Founders, partners and guests join to launch prize

The Faculty Club at McGill University was abuzz yesterday morning even before the arrival of the university's principal, Heather Munroe-Blum, Mr. Lawrence Bloomberg and representatives from Manulife Financial.

Guests took advantage of a healthy breakfast buffet as university staff, media and corporate partners gathered to officially launch the ambitious 10-year incentive. The morning began with a screening of our official video, which had people both tapping their feet and hopefully thinking about active health and research.

First to the stage was vice-president of Development and Alumni Relations at McGill, Marc Weinstein. He noted that "The generosity of Lawrence Bloomberg and Manulife Financial reminds us all that philanthropy encompasses far more than just dollars. It reflects a true desire to bring about positive change and make concrete impacts in society."

Next, Heather Munroe-Blum echoed his sentiments with a very personal speech, where she commended the vision and generosity of her friends Lawrence and Fran Bloomberg, and explained that this prize had a committed partner in McGill, and that it would be an undertaking that would help the university go from strength to strength.

Mr Bloomberg followed the principal to the podium, and spoke about the impetus for creating this prize fund, mentioning recent findings on the declining health of North Americans and saying, " There is so much innovative research in this field taking place at McGill and at universities and hospitals across North America. But without a vehicle to reward and publicly recognize this work, it rarely gets beyond the pages of scientific and academic journals and into the public domain, where it can have a significant impact on the population."

Speakers who followed included Dawn Marchand of Manulife Financial, and Dean Hélène Perrault of the McGill faculty of Education, who both praised the project and underlined their ongoing support. The event also marked the official launch of our online media sites: facebook, twitter, blog, YouTube and flickr.


After both co-founders were presented with commemorative plaques and official photos were snapped, a VIP group retired to a private lunch.

Check out photos from the day here