The Red Deer Regional Health Foundation is extending their largest fundraiser – the Hospitals’ Lottery – due to lower then expected sales numbers.
“Unfortunately our sales were a little soft so we thought if we can make it work, we would extend the sales period a bit,” Alaine Martin, events manager Red Deer Regional Health Foundation, said. “AGLC was in agreement with us and we were able to do that. They are the final say.”
Martin said numbers could be lower due to uncertainty of the Alberta economy, but added Central Albertans have always been charitable to this cause.
“That is our hope that people are still supporting but maybe supporting at a lower-level ticket then they normally would because of tighter budgets in their households,” she said. “I don’t have a statistic on the quantity of purchasers we have had versus last year, I only have the totals to look at. We around 10 per cent lower then this time last year and last year we would have been wrapped up by now.”
The Hospitals’ Lottery is the Red Deer Regional Hospital’s largest fundraiser, with funds going to multiple initiatives from year to year.
“They are supporting the Red Deer Regional Hospital and are the only major equipment fundraising entity for the hospital,” she said. “It impacts everyone in Central Alberta because this hospital is regional. At an given time, there is almost 60 per cent of our capacity from outlying areas in the hospital as patients, getting tests or services.”
This year, the funds raised will go to ensuring that patients care is safe, comfortable and medically important
“The funding this year is to purchase new beds,” Martin explained. “What these beds do is that they have technology that helps patients by preventing bed sores with better materials; improving the mobility of patients through the air mattress; going lower which helps patients get in and out of the bed; and it also helps caregivers aide their patients as well. It is a very impactful piece of equipment that can be taken for granted.”
The charity also provides purchasers with the opportunity at considerable prizes.
“We have a beautiful dream home from Sorento Custom Homes,” Martin said. “It is worth almost $840,000 and they have really hit it out of the park with this bungalow. It is a big bungalow on a beautiful lot. We also have vehicles from Go Dodge and Go Ford. We have some cash that we are giving away. We have had some great community partners come forward this year who have helped us out with prizing. We are so grateful for that and I think our ticket purchasers will really enjoy the prizes we have put together this year.”
Martin said there are multiples way to purchase Hospitals’ Lottery tickets.
“We are able to sell tickets until 11 p.m. on June 28th,” she said. “They can go online to hospitallotteries.com or they can purchase over the phone at 403-340-1878 or 1-877-808-9005. They can also come to the hospital; our office is right beside the main doors of the hospital. We are no longer selling at the show home.”
Martin also noted anyone wishing to make a donation after June 28th may do so.
“We are open for business from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and we will accept donations very gratefully,” she said. “You are supporting your local hospital and what it does for us. Times have shown in the last several months that funding to our local hospital has been lacking in our opinion, so it is important we support it anyway we can. It makes a difference.”
