Stephen Olyniuk Interviewer: So in today’s podcast, we’d like to welcome Andrew Ferris. He’s the development officer and program director for the children’s miracle network. So, welcome!
Andrew: Thank you. Good to be here.
Interviewer: And one of my first questions is gonna be- tell us a little bit about yourself, Andrew, and how you became involved with the Children’s Miracle Network.
Andrew: Sure, yeah. Kind of an interesting path how I got to where I am today. So just going all the way back to university, it’s kind of when I got first introduced to the child health sector. So, throughout university, I worked as a one-on-one specialist with kids across Manitoba. So I would essentially go on camps across Manitoba and work alongside a child with autism to kind of make sure that they’re integrated into the programming stuff. So that’s kind of how I got introduced to child health, kind of starting my passion there. But I did a BA in Psychology, and I graduated a University. Got a job in the corporate world. And learned some valuable things, but kind of didn’t really feel the passion was there. So I did some research on what options I had for post graduate education. And I actually found this non-profit management, in the business development program for non-profit charity program out in Toronto. And essentially, I applied to it. And within a month, I was pretty much packing my bags and moving out to Toronto. So when I got to Toronto, I completed my program in non-profit management and business development for non-profits and charities. And then I end up getting a job at SickKids, which is a children’s hospital in Toronto. And I did some work in the corporate partnerships department. And then I was kind of faced with the difficult decision of: “Do I wanna stay in Toronto or do I wanna come home, bringing what I learned in Toronto back to my home community?” And ultimately, I decided to come back to Winnipeg, just because… I mean, I love it here. It’s my home. My friends and family are here. And one of the main reasons why I went to do that non-profit management program was really to improve my home community. So essentially, made the decision to leave all the excitement in Toronto and come back to Winnipeg. And from there, I got a job at Global Philanthropic, which is one of Canada’s largest non-profit consulting firms. So we worked alongside charities in Winnipeg, (?), Marymount. And the children’s hospital is also one of our clients. And it was through there, I kind of linked with up with the CEO there. And he brought forth this job for me. And I obviously accepted it because I just kind of had that passion for children health at the beginning. And I always did wanna work at a children’s hospital. So it was pretty much a no brainer for me. So that’s what brought me here today. And I’ve been directing the Children’s Miracle Network program since July of last year. So I’m just over a year now.
Interviewer: And throughout the time we’ve spent together, I find you’re very passionate about it. I think you’re a great fit.
Andrew: I would like to think so! Let’s hope.
Interviewer: Exactly. So, for people that maybe don’t know that Remax has a partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). And some agents choose to take part, and some don’t. So we choose to take part. And we make a donation with every donation that’s sold or someone purchased with us. So can you tell us maybe a little bit about the partnership between the CMN and Remax?
Andrew: Sure. Let me just kind of explain what CMN is, so people who don’t know- know. So essentially, the CMN is a large non-profit organization that operates in Canada and the United States. And their main mandate is to raise critical funds to support specialized equipment for their local children’s hospitals. So each state, each province has a children’s miracle network hospital. S ours would be the children’s hospital in (?). And the CMN has a large portfolio of corporate partners, such as Remax, who each have specialized programs, funding campaigns, that are designed to raise money in support of their local children’s hospital. And, I mean, the main mandate is that if we change the health of children, we change the health of the world. We change the health of children in Canada, we change the health future of Canada. So that’s really the core of CMN. And in terms of our partnership with Remax, it’s actually one of the longest standing partnerships in the CMN. So, it’s been operating since 1992. And like you said, the Remax agents have the option to donate certain proceeds from each sale towards the CMN, which goes directly to our local children’s hospital and all the local children of Manitoba. So, it’s an exclusive program to Remax. And the impact is huge. And it’s just a great way that Remax agents are able to engage with our children’ hospital.
Interviewer: Wonderful, wonderful. And then, you know, what kind of success has the partnership seen in Canada?
Andrew: It has seen immense success. So, just in terms of numbers, we have over 7k real estate agents in Canada that are taking part in this program. And in 2019 alone, I believe over 7.5 million had been raised. Just in 2019 in Canada.
Interviewer: Wow.
Andrew: And that goes, again, directly to the local children’s hospital. So, I mean, that’s immense impact right there. It’s huge.
Interviewer: Ok. So that kind of answered my next question to you. What does it mean to the children’s hospital to have a community partner and support, such as Remax?
Andrew: It means everything. I mean, just in current times with Covid, community partners such as Remax are really the ones that our children’s hospitals have relied on. I mean, with Covid, a lot of events, a lot of fundraising things have had to be cancelled. That brings in quite a lot of revenue for the children’s hospital. So it’s having, our community partners like Remax, that continue these campaigns through Covid, that really do pull us through these tough times. And, you know, our hospital over 130k kids that come through our door every year. And Covid or not, that’s happening. You know, that doesn’t change. So having the community support, our ups and downs of the economy, whatever, it’s just incredibly crucial for us.
Interviewer: So then, in 2020, what will money be raised… Like the money that’s raised by the Miracle Home Program, what will it be supporting?
Andrew: Sure. Every year, through the Remax program, there’s kind of 3 pillars that we look to raise money for. So first is revolutionizing treatment and care. Second is for frontline pediatric education and training. And the third is creating healing environments. And for this year, we really focused on that third pillar of creating healing environments. So money raised is really going towards the child life department. Which, at its core, essentially exists to make sure that children and their families have the best possible experience within the children’s hospital. Especially when they have to have a long stay. So, the child health department has specialized child health. Our child life specialist who are trained specifically to make sure that these kids get the best care, best… They’re in their mental state best as they can be, given the tough times. So some programs of the child life include musical therapy, clown therapy. They have specialized play places. They have a children’s hospital TV station that gets aired all throughout the children’s hospitals. So again, it’s just really meant to make sure that these kids have a positive experience with the hospital. It’s very tough for them to be in the hospital. I mean, it’s not fun. And it’s equally stressful for the parents as well to have a kid in the hospital. And with Covid, too, it’s really made things difficult in terms of visitations. So, we’ve had lots of kids that haven’t been able to visit all their family members. And that’s very tough for them. And the child department really gets into gear and distracts them and makes them as happy as possible. So that’s really the main focus of funds from the Miracle Home Program this year, which again, is incredibly incredibly crucial and very timely with Covid and everything.
Interviewer: Wonderful, wonderful organization from the events that we’ve been out to. And you see the kids light up when they see Doctor Goodbear.
Andrew: Yeah. Doctor Goodbear’s a staple. He’s been around for years, and he’s not going anywhere.
Interviewer: And I imagine that with Covid that it’s more difficult for visits like that to happen, and that they probably don’t happen is my guess. So I’m just wondering do they, has that been happening with the television station that they have? Or anything like that that happens?
Andrew: So yeah. Like you said, it’s been difficult. So we’ve had to kind of be creative with how the kids are engaged. And the children’s hospital TV station is one way that we can kind of get Goodbear in there and use it as a way to kind of make things happy and distract them from the outside world. And how they’re not usually able to visit everybody they would be able to.
Interviewer: Right. So, how do Remax agents get involved in the Miracle Home Program if they wanted to?
Andrew: So it’s pretty easy. I mean, every Remax agent is a broker manager. And they would have all the information on how to sign up. So it’s very easy. Essentially, they would have that information. You just fill out a quick form and submit it, and you’re pretty much good to go. I also encourage any Remax agent in Manitoba to reach out to me as well, just with any questions. You know, maybe I’ll get you to share my content information later as well.
Interviewer: Absolutely.
Andrew: It’s a very quick process, really easy. And I’m always happy to answer questions on how to sign up.
Interviewer: Ok, great. So, I’d like to lighten things up a little bit towards the end of the podcast and just find out a little bit more about you. What are some of your favorite things? What is your favorite food?
Andrew: Favorite food? That’s a tough one because I like food a lot. And I’m gonna base it most off of what I order most on Scubidicious, and I think that would be sushi.
Interviewer: Sushi?
Andrew: Yeah, that would be my number one. Close second would be any type of pasta.
Interviewer: Alright. Is there a plug for any sushi restaurants?
Andrew: Ok. I’m gonna give you Yujuro on (?) plug. I’ll give them a plug for sure for my sushi. That’s if I’m eating in. If I’m not eating in, if I’m eating the order, if I’m ordering it, I usually go to walk-on court. Those are my go-to’s.
Interviewer: Awesome! I’ll have to check them out.
Andrew: You should. Yeah, you should. Especially Yujuro. I’ll say they’re good. They know what they’re doing!
Interviewer: Ok, great. How about favorite movie? Do you have…
Andrew: Favorite movie… I would have to say Wolf of Wallstreet. It’s a ride. It is a ride. A little bit of long (?), but it’s one of my favorite movies. And I’ve watched it at least 5 times, it’s so entertaining. I love Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s one of my favorite actors.
Interviewer: Yeah. I’d have to agree, he’s a magnificent actor.
Andrew: Yeah, I almost like every single movie of his. He kills it.
Interviewer: And hobbies. Do you have a favorite hobby?
Andrew: Favorite hobby? Well, it’s kind of seasonal. So in the like nice months, I love hiking. So hiking and walking around in the outdoors. The big thing, like fishing, hiking. I spend time outdoor swimming. That’s my main thing. In the winter months, kind of hunker down a little bit. But I like to go skating. I play drums. So I play drums here and there as well. And listen to a lot of music. And obviously watch Netflix and all of that fun stuff. I like to be very social too. So lots of craft breweries. And for food, I told you that.
Interviewer: Awesome. You, one of the things you just mentioned, hiking there. Is there any trail that you’ve been on recently that…
Andrew: Oh, man. So I did my Rise of Manitoba today. So I pretty much did, I think I did around 10 or 11 hiking trails in (?) this year. And my favorite would have to be Hudlake trail.
Interviewer: Why favorite?
Andrew: It’s beautiful! I love that one. Second maybe McGillbert Falls is nice. But I don’t know, I think (?) trails are my favorite. It’s a nice long hike. Whole portions along the lake and it’s just insane. And it’s pretty challenging too. There’s some nice challenging parts which I love.
Interviewer: For the past two years, Alicia and I have been doing kind of a “explore Manitoba” every Wednesday. We take the afternoon off and we head out somewhere and we’ll do a little post about it. And on social media, that’s the thing that gets the most attention. Any time we’re out, someone says, “”Hey, we’re going to this weekend?” And Hudlake is one of our favorite trails. McGillbert Falls is on our list. We haven’t made it through yet, but we’ll do that one pretty shortly. And one that’s really unique is the devil’s punchboal.
Andrew: Oh wow!
Interviewer: A little bit of desert in the middle of Manitoba.
Andrew: It does not feel like Manitoba. I love that.
Interviewer: Nope!
Andrew: Not at all. And you know, I think there’s one… I mean, there’s minimal positives of covid. But one, I think for me, and for a lot of other people, is that they’ve explored Manitoba a little bit more. I mean, not necessarily by choice. But it’s kind of forced people to explore their own backyard a little bit more. And I know I have, more than usual, because some days you’ll be travelling to other places. But I think people are kind of like learning to appreciate Manitoba a little bit more. And there’s so many beautiful spots to go. So, that’s awesome!
Interviewer: Yeah, you’ve just got to dress for the winters and you can find beautiful things to do in the wintertime too.
Andrew: I know. I’m not really ready, but it is what it is.
Interviewer: And one of the things you mentioned- music and drumming. So do you have a favorite type of music or musician?
Andrew: Favorite musician? I would have to say Sitting Color would have to be my favorite artist. Music? I won’t say I like everything. I respect pretty much every genre. I mean, for me, for drumming I really like some beats and rhythm. So, I mean, you can find that in any music. So I really can’t say I would favor genres, just because I respect lots of music. But yes, let’s say Sitting Color. In terms of the 90s, I’d say Oasis would be my favorite band. The 90s and… Yeah, I like everything! I don’t know.
Interviewer: How long have you been drumming?
Andrew: Since I was in grade 2. So a long time! It was one of my favorite… Actually, my first word was actually “gums.” And I meant to say “drums.”
Interviewer: There you go!
Andrew: I was talking about drums.
Interviewer: You were the kid that the parents “loved.” You made lots of noise.
Andrew: Oh yes! I certainly did. I still remember getting my first drum set. I don’t even know how they dealt with that. I really don’t.
Interviewer: Great. Do you have a favorite day of the week?
Andrew: Thursday. I like Thursdays. I think it’s because you have the anticipation of Friday being tomorrow, and I don’t know… I just feel like I get the most productive on Thursdays. Getting ahead, getting everything done for the weekend. And getting excited for the weekend before. So I’m gonna go for Thursdays.
Interviewer: Alright. That’s the way it is. Sometimes when you have a deadline or something that gives you that extra push.
Andrew: Exactly! I feel like Thursdays- that’s my day. That’s my day.
Interviewer: My final question. What would you say you’re most excited about right now?
Andrew: Right now? Sounds a little bit weird, but I ordered a new table from (?). Table and chairs. Dining room table. So I’m supposed to be getting that tomorrow, so I’m a bit excited about that. I know it sounds weird, but I like getting stuff in the mail. So I’m excited for that. I’m also really excited for… I live on the river. So I’m really excited for that to freeze over. Because I’m really really excited to… Hopefully, this year, the trail will be open. The skiing trail. Skiing down the (?) for some beers.
Interviewer: Awesome! Great. You have to send me a picture of your table when it’s all set it. I’d love to see it.
Andrew: I’ll send you a selfie with my new table.
Interviewer: Sure, great. Alright Andrew, I really wanna thank you for coming on and doing this with us. And we wish you all the best. And I hope that the CMN just continues to rise and be successful.
Andrew: Awesome! Yeah, thanks Stephen. And again, thank you for all of your work. You’re also personally involved with the Children Miracle Home program and working with us as well. So, thank you. And I thank everybody at Remax for continuing all the awesome support for the hospital.
Interviewer: Will do! You have yourself a wonderful day, sir!
Andrew: You too! Have a good one!
Interviewer: Bye!
Andrew Ferris
Development Officer & Program Director, CMN
Children's Hospital Foundation of MB
204-470-8928
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