A sold-out gala on May 24 raised over $1.7 million to set a new standard in women's cancer care at the Victoria General Hospital (VGH).
Two hundred fifty people gathered at Hatley Park on Saturday for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s 2025 Miracle Gala – an annual event organized to raise donations for Greater Victoria hospitals.
This year, the charity raised enough to double VGH’s surgical capacity for Island women facing gynecologic cancer, funding a second operating room at VGH with a suite of leading-edge, minimally invasive surgical equipment.
Three local women pledged a combined $1 million, sparking $764,420 more in donations.
“Our community truly leaned into a shared vision, and we are so proud to share that we are now one step closer to a future where no woman waits too long for the care she needs,” Avery Brohman, the CEO of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, said in a news release. “What moved us so deeply on Saturday evening was the culmination of many powerful moments and the union of extraordinary individuals and local businesses.”
According to the foundation, rates of gynecologic cancers have increased by almost 50 per cent over the past decade, and the demand for advanced care is rapidly increasing. Annually, over 500 women receive gynecologic oncology surgeries at VGH.
“When we made an urgent call to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation several months ago to share that women were waiting far too long for their life-saving surgery, they promised to stand with us – and they have now more than delivered on that promise,” gynecologic oncologist Mona Mazgani, who was at the Saturday event, said in the same news release.
“What we witnessed at the Miracle Gala was a powerful community rallying together to reduce wait times and boldly affirm that women’s health matters. As caregivers, we are deeply grateful.”
To contribute to VHF or learn more, visit victoriahf.ca.
