So, the David Foster Foundation is turning the big 4-0. Forty years. You know, that’s almost as old as some of my favorite jokes. But the start of this was no laughing matter…in fact it was a heartfelt one.

It all started back in ’86, not with some big, formal plan, but with a simple phone call from a mom. David’s mom, actually. She asked him to go see a little girl in a hospital in L.A. who was from his hometown of Victoria. The youngster needed a new liver, but all she wanted was to see her sister—a trip the family just couldn’t afford. David, being David, flew the sister down. It was in that moment that David saw a crack in the system.

The big stuff was covered, but the little stuff—plane tickets, a hotel room, a warm meal—was crushing families. So, he started a foundation to handle the little stuff, which, for a family in crisis, is actually the biggest thing in the world. It’s a good origin story, one of those honest, gut-feeling things.

Now let’s talk about David himself for a bit. David was born in Victoria, B.C., a long way from the Hollywood Hills. You know, back when he was just a little tyke, his mom was dusting the family piano and hit a key. Young David possibly piped up and said, “That’s an E!” He had perfect pitch. Who knew a kid who could barely tie his shoes could tell a C-sharp from a B-flat? His folks, a maintenance man and a homemaker, knew they had to get this kid to a piano. They scraped and saved and backed his dream, proving you don’t need a red carpet to start a journey—just a family who believes in you and encourages you on every note. It’s a nice reminder that the music starts at home, even if it ends up on a Grammy stage.

Speaking of stages, you’ve probably seen the pictures. For goodness sakes, David’s galas are bigger than the Grey Cup. He just calls up his friends, and they show up—and what a list of friends. You’ve got Oprah, you’ve got Dr. Phil, you’ve got Steven Tyler from Aerosmith belting out tunes, and even Jay Leno telling a few jokes. We’re talking the kind of A-list talent that can fill a stadium just by walking into a room. At one of their 30th-anniversary shindigs, Oprah, Tyler, and Dr. Phil all stepped up during a “sponsor a family” pledge drive. It’s one thing to show up and sing a song; it’s another to put your money where your heart is. These are serious names doing seriously good work, proving that sometimes, the biggest stars have the biggest hearts.

But here’s the thing, and it’s a big thing: all of that good work runs into a roadblock we can all fix. The foundation can only help families who get an organ and, sadly, far too many don’t. Listen to these numbers, and let them sink in: more than 90% of Canadians say they’re all for organ donation, yet only about a third of us have actually bothered to sign up. That’s a huge gap between saying you’ll do something and actually doing it. As of late 2024, there were over 4,000 Canadians waiting for a new organ, and more than a few hundred of them will die this year because of a simple lack of action. The Foundation can’t give what isn’t there. They can’t play the music if the instrument is broken. It’s on us to fix it.

So, for the 40th anniversary, what do we give the David Foster Foundation? A gold-plated donor card? A giant cake shaped like a liver or kidney—which sounds delicious and a little gross at the same time, doesn’t it? But the best gift, the most meaningful gift, is one that costs nothing and means everything.

Do the simplest, most important thing you can do today: sign your organ donor card. Better yet, here is a real challenge. Get together with 40 of your friends—one for each year—and tell them to do the same and share that moment over a piece of birthday cake. It’s a gift of life. It’s the ultimate legacy.

I would bet money that David would say that is the best present he could ever get.