Coming right on the heels of the 2018 Scotties women’s curling championships in Penticton, it’s been intriguing to watch the Olympic curling action from South Korea. Everyone at Penticton Regional Hospital is still pumped about the $35,000 donation the Sandra Schmirler Foundation made during the Scotties for a new neonatal infant resuscitation warmer at PRH.
Many hospital and SOS Medical Foundation staff and board members also helped answer the phones during the Schmirler Foundation’s annual telethon on TSN on Jan 28. This didn’t go unnoticed, as reflected in a recent letter from Brenda Gallagher of the Schmirler Foundation.
“Please pass on our gratitude to the many volunteers who joined us at the Telethon to support the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. With their efforts, we will be able to continue to support critically ill babies and their families across Canada and make a real difference to the lives of Canadian babies in crisis, helping them to grow and reach their potential.”
Speaking of making a difference, kudos to all the volunteers with the Summerland Health-Care Auxiliary which has donated $50,000 towards a new pediatric waiting/play area to be located next to the outpatient pediatric treatment area in the new PRH tower. This is in addition to the five-year, $1-million pledge the Summerland Auxiliary made in 2015 to the SOS Medical Foundation’s $20-million fundraising drive to provide the medical equipment for the hospital expansion. The funding comes from the auxiliary’s thrift store on Victoria Road, a huge success story in itself. Thanks everyone!
Wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day seems like a natural thing for Canadians to do every November. It’s great to see the positive things that stem from the donations we make for our poppies. Penticton Branch 40 of the Royal Canadian Legion has donated a further $5,000 to PRH from their Poppy Fund. Over the past three years, Branch 40 has directed $27,000 to our medical equipment campaign. In total, Legion branches in the region have now given $61,800 towards their $90,000 pledge for PRH. We can’t say enough about the support we receive from the Legion.
Thank you as well to the 34 members of the Survivorship dragon boat team who recently presented a $6,500 cheque to our PRH campaign. Survivorship has now donated more than $20,000 towards their $30,000 pledge — and since 2001, they have donated over $40,000 for key hospital equipment. With every team member being a breast cancer survivor, they each have their own personal story behind their donation. Survivorship runs the beverage garden at the annual Penticton Dragon Boat festival in September and hosts a comedy night fundraiser in October.
I first met Trudy and Nick Krabbendam in 2015 when they stopped by our office to donate to our newly-launched PRH Tower equipment campaign. Since then, I’ve chatted with Trudy and Nick several times, always amazed at their quiet support for Penticton Regional Hospital which has now reached an incredible $100,000. The Krabbendams repeatedly point out how happy they are to live in Penticton and support the hospital — and want to encourage others to donate as well.
The SOS Medical Foundation still has $3.5 million to go in our $20-million fundraising campaign. If you’ve been thinking about giving, Trudy and Nick would be honoured to know you’ve followed their example.
John Moorhouse is the development and communications officer for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation. For information on donating, please call or visit our website . 250-492-9027 sosmedicalfoundation.com
