THUNDER BAY – Giving Tuesday proved fruitful to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
The charity arm of the regional hospital set an initial goal of $13,000 to help pay for two Bili blankets for their neonatal intensive care and maternal newborn unit.
They quickly blew past their target, thanks to matching donations from several businesses and donors, and moved on to the next item on their annual Christmas wish list, a fetal telemetry unit for the labour and delivery department.
When all was said and done, the foundation had collected $30,456, giving the hospital a $17,000 head start on item No. 2 on their $83,881 wish list.
Jody Nesti, chair of the foundation’s board of directors, said she was stunned at how well Giving Tuesday turned out.
“I was so excited about it, but I’ve always known that Thunder Bay is a really giving community. When you give them things to target and touch, it’s easy for them to get on board and help us achieve our goals,” Nesti said.
That some of the top items on the list involved the maternity department probably helped the cause, she added.
“It’s babies. I think they’re so innocent and need protecting and all of us have those maternal instincts and paternal instincts that we can’t be there to nurture them, but we can be there in other ways,” Nesti said.
“I think it’s an easy thing to attach yourself too and feel proud of when you give something.”
Other items on the list include a rapid infuser blood and fluid warmer for the emergency department and a defibrillator for the cardiac catheterization lab.
Lisa Beck, the program director for the emergency department, said it was fantastic to see just how generous the public can be.
“It shows the community support, recognizing that Thunder Bay Regional is not only a community resource, but also to the region as well. We are the acute-care hospital for the Thunder Bay area and for the region as well,” Beck said.
Donations to the Christmas Wish List program can be made by visiting www.helathsciencesfoundation.ca/wishlist, phoning 345-4673 or in person at the hospital next to the donation centre next to the Christmas tree.
