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Nearly 400 students, family, donors, friends and faculty gathered to celebrate the launch of the $25-million campaign for U of T’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon and to recognize student achievement through the annual Student Awards Ceremony.

The Campaign for Bloomberg Nursing is an integral part of the University’s overall $2-billion Boundless campaign. Through this initiative, Bloomberg Nursing aims to shape the future of nursing by training future leaders and advancing understanding and treatment of health care issues that affect Canadians.

Dean Sioban Nelson announced the ambitious multi-phase campaign that will enable Bloomberg Nursing to provide even more support for its students, attract the next generation of “rising star” faculty and researchers, and continue to provide outstanding programs committed to the student experience. The campaign will also increase development opportunities for students through global initiatives and advance the Faculty’s international leadership in nursing education and research.

“The first phase of our campaign raised $15 million in donor support,” said Nelson. “Financier and philanthropist, Lawrence S. Bloomberg brought a $10-million gift in 2007—the largest donation ever made to a Canadian nursing school or faculty.”

In her address, Dean Nelson spoke about the important role that charitable giving and philanthropic efforts play in the lives of U of T Nursing students and faculty and acknowledged the generous support of the late Bluma Appel, Byron Bellows, Patrice Merrin and Lawrence S. Bloomberg.

As the Faculty enters the second phase of the campaign, they will build on this strong platform by seeking to raise an additional $10 million, half of which will be used to enhance the quality of the student experience.

“Now, more than ever, we need to support the development of tomorrow’s nurses today,” said Dean Nelson. “We can do this by building their skills and knowledge, advancing the science and scholarship that underpins that competence, and fostering the leadership nurses will bring to health care service development and quality care. With the help of our network of alumni and friends we will continue to support the best and the brightest to choose nursing.”

With a strong focus on students—the nurses of tomorrow—the campaign for Bloomberg Nursing will help to ensure Canada has the talent and leadership to meet the challenges and opportunities facing health care in the 21st century.