An important fundraiser for the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation was once again a big success this year.
The annual Radiothon for Life, held last Wednesday, raised $101,040 for the new addictions treatment centre at the hospital.
The fundraiser ran from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. People called in their pledges, made donations online through the hospital foundation's website and dropped them off at the radio station's parking lot. Businesses and organizations also made donations as part of the campaign.
St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation executive director Breanne Van De Woestyne said that the total exceeded their expectations.
"The total was way over what we expected. We weren't really sure what to expect going into it just because the economy right now is a little different and a world is going through a new phase, so we really didn't know and we didn't go in with much of an expectation either. We were really thankful for anything that came through," said Van De Woestyne.
"We just wanted to see how it went. And when that final total climbed up to the $100,000 mark it was an incredible feeling for volunteers and the staff that were there. We exceeded what we had expected by tens of thousands of dollars. It shows the support our community shows for local healthcare and for that addiction centre."
She added that not only they received a lot of support from businesses and organizations, but they also saw an increase in donations from individuals.
"The amount of support that we did get from individuals throughout the community (was great), and some people had some incredible stories of different experiences with addictions so they wanted to really support this cause too. So it was really neat to get some new donors this year from an individual standpoint and just to see that support coming through. Whether it was a smaller donation or a bigger donation it all goes to that big number."
In the end, the hospital foundation was overwhelmed with the community support they saw.
"It was an amazing day that showed how much our community truly supports local healthcare and our new addiction centre coming and opening this fall," said Van De Woestyne.
The new format brought in a few obstacles but in general, the fundraiser went well.
"Radiothon went very, very well. Obviously, we had a few obstacles that we had to overcome and postponing it because of COVID-19 (was also a challenge), but to be able to still host it this year was huge for us as a foundation. It's obviously a major fundraiser," said Van de Woestyne.
The fundraiser couldn't be held at the hospital this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Van De Woestyne said that it was a learning curve for them as there were a lot of new things to work through.
"With the restrictions in place, we did have to do it outside, socially distancing throughout the day with our volunteers and staff, really limiting the interactions that we did receive throughout the day. But people are really adapting to the new avenues of supporting us.
"Online donations were four times higher than last year and it was really great to see."
Van De Woestyne said that the biggest challenge for them was postponing the event that is usually held in spring.
"We waited until the fall so we could really understand the regulations in place and have everything really prepared before we went in and had that major fundraiser."
The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation had committed $80,000 for the new addiction centre opening in Estevan. Since they raised more, the rest of the funds will be used towards purchasing the needed equipment.
"The additional money will be used in other areas of the hospital with the approved equipment that we have on our wish list this year."
The event also put the spotlight on the hospital, its staff, its services and patients who receive care at St. Joseph's throughout the year.
The hospital foundation was sincerely grateful to the community for all the support they received.
"A big thank you to all of the southeast Saskatchewan whether you are a business owner or a community member that helped us that day through donating, through stopping by and saying ‘hi,’ through volunteering. It was just a huge day that had a lot of people working behind the scenes and we want to make sure that everyone knows how grateful we are as a foundation that we were able to raise so much money for a very, very important cause," said Van De Woestyne.
