2024-04-03
Charity fundraiser eyes $1 million milestone in 2025
LUNENBURG - On the heels of successfully drumming up $50,000 toward the future acquisition of gear for Lunenburg's hospital, organizers of the popular fundraising bonspiel have their sights set on reaching a cumulative monetary milestone.
Over nearly 25 years, the annual curl for a cause curling tournament collected over $880,000 in support of Fishermen's Memorial Hospital. The next goal is to hit the $1 million mark, Anne Cosgrove, the bonspiel's chairperson, told LighthouseNOW, and what better time to meet that mark than in 2025, the fundraiser's 25th birthday.
Some individuals and a service organization already pledged donations earmarked for the tournament in 2025. Dates are already set for next year: Feb. 28 to March 2.
The $50,000 raised in the Health Services Foundation of South Shore's curl for a cause represents "about $3,000 to $4,000 more" than some previous events. "We went further afield, a bigger appeal went out, shall we say," Cosgrove said in a phone interview. "People were very generous and so were the businesses."
Twenty-four teams participated in the 2024 bonspiel
Over the years, curl for a cause helped make nearly 100 pieces of equipment available to Lunenburg's hospital, which is more than 70 years old.
The current fundraising aims to cover the $265,000 cost of 23 new ceiling lifts, assistive devices designed to help move patients who're unable to mobilize safely. The equipment can also reduce the risk of staff injuries. There are several portable lifts at Fishermen's Memorial Hospital but eat up room and aren't as cozy as the ceiling devices.
Ceiling lifts "don't require floor space, which is a never-ending competing demand for general equipment needed to take care of patients," Andrew Munroe, the site lead and health services manager at Fishermen's Memorial Hospital, said in a phone interview.
"They are very easy to use and staff are more apt to use them and not go looking for the portable lifts."
The new devices will go into acute medical units, the veterans' area and other long-term care spaces.
Some other rooms were previously outfitted with ceiling lifts "so we're not completely without (them) in this building."
The ceiling lifts can help a patient in-and-out of bed and can even lower to floor to support a person who may have fallen.
"It's more comfortable for the patient; they feel more secure, it's a smoother transport," Munroe added, hoping the hospital can take possession of them in another year. At the time of the interview, the units hadn't been ordered yet and no timeline for installation was available.
"Staff and patients will benefit greatly with these," noted Cosgrove, who appreciated the backing of the community with financial commitments.
'We're blessed," she said. "We're very lucky to live in the community we do and have the support."
