As an immigrant to Canada, it’s impossible for me to lose sight of the gratitude I feel for my adopted country and the opportunities it’s given me to succeed in my chosen field. I’ve been extremely fortunate to forge a career in finance, starting my own investment firm, Anson Funds, in 2003, which has consistently been named as one of the top hedge funds in Canada.
One of the major reasons I chose this career path is the opportunity it would afford me to give back to the society that nurtured me. My wife Marissa and I established the Moez and Marissa Kassam Foundation in 2016 as a charitable platform to increase opportunities and build a more equitable society. We’ve targeted four priority areas with our philanthropic efforts: Food Security and Safe Housing, Healthcare and Research, Filling the Gap and Quality Education for Children, and Leveled Fields of Play.
The 2MK Foundation approaches philanthropy in the same way we approach investment opportunities with Anson Funds: by conducting thorough, diligent research aimed at partnering with organizations that can maximize impacts. I’m very proud to announce that we’ve made a $300,000 donation to bring the acclaimed APPLE Schools health initiative to Ontario.
Our research into this initiative leaves no doubt as to its historic effectiveness. APPLE Schools (an acronym for A Project Promoting healthy Living for Everyone in Schools) began in 2007 at the University of Alberta as a health promotion project designed to give students from marginalized communities the tools they need for healthy eating and physical activity habits. Since then, the project has helped more than 100,000 students. Children in APPLE school communities are 35% more physically active and experienced a 40% drop in obesity rate compared to peers who did not go to an APPLE school. The peer-reviewed, published data is used to continually update the programs, enhancing their effectiveness with each passing year.
We’ve partnered with Dr. Katerina Maximova at St. Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, whose research has been key to honing APPLE’s approach. Our donation will expand the program’s reach, improving the health and well-being of children of vulnerable communities in the GTA and throughout Ontario.
My wife and I believe that promoting healthy eating and physical activity habits amongst our nation’s most vulnerable youth is an urgent need for our society. We know APPLE’s programs will greatly improve the lives of the children it touches, while greatly reducing the public health burden of obesity and chronic illnesses. It’s exactly the kind of project we were hoping to support when we started our Foundation.