The La Verendrye General Hospital (LVGH) Auxiliary presented a cheque for $100,000 to Holly Kaemingh, Riverside Health Care’s director of fundraising, at its annual general meeting on Monday, the largest single donation made to Riverside’s Lights, Camera, Diagnosis! campaign so far.
The donation was the culmination of an ambitious goal set by the Auxiliary last spring, said Auxiliary President Marnie Cumming. “The hospital itself, Riverside, made a really ambitious commitment to raise this $1.6 million for their Lights, Camera, Diagnosis, and the auxiliary has always supported the major campaigns.”
“So we took on this rather ambitious goal, and knowing that we’ve had really good success over the last number of years with great community support, we were fairly confident we could make our goal, which we have done successfully.”
Major auxiliary fundraisers that helped meet the goal included the annual strawberry social, Rockin’ for a Reason at the Chamber of Commerce expo, as well as the Pumpkins and Plaid fall luncheon.
“Once again, the community stepped up and really supported those,” Cumming said. “Aside from the major events, the other biggest source of revenue is through the hospital gift shop and vending machines.”
The gift shop often hosts pop-up sales from local vendors and artisans while also supplying snacks and other supplies for hospital employees, patients and their families.
Cumming said she recently did some calculations to put into scale the donation they made this year. Over 74 years, the group has donated $1.8 million to the hospital. Converting that to today’s funds, adjusted for inflation, sees the number almost double to $3.5 million.
Kaemingh said the health care provider really appreciates the work of the various auxiliaries that contribute to local health care.
“Donations like this one today are amazing,” she said. “We’re so grateful for the support of the auxiliaries. They’re so dedicated to the work that they do, and it’s really a testament to their generosity. We’re so grateful again for the support.”
The auxiliary’s pledge has already been accounted for in the fundraising efforts towards the campaign, which is getting closer and closer to the final fundraising goal of $1.6 million.
At the meeting on Monday, the auxiliary also announced its next goal: With 2027 marking the 75th anniversary of the group’s formation, they intend to raise $75,000 to go towards renovations at LVGH’s chemo wing.
Cumming said the hospital has requested funding to upgrade the area.
“They want to update the nursing station and an overall refresh,” Cumming said. “The current workspace is outdated, inefficient and does not adequately support patient privacy or confidentiality. Recent patient feedback has highlighted many of these concerns.”
Chemo wing renovations in the chemo wing would likely include a new, more functional nursing station, fresh paint throughout the department, new privacy curtains and improved storage. The hope is to create a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for patients, improve workflow for staff and enhance the patient experience overall.
Cumming said the project makes sense because cancer affects so many people.
“We really felt this project would resonate not only with our members, but the community as a whole,” she said. “There’s probably nobody in this room who hasn’t been touched by cancer either personally or through a family member.”
The estimated budget for the renovation is around $120,000, and some donations to the project have already been made in the form of memorial donations.
The auxiliary will kick off that campaign with its Strawberry Social this Thursday, June 11, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Fort Frances Senior Centre. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy some strawberry shortcake and ice cream.
As the Lights, Camera, Diagnosis! campaign gets closer to its final goal, Riverside has planned a golf tournament to be held on July 11 at Kitchen Creek Golf Course. Registration information is available on the Facebook event page “Links for Local Care Golf Tournament.” The monthly 50-50 draws will also continue.
The goal is that the campaign will wrap up early this fall, with construction to begin once a tender is awarded. The MRI machine has been ordered, and the plan is to open it to patients early in 2027.
