From left, Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, Jennifer Stewart, Jayne Lowell, Steve Lowell, Jennifer Van Noort and Tim Kluke at the Garden Party on the Rideau 2026 in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Manotick garden party raises $15K to help transform health care at The Ottawa Hospital
Manotick resident Steve Lowell went into The Ottawa Hospital to have skin cancer removed from his nose, bringing along a photo of George Clooney for his doctors to use as inspiration.
“And I was very clear that I had better come out looking like that,” he joked to guests gathered Wednesday at a riverfront garden party held in support of the hospital, hosted by Lowell and his wife, Jayne Lowell, chief visionary officer at stevelowell.com.
“I think they did pretty good.”
The result really was remarkable. The ugly part was getting there.
During surgery in January, doctors discovered the cancer was more extensive than expected. Almost the entire right side of Lowell’s nose had to be removed.
Surgeons rebuilt it using a forehead flap procedure, folding skin from his forehead over his nose and leaving it temporarily attached to maintain its blood supply while it healed.
“It was awful,” said Lowell, a professional speaker, strategic communications coach and author. “There was nothing good about it except the care and the results,” he said, describing the team that treated him as “magnificent.”
Jayne Lowell and Steve Lowell hosted the Garden Party on the Rideau 2026 fundraiser for The Ottawa Hospital at their riverfront home in Manotick on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Rideau River provided the backdrop for a lovely fundraiser held in Manotick in support of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lowell’s experience was one of several stories shared at the garden party, which raised $15,000 for The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s $500-million Campaign to Create Tomorrow.
Key to the event’s success were marketing and event-planning professional Catherine Landry of SheShopsLocal.ca and Darpan Ahluwalia of Manotick Natural Market.
Dozens of local businesses also lent their support, led by top sponsor Thompson’s Jewellers. Guests were invited to nominate a local nurse for a draw prize, with the winner receiving a pair of diamond earrings donated by the jeweller.
Landry was on hand when the winning nurse was called with the news. “She was completely, completely blown away,” said Landry, who also took the opportunity to personally thank her for her service.
The setting could hardly have been prettier, nor the weather better. A pair of pontoon boats took guests cruising along the historic Rideau River. “It was great to see Manotick from a different perspective,” said Laryssa Korbutiak after returning from her comfy boat ride with her sister and business partner, Oresta Korbutiak of ORESTA Mindful Beauty.
Guests cruised the Rideau River during the Garden Party on the Rideau, hosted by Steve and Jayne Lowell at their Manotick home on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Ottawa Hospital is building a new multibillion-dollar campus near Dow’s Lake that will “reshape the future of healthcare in our region,” said Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, during his brief remarks.
Kluke announced that the campaign, publicly launched in April 2022, has reached the $404-million mark, with contributions large and small from more than 50,000 people across the region.
That generosity comes at a critical time. ICU physician Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, one of four volunteer co-chairs of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow, said the health-care system is in the worst shape he’s seen since beginning his medical training.
He has reason to remain optimistic, though. Kyeremanteng believes the new world-class centre for patient care and research will help transform how care is delivered while attracting and retaining leading surgeons, researchers and other medical professionals.
“I wholeheartedly believe that the efforts you are making today will save lives,” said Dr. Kyeremanteng, who’s also on the board of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
ICU physician Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng spoke about the positive impact of the future hospital campus on the health care system at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Donna (Garton) Lister is living proof that seemingly impossible situations can sometimes be overcome with perseverance.
In 1955, at age six, Lister was severely burned in a fire that broke out in the basement of her family’s home. Doctors at the Civic Hospital, which is now part of The Ottawa Hospital, offered her parents little hope.
“The doctors actually turned to my parents and told them to go home and forget they had a daughter because they did not have the medical knowledge to save me,” said Lister.
While the little girl fought to survive, the Civic searched the country for a plastic surgeon, eventually recruiting a young Dr. Lorne Burdett from Prince Edward Island.
Lister said that, during her first nine months in hospital, she underwent 73 procedures.
“I’m here,” said Lister, breaking into a big smile.
Lister later made history as the hospital’s first medical imaging technologist with a disability. She also married and built a life that doctors once believed she would never have.
Jayne Lowell introduced her at the garden party. The two became friends after Jayne repeatedly spotted Lister kayaking past the Lowells’ riverfront home. “All the flowers you see on the tables are from her garden,” Jayne added.
From left, childhood burn survivor Donna Lister and party co-host Jayne Lowell at a garden party fundraiser in Manotick held in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Syntax Strategic founder and CEO Jennifer Stewart’s connection to The Ottawa Hospital began in 2022, when one of her two sisters was diagnosed with advanced triple-negative breast cancer.
Her sister, a mother of four, underwent 22 rounds of chemotherapy and participated in a clinical trial that Stewart credits with saving her life.
“We’re just so grateful for the innovation and technology,” said Stewart, who is also on the hospital foundation board.
Stewart later faced her own health scare after doctors discovered a mass that had to be removed and biopsied.
During the agonizing wait of eight to 12 days for the results, she began thinking differently about life.
She also reconsidered the familiar saying that tomorrow is never promised.
Through its research, innovation and clinical trials, Stewart said, The Ottawa Hospital has already given more tomorrows to patients who feared they had run out of them.
“That was my why,” said Stewart of her decision to support the campaign.
From left, Syntax Strategic COO Jennifer Madigan with the agency’s CEO and founder, Jennifer Stewart, who’s also on the board of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and Syntax Strategic senior director Mackenzie Houston at the Garden Party on the Rideau 2026 in Support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Steve Lowell and Jayne Lowell reveal a ceremonial cheque for $15,000 for The Ottawa Hospital alongside The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s Jennifer Van Noort, Darpan Ahluwalia (Manotick Natural Market), The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s Tim Kluke, Catherine Landry (partially obscured) and Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow and a board member with The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Marketing and event-planning professional Catherine Landry, owner of SheShopsLocal.ca, and Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng at the Garden Party on the Rideau held in Manotick on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Steve Lowell, co-founder of stevelowell.com, spoke about the “magnificent” care he received at The Ottawa Hospital during a garden party fundraiser that he and his wife, Jayne Lowell, hosted at their Manotick home. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, CTV Your Morning Ottawa news writer and segment producer Zainab Al-Mehdar alongside her colleague, supervising producer Derick Fage, and his wife, Monika Palitza-Fage, at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Mortgage agent Adolfo Alvarenga from ReferralMortgages.com and his sister Jenniffer Alvarenga, co-founder of GoodStory RE/MAX Hallmark Real Estate, at the Garden Party on the Rideau 2026 in Support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Ottawa colour artist Sara Prisma was out supporting the Garden Party on the Rideau 2026 fundraiser for The Ottawa Hospital and its Campaign to Create Tomorrow. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Jennifer Van Noort, chief development officer at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, foundation board member Jennifer Stewart, who’s also founder and CEO of Syntax Strategic, and Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, at the Garden Party on the Rideau held in Manotick on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
ICU physician Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow in support of The Ottawa Hospital’s new hospital campus, smiled while being introduced by his familiar nickname, “Dr. K,” at the garden party. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, floral fashions from Tammy Laverty Hall, a real estate agent at Royal LePage Team Realty, and a statement-making hat by Michelle Bégin fit right in at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Laryssa Korbutiak and Oresta Korbutiak, co-owners of ORESTA Mindful Beauty, and Julie Findlay, host of Ottawa in the Know on Rogers TV, at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Tim Kluke, president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and Cara Vaccarino, CEO of The Royal, at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Jennifer Stewart, who’s on the board of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, shared at the Garden Party on the Rideau how The Ottawa Hospital saved her sister’s life. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Katie Faloon-Drew, founder and CEO of Healthy Confident You, inspirational speaker Janine Charron, and Erin Meisner, associate director at Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network and a first-time boxer and volunteer fundraiser for this year’s Fight for the Cure in support of The Ottawa Hospital, at the Garden Party on the Rideau. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Darpan Ahluwalia of Manotick Natural Market smiles while being recognized for her contributions to the event, standing alongside love and empowerment coach Karen Strang Allen. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Jasmine Malenfant, 18, and her mom, Lisa Malenfant, next to the Woven Together Mural they helped create at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Jennifer Van Noort, chief development officer at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, seen greeting guest Jennifer Clark at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, former museum executive Mark O’Neill, CABN senior adviser Paul McCarney and Nutrition Blocs founder and executive director Abhi Potdar at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Rania Abi Farah, leasing manager at The Clemow rental apartments for 50+, and Mary de Toro at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, ICU physician Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, co-chair of the Campaign to Create Tomorrow; business leader and Ottawa Hospital Foundation board member Jennifer Stewart; foundation president and CEO Tim Kluke; and chief development officer Jennifer Van Noort at the Garden Party on the Rideau in support of The Ottawa Hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law and Prime Benefits Group.
hello@carolineinthecapital.ca
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