Father donates $1 million for health fund in honour of his sons

Tom Budd says it’s a donation made out of the enduring love he has for his sons.

The philanthropist from Kelowna, a former investment banker, has committed $1 million to the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation, his largest single donation ever.

The gift establishes the Payton and Dillon Budd Brain Health Medical Fund, an endowment specifically dedicated to advancing brain health care at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).

The endowment is the result of Budd’s long-held desire to honour his sons, Payton and Dillon Budd, meaningfully and positively.

“It is time to take action,” Tom Budd said.

Sadly, both young men suffered from mental health challenges. Dillon, just 13 years old, made the tragic decision to end his life in 2015. Two years later, his brother Payton made the same heartbreaking decision.

“I am trying to live a life that my sons would be proud of,” Budd said of why he made the transformational donation.

“My boys were deeply loved. This gift, and every philanthropic commitment I have made or will ever make, is an expression of my enduring love for them, and the compassion I feel for all others who have lost a child or loved one to mental health challenges or neurological brain disorder.”

Allison Young, CEO of the KGH Foundation, and Tom Budd (photo credit: KGH Foundation)

The decision to direct the fund specifically toward brain health care at the clinical level was motivated further by Tom’s mother’s experience with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

“Brain health encompasses all of the areas of well-being the brain is responsible for, physical and mental,” KGH neurologist, Dr. Daryl Wile, said. “Neurologists and specialists in this discipline focus on cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral, and motor domains of brain functioning. While it is frequently discussed independently, mental health is a component of brain health.”

“It is an area of health care that is vitally important,” Allison Young, CEO of the KGH Foundation, stated. “Mental illness and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s and dementia are devastating to those who are suffering, and their families.”

Young said the Payton and Dillon Budd Brain Health Medical Fund will provide awards and grants enabling the neurologists at KGH to engage in projects and studies that aim to provide a greater understanding of how the brain works to advance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the brain.

“It is exciting. The endowment means that this work can take place right here at Kelowna General Hospital and in the community,” Young added.

Budd said his gift is an investment in the future of brain health care.

“While there are certainly immediate needs for brain health care resources, I expect this fund to activate upstream solutions and innovation by enabling the physicians and clinicians who can really make an impact in the field,” Budd said.

Budd concluded by saying, without hope, there is no path forward.

“My hope is that this gift will inspire others to act as well, and that by working together, we can make a real difference in this community when it comes to brain health care.”

If you are in crisis, call the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1 (833) 456-4566, connect to the Crisis Text Line by texting 686868, or if you’re 20 or younger, call Kids Help Phone at 1 (800) 668-6868.