Opération Enfant Soleil announced Thursday that it has released more than $7 million for the well-being of children in Montreal on the occasion of its 35th Telethon, which will be broadcast on TVA Nouvelles on Sunday from 12:30 p.m.

The money will be paid to six establishments to finance the purchase of medical equipment to improve the offer of care to families and avoid the transfer of patients to specialized centers.

Among the beneficiaries, the CHU Sainte-Justine and the Montreal Children's Hospital will receive $3,578,349 each, while more than 14,000 will be donated to the Douglas Mental Health University Institute of the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de- the Island of Montreal.

A total of 116 grants will be made to organizations and hospitals across the province this year for projects related to preventing illness in young people through physical activity and healthy lifestyles.

This will also provide better care for children, support medical teams and support families when they need it most, according to the organization.

“The benefits to children and their families are probably what motivated us to pursue this project. For very small infants who are in intensive care, very premature babies for example, it is an even greater impact on their parents,” said Dr. Wissam Shalish, Neonatologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

This aid "will allow us to realize the vision of the care we want to offer our patients, will allow us to modernize our spaces, to offer quality care and a better care experience", added Bénédicte Therrien Hogue, nurse practitioner specializing in plastic surgery with major burns patients at CHU Sainte-Justine.