The Starlight Impact

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation began raising funds for cancer research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in 1982. Since then, the Foundation has raised well over $1 billion for one of the world’s top five cancer research centres. The Foundation has pioneered many successful types of fundraising, including mega lotteries and large-scale events recruiting thousands of participants and fundraisers such as the One Walk to Conquer Cancer and Ride to Conquer Cancer. 

Starlight is honoured to be the official title sponsor for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Journey to Conquer Cancer for the second year in a row. Starlight has a long history of supporting Journey — a fun-filled and inspiring day that emphasizes community, family and solidarity. During the event, Starlight employees participate by volunteering in various capacities throughout the route and by joining their co-workers and family members on our corporate Cancer Fighting Team to run or walk the one‑, three- or five-kilometre course. 

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families is an accredited children’s mental health centre that serves children from birth to age eighteen and their families. By working together with families, and by providing the best possible help, The George Hull Centre makes a difference in the lives of children as they grow and develop into valued members of society. 

In support of children’s mental health, Starlight is proud to support various initiatives including the annual Laugh Out Loud event and Holiday Gift Family Support initiative. In 2022, Starlight helped four families with their holiday wish lists in order to give them a holiday to remember. 

Established in 1981, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Toronto provides a ​“home away from home” for seriously ill children and their families. RMHC Toronto encompasses a House for 81 families in downtown Toronto and Family Rooms in hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area. Last year, 5,139 families came from Ontario and across Canada to be served. RMHC Toronto is an independent charity, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and operated by staff and volunteers. The first and largest House in Canada is part of a network of more than 360 Houses worldwide. RMHC Toronto keeps families close when they need each other the most.

Starlight has been a proud supporter of RMHC Toronto since 2016 through various initiatives including the Home for Dinner program, an initiative aimed at easing the stress and financial burden weighing on guest families through a simple, home cooked meal, and their Adopt a Room program. The Adopt a Room program seeks to reduce the overwhelming emotional and financial burden placed on families with a seriously ill child by giving them a place to stay while they are away from home.

The Daily Bread Food Bank is a registered charity that is dedicated to fighting hunger in Toronto communities. Every year thousands of people across Toronto rely on the support of food banks. As a distribution hub, Daily Bread provides food and support to almost 200 food programs across Toronto and is the largest provider of food relief in the GTA.

Starlight is involved on an ongoing basis with Daily Bread through onsite volunteering and various fundraising initiatives.

Founded in 1990, Earth Day Canada (EDC) is a national charity that inspires and supports people across the country to connect with nature and build resilient communities. EDC leads an annual Earth Day campaign in conjunction with free, year-round, award-winning programs that get people of all ages outside, interacting with the natural environment. This, in turn, fosters an intrinsically motivated, enduring commitment to stewardship and conservation.

EDC works closely with school-aged children and youth through the renowned EcoKids program and new EarthPLAY initiative and recognizes via the Hometown Heroes Awards those who are leading the way in making our planet healthier. EDC engages diverse communities in the environmental NGO sector with their Tapestry program and helps corporate partners achieve their sustainability goals with the growing employee engagement platform.

Starlight participates annually in the Earth Day ​“Clean Toronto Together” event that engages businesses around the GTA to help clean up local green spaces where they live and work.

Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses, and are on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in Canada and more than 50 countries worldwide. Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Canada has granted over 35,000 wishes across the country, with over 1,000 last year alone.

Starlight supports Make-A-Wish® Canada through participation in multiple volunteer and fundraising initiatives such as the Golf for Wishes golf tournament fundraiser and Trees of Joy, an event to provide personalized Christmas Trees to wish kids and their families over the holidays. Both these events and other volunteer initiatives help to raise funds and awareness about Make-A-Wish Canada and the work that they do to help support and provide wishes to the children and their families.

Habitat for Humanity Canada is a national charitable organization working toward a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to call home. Habitat for Humanity brings communities together to help families build strength, stability and independence through affordable homeownership. With the help of volunteers, Habitat homeowners and 48 local Habitats working in every province and territory, we provide a solid foundation for better, healthier lives in Canada and around the world.

Starlight is proud to support Habitat for Humanity as a multi-year partner in their efforts to provide Canadians in need with affordable housing. Through this partnership, Starlight helps build much-needed housing in partnership with Indigenous families in Ontario and across the country through support of Habitat Canada’s Indigenous Housing Partnership. As part of the partnership, Starlight team members work alongside volunteers to help physically build safe and affordable housing for Indigenous families.

The holiday season is a time meant for communities to get together and support one another. At Starlight, we have always felt strongly about supporting our communities and there is no better time than the holidays.

For the past 15 years, Starlight has run our annual Starlight Days of Cheer campaign, where employees get together to raise funds and support a host of our partner organizations — local charities and community organizations doing incredible work for those less fortunate. As one of our longest running home-grown philanthropic campaigns, we look forward to continuing to support our partner organizations through the holiday season for years to come. 

2023 marked the first year of Real Estate Rally, a charity ping pong tournament hosted by Starlight Investments and BentallGreenOak. Through the generous donations of the participating companies and people in attendance, the event raises money for charitable organizations, with 50% of donations going to Habitat for Humanity and 50% going to a charity chosen by the winning team. 

In the inaugural tournament, teams from 16 real estate companies came together for a night of fundraising and friendly competition. $60,000 was raised and the winning team donated their half to Kids Help Phone. Based on the success in 2023, the tournament is set to be an annual event.

Starlight is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with like-minded organizations dedicated to making a positive impact and contributing to meaningful causes. This exciting initiative is our newest way of giving back to the communities in which we operate.