Whiskey, Wine & Menswear supports Southlake’s cancer care programs

October 26, 2023 · 0 Comments

Doctors at Newmarket’s Southlake Regional Health Centre next Wednesday are set to temporarily trade their scrubs for some fancy duds all for a fun night out on the town.

On November 1, Southlake physicians will strut their stuff down the runway for the annual Whiskey, Wine & MR Menswear fashion show, hosted by Mike Rathke of Aurora’s MR Menswear and sponsored by NewRoads Automotive Group.

Tickets for the event are on sale now and benefit Southlake’s HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match campaign to “create the cancer care our communities deserve.” Southlake’s Stronach Regional Cancer Centre is a cause close to the hearts of Rathke, a cancer survivor himself, and to every single doctor at Southlake.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Randle has been a runway model since the event’s inception and although he was reluctant to take centre-stage the first time around is eager to return to the event, which is being held this year at Newmarket’s NewRoads Performing Arts Centre, formerly Newmarket Theatre.

“I have to say, at the first one I was very apprehensive and I didn’t know it was something I was going to enjoy – and I am still not so sure I enjoy it – but it was actually a lot of fun,” says Dr. Randle with a laugh. “Mike can even make me look good in clothes! It’s a real treat. Even at that first one you could feel the energy in the room. It’s probably the most fun event I have done with the Southlake Foundation and that’s why I keep coming back. It really does celebrate the community, it gets some of us out in the community in a different environment than we would normally see. You’re not seeing me in a fracture clinic for a broken wrist, so this puts you in a different light, some of the human side, and it’s a worthwhile cause.

“I think it brings the hospital to the community in a really unique way.”

This is a feeling shared by Dionne Malcolm of the Southlake Foundation.

For her, as much as it is about fundraising it is also about community-building.

“To see our physicians in a totally different environment just sort of humanizes this organization a little bit; we have this link with the community already and this gives people the opportunity to see clinical folks in an environment they have never seen before. Mike Rathke is a huge proponent of the ‘HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match’ campaign and has told his own cancer story as part of this event, and that is so meaningful to people. All the proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction will all go towards the Cancer Campaign.”

This will be the first year Malcolm will be able to attend the event, she adds, and in addition to the fashion show itself, she says she’s particularly looking forward to whiskey and wine tastings, great food, the auction and more.

“There is something for everyone – it’s a fun, social evening, and it brings the community to the hospital and the hospital to the community. Community healthcare is that common denominator that [brings everyone together] and at the end of the night it is just benefiting a really, really great cause. I am looking forward to supporting it and having fun.”

There are so many causes holding fundraising events at this time of year that are all equal, but Dr. Randle notes that Southlake is our community hospital, is a place where the entire community can receive care, and is an organization that relies on the community to fundraise to maintain that care as money they receive from the Province only goes so far.

“The majority of people you’re going to see on that stage will benefit directly from the proceeds in the way that they deliver care and do their job. In many ways, it is giving to receive back at Southlake; one would hope you never have to, but that is not the reality of health care,” he says. “Your proceeds will go back to the institution, provide the means for many of us on the stage to do better work, treat people better, more currently, safer, and more efficiently.

“For us at Southlake, you cannot be a part of the community often enough and declare yourself a community hospital. The stronger your community support is the better the hospital is, truthfully. You want people to believe it is theirs.”

Tickets for the November 1 fashion show can be purchased at give.southlake.ca/site/Ticketing?view=Tickets&id=100161. If you can’t make the event but would like to support the foundation, visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/mrmenswear or browse the silent auction at app.galabid.com/wwmm2023/items. This year’s fundraising goal is $50,000.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter