Simon and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Clinical Trial Superhub

Last week, Simon was part of something that felt very close to home — the fundraising campaign for the Clinical Trial Superhub through BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

This wasn’t just another fancy gala, it hit close to home. Clinical trials are personal. Research is personal. Access to innovation is personal. We know what it means to wait for breakthroughs. And this campaign was about building the infrastructure to make those breakthroughs happen faster for kids in BC.

Simon starred in the campaign’s designation video highlighting the Clinical Trial Superhub. And then in November, Simon spoke on stage at the BC Children’s Hospital’s Crystal Ball (BC’s largest charity event!) in front of a packed ballroom. As his mom, watching him walk out under those lights — knowing how many hospital rooms he’s sat in — was surreal.

The Superhub isn’t flashy. It’s infrastructure. Systems. Researchers. Trial management. It’s what allows promising therapies to actually reach kids here instead of years later somewhere else.

We’ve spent enough time in hospitals to understand how fragile timelines can be. Research doesn’t move fast enough when you’re the one waiting.

So standing in that ballroom — and seeing donors raise paddles to support clinical trials — felt different than past events. It felt directly connected to kids like Simon.

We are so proud of him. Not because he was on a stage. But because – at just 8 years old – he used his voice in a room where it could move resources and a make an actual life changing difference for kids like him.