queen of CanLit with a rare royal honour. Queen Elizabeth has named Margaret Atwood a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for her services to literature." 10/25/19

  • NASA Astronauts Complete the First All-Female Spacewalk (New York Times) Another great milestone for humankind. Nice work! "Jessica Meir and Christina Koch ventured outside the International Space Station [...]to replace a power controller." 10/18/19

  • Delta Flight With All-Woman Crew Brings 120 Girls To Visit NASA (Scary Mommy) I heart this. "Delta had reason to celebrate after another successful International Girls in Aviation Day success. This is the fifth time their WING (Women Inspiring our Next Generation) flight took off carrying 120 girls and an all-female crew to show the younger generation that a career in aviation is possible." 10/7/19

  • Bianca Andreescu wins U.S. Open, becomes 1st Canadian to claim a Grand Slam title (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Wow. Just wow! What a match. What a pair of champions. Congrats to Ms. Andreescu! "Bianca Andreescu is the U.S. Open champion. The Mississauga, Ont., teenager downed tennis great Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5 [...] to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title. The 19-year-old used her powerful forehand — and was helped by an uncharacteristically bad service game from the veteran Williams — for her third tournament win of the season, and biggest by far of her career, in her first U.S. Open main draw appearance." 9/7/19

  • 4-time Olympic champ Hayley Wickenheiser headlines Hockey Hall of Fame 2019 class (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Congratulations Ms. Wickenheiser! So well deserved. "Hayley Wickenheiser's accolades have a hard time keeping up with her. The Hockey Hall of Fame wasted no time hustling Wickenheiser into its gallery of heroes in her first year of eligibility. But when board chairman Lanny McDonald phoned her [...] to relay the joyful news, Wickenheiser was sequestered doing mandatory medical school course work at the University of Calgary. 'I knew my phone was blowing up. I couldn't answer it,' Wickenheiser said. 'My first call was back to Lanny.'" 6/25/19

  • Changing channels (Washington Post) This is a terrific article. "Millions of women wait years to fulfill their dreams — or to figure out what their dreams are. Here are some of their stories." 6/9/19

  • Tantoo Cardinal finally gets the recognition she deserves (Macleans) CANADIAN STORY This is wonderful. I can't wait to see her movie, Falls Around Her. "The veteran Cree/Métis actor has spent most of her career in stereotypical Indigenous cameos. Now she’s the headliner." 6/3/19

back to Top

The kookiest and coolest of 2019

  • Bald eagle vs. octopus: ‘Once in a lifetime’ fight caught on video in B.C. (Global News) CANADIAN STORY I can't help but see the allegory here. While it is applicable to a host of situations, how it could apply to fundraising is especially poignant. When you think that your fundraising is going to be easy or that the "big" donor is just sitting there ready to be convinced that your cause is the best...you might be in for a surprise. "The eagle appeared to have 'bitten off more than it could chew when it tried to catch an [octopus].'" 12/12/19

  • “You Can Never See Their Pants for Some Reason” (Slate) The amount I do not know about teenage girls is so large, I am convinced that I will never catch up. I suspect when I share this article with my daughter, she will look at me as if I am from Mars. "Last school year, there was no such thing as a VSCO girl (pronounced “visco”). Maybe they existed, but they weren’t called VSCO girls yet? In any case, this school year they’re all anyone can talk about, teens and internet trend piece writers alike." 9/12/19

  • A Nobel-Winning Economist Goes to Burning Man (New York Times) To all my Burner and wannabe Burner friends, this one's for you. Well, actually, it's for all of us. We need more Nobel Prize winners to be out in the world like this. "Mr. Romer came to the desert imagining himself as an objective outsider: de Tocqueville among the Burners. But Black Rock City started to rub off on him. One morning, a man who called himself Coyote, who was responsible for surveying the city’s streets, took Mr. Romer around. At the far edge of town, they found a roller coaster that looked likelier than most things at Burning Man to harm you. It was designed for one fool at a time, strapped into an oversized car seat that shot down one side of a 31-foot wooden U shape and up the other. Mr. Romer, surprising himself, walked up to it. 'Should I do this?' he asked Coyote. 'If you kill a Nobel Prize winner, it’s on you.' Then he climbed the stairs to the top of a contraption that had been constructed just days before, in a city with no building codes. Heavy metal was blaring. Mr. Romer was trussed into place. A guy with 'PEE HERE' painted on his back took his glasses. And then someone gave him a push." 9/9/19

  • Want to make an end-of-year charitable donation? Yup, there's a...vending machine for that. (NBC) And the innovation award goes to...The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Yes, our friends, the Mormons are leading the charge on this one. Cool beans. 12/28/18

  • Winnipeg Is The Kookiest Canadian City You’ve Never Heard Of (AWOL) WINNIPEG STORY I love Winnipeg as well. This is a great article on a great city. Also, the term 'legit ridic' is pretty awesome (and warranted). "There are fewer of the scenic blockbuster attractions that its cousins on the east or west coast of Canada boast. It also happens to be located slap-bang in the centre of the Great White North. Literally. So it’s not exactly on your way to… well, most other places." 12/14/18

back to Top

The worst of 2019: Philanthropic scandals and controversy

  • Brown University suspends director linked to MIT Epstein donation scandal (New York Post) Fundraisers are not immune. "A Brown University fundraising director has been placed on leave amid claims he helped cover up Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to a new report. Peter Cohen, the former director of development for the MIT Media Lab who now works as director of development for computer science and data initiatives at Brown, was placed on administrative leave from the Ivy over the weekend in the wake of a bombshell New Yorker report that claimed staff at the research center concealed large contributions from Epstein by marking them as anonymous." 9/9/19

  • Scathing probe of Oxfam GB slams aid group's failure to stop sexual, physical misconduct (CBC) 300 complaints, 79 staff dismissed, and $27 million in donation losses. "No charity is more important than the people it serves or the mission it pursues,' the report says. [Oxfam GB's] governance and culture with regard to safeguarding has repeatedly fallen below standards expected and failed to meet promises made" 6/11/19

  • As more museums say no to Sackler donations, family trust halts its giving (Washington Post) "Facing rejection from three major art museums, the philanthropic trust of the Sackler family, which built its wealth from the sale of opioids, announced that it would stop making donations. 'I remain fully committed to all the causes the Sackler Trust supports, but at this moment it is the better course for the trust to halt all new giving until we can be confident that it will not be a distraction for institutions that are applying for grants,' Theresa Sackler, chairwoman of the trust, said in a statement on its website." 3/26/19

  • Actresses, Business Leaders and Other Wealthy Parents Charged in U.S. College Entry Fraud (New York Times) "In a major college admissions scandal that laid bare the elaborate lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their children into competitive American universities, federal prosecutors charged 50 people [...] in a brazen scheme to buy spots in the freshman classes at Yale, Stanford and other big-name schools." 3/12/19

  • Are Donors ‘Taking Liberties’—Or Worse—In Their Relationships with Fundraisers? (AFP Global) "New research by UK fundraising think tank Rogare aims to uncover power imbalances in the relationships between donors and fundraisers—so-called ‘donor dominance’. Donor dominance is any serious form of undue or inappropriate influence that a donor or group of donors can exert over a nonprofit organization. It can include inappropriate behavior, influence over a nonprofit’s mission, or claiming entitlement to unwarranted benefits. Fundraisers around the world are being asked to take part in a survey that explores donor-fundraiser relationships in five areas. The survey can be accessed here." 2/13/19

back to Top

Transformational Gifts 2019: Canada

  • Mattamy founder donates record $100M to Toronto's SickKids, and sounds off on government (BNN Bloomberg) TORONTO STORY Sonic boom! What a gift! "The founder of Mattamy Homes has made a $100-million donation to the Hospital for Sick Children, the largest single donation in the hospital’s history. The donation by Peter Gilgan will support the SickKids VS Limits campaign, which will include building a new patient care tower on Toronto’s University Avenue. The facility will be home to critical care and inpatient units, and named the Peter Gilgan Family Patient Care [Tower]." 6/3/19

  • 'Giving is like a drug': Hamilton couple pledge bulk of their estate to create $100-million health research endowment (Calgary Herald) HAMILTON STORY Boom! What a transformative gift! "So now Charlie and Margaret are giving again, earmarking the bulk of their estate to create a $100-million endowment to fund the Juravinski Research Centre, in partnership with Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare. By Charlie’s math, the endowment will pay out about $5 million a year to its partners, in a gift that will give in perpetuity." 5/29/19

  • University of Toronto announces largest donation in school’s history for construction of new centre, institute (Globe and Mail) TORONTO STORY Boom! What a gift. "Billionaire investor Gerald Schwartz and Indigo chief executive Heather Reisman announced Monday that they will donate $100-million to the University of Toronto for the construction of a new centre for innovation and entrepreneurship as well as an institute that will study the impact of emerging technologies on society." 3/25/19

  • McGill receives record-setting $200-million donation (The Star) MONTREAL STORY Boom! Nice gift! "Montreal’s McGill University has received what it says is the single largest donation in Canadian history in the form of a $200-million gift towards a graduate scholarship program. McGill said [...] that the donation by John and Marcy McCall MacBain will be used to support up to 75 Canadian and international graduate scholars every year." 2/13/19

  • Chan family donates $40M to Vancouver Art Gallery (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY Fantastic gift from one of Canada's most philanthropic families. "Vancouver's Chan family has given a gift of $40 million toward the Vancouver Art Gallery's new building. The gallery says the donation is the largest ever single private donation to an arts and culture organization in B.C. In honour of the 'unprecedented' gift, the gallery's new building will be named the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts." 1/23/19

back to Top

Transformational gifts 2019: Outside of Canada

  • Billionaire Explains Record $750 Million Donation to Caltech for Climate Change Research (KTLA) A climate hero. And also...WOW! "It did not escape Stewart Resnick’s attention that, after some unusual winter weather in 2015, his pistachio crop took a 70% hit. He couldn’t miss it when, for several years, his heat-blasted oranges came in smaller and less prodigiously than in the past. California’s persistent drought could not be ignored, either, by the man reputed to be the biggest farmer in America. Those events influenced the Resnicks’ decision [...] to give $750 million to Caltech for research into climate change and sustainability. And there was another inspiration. 'My grandkids … they would yell at me all the time, ‘How can you help with this? What are you doing about it?’ Resnick said after announcing the gift. 'A lot of the adults are not concerned, but the kids are concerned. And rightfully so.'" 9/29/19

  • ‘Sea The Future’: €272m committed to end plastic waste (SciTech Europa) Wow! What a great gift! "Minderoo Foundation, a global philanthropic organisation, today announced a USD $300m (~€272m) commitment to a new industry-focused initiative to end worldwide plastic waste," 9/25/19

  • France's 3 richest families lead $700 million fundraising effort for Notre Dame (CNN) Bless them!"France's three wealthiest families are coming to the rescue of a national icon, spearheading a fundraising drive to rebuild Notre Dame that has topped $700 million. The billionaires behind luxury giants LVMH Group, Kering and L'Oreal [...] pledged a combined €500 million ($565 million) after a massive fire ripped through the Paris cathedral [...]. The three fashion dynasties have invoked patriotism and shared cultural identity in explaining their generosity following the devastating fire."4/17/19

  • In What May Be its Largest Ever Gift to Charity, Businessman in India Donates $7.5 Billion (Good News Network) Boom! "A 73-year-old billionaire may have just made the single largest donation to charity in Indian history. Azim Premji is the chairman of Wipro Ltd., the fourth-largest IT service company in the country. Though the company started by his father in 1945 had humble beginnings as a small vegetable oil manufacturer, Wipro is now worth billions." 3/16/19

  • Schwarzman Dances to AI Beat After $350 Million Gift to MIT (Bloomberg) "The program was full of ego-pumping for the Blackstone Group co-founder, designed around celebrating MIT’s new college, named the Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing for his $350 million gift." 3/4/19

back to Top

In memoriam: Remembering those we lost in 2019. RIP. We will not see their like again.

back to Top

Welcome to our recap of the year's best news, articles, and information. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo partner Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by ViTreo Group Inc. of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. ViTreo Group does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the ViTreo Group Inc. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate.