Frankie Edroff (formerly Jeneece Edroff born January 20, 1994) is a Canadian philanthropist who has fundraised over a million dollars for

Variety, the Children's Charity Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

. He was inducted into the

Terry Fox Hall of Fame The Canadian Disability Hall of Fame (formerly the Terry Fox Hall of Fame), recognizes "outstanding Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to enriching the quality of life for people with physical disabilities". It is run by the Canadia ...

in 2006 and awarded with multiple medals including the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

in 2012.

Early life and education

Edroff was born on January 20, 1994, in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. When he was three years old, Edroff was diagnosed with

neurofibromatosis Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a group of three conditions in which tumors grow in the nervous system. The three types are neurofibromatosis type I (NF1), neurofibromatosis type II Neurofibromatosis type II (also known as MISME syndrome – multi ...

. At the age of seven, he started a penny drive to raise money for

. He went to

Claremont Secondary School Claremont Secondary School (CSS) is a public secondary school in Saanich, a municipality of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by School District 63 Saanich. CSS is one of three secondary schools in the school district an ...

in Victoria and completed a food course at the

Camosun College Camosun College is a public college located in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The college has two campuses, Lansdowne and Interurban, with a total enrollment of around 14,000 students (including Professional Studies and Industry Training) ...

in December 2014.

Career

Throughout his childhood, Edroff has raised over a million dollars for Variety. In 2009, Edroff was a torch bearer and lit the Olympic cauldron at the

British Columbia Parliament Buildings The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Speaker and the Serjeant-at-Arms are amongst those responsible for the legislative pr ...

for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

. In 2012, Jeneece Place at the

Victoria General Hospital Victoria General Hospital (VGH) is an acute care facility located in View Royal, British Columbia, Canada, a western suburb of Victoria. VGH provides emergency, general surgery and medical treatment services. It is one of two acute-care hospital ...

was opened for Edroff's eighteenth birthday. Edroff opened Jeneece Place to provide short-term housing for families of

when their children undergo medical treatments.

Awards and honours

Edroff was inducted into the

in 2006 and awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

in 2010. Other awards Edroff was presented with include the

in 2012 and the

Meritorious Service Cross The Meritorious Service Cross (french: Croix du service méritoire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, his or her Governor-in-Council. Cr ...

in 2016 for civil work.

Personal life

In 2012, Edroff went for a medical consultation at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

for his spine and leg. Edroff had previous surgeries at the

British Columbia Children's Hospital British Columbia Children's Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It specializes in health care for patients from birth to 16 years of age (possibly lo ...

when he was young. In 2018, he came out as a transgender man and is now using the name Frankie. In 2019, a documentary about Edroff's

gender transitioning Gender transition is the process of changing one's gender presentation or sex characteristics to accord with one's internal sense of gender identity – the idea of what it means to be a man or a woman,Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996) ''True ...

was released.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edroff, Frankie 1994 births Living people 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Members of the Order of British Columbia People from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Canadian transgender men Canadian philanthropists Camosun College alumni