The Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) Auxiliary has donated $40,000 to the hospital in the lead-up to National Volunteer Week, April 18-24, 2021. This year’s annual donation will be used to support the installation of a Negative Pressure Isolation Room in the Inpatient Medical Unit.
This gift to the hospital represents an amazing accomplishment for the KDH Auxiliary in a year of COVID-19 challenges that saw their Coffee Bar and Gift Shop shuttered, and their major annual fundraiser, Hey Day, cancelled.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Frank J. Vassallo, gratefully acknowledged this donation, which brings the KDH Auxiliary’s total contribution since its founding in 1959 to $1.83 Million.
“I am delighted as always to receive this annual donation from our wonderful volunteer organization; however, I am even more thankful – not to mention impressed – this year, as the KDH Auxiliary has been able to raise this money despite the fact that our entire volunteer program was put on hold in March 2020 for the safety of the volunteers.”
“Thank you from all KDH staff and physicians to each and every one of our volunteers for your unflagging support!” he added.
The donations came from a number of sources, explained KDH Auxiliary President Linda Carnegie. “A big one was the campaign at B&H Your Community Grocer, where customers donated a Toonie at the checkout,” she said. “We certainly did not anticipate getting 3,250 individual donations of $2 each. This shows great support from the community toward our hospital, as well as great spirit from the cashiers who enjoyed competing with each other to see who could get the majority of donations.”
Other sources were ‘In Memoriam’ gifts to the KDH Auxiliary’s Tribute Fund, donations received in exchange for masks made by the sewing group, a sidewalk sale at the hospital, and the sale of Gift Shop merchandise at ‘My Kemptville Market’. As well, many individuals and some businesses provided donations to the Auxiliary, either in lieu of Hey Day or as an annual contribution from some loyal donors. One of these donations was from Grenville Mutual Insurance, who provided a cheque for $1,000 following a suggestion from one of their staff.
“So when it is all added up,” concluded Carnegie, “we were able to provide KDH with all these monies, wishing we could do more.”
The Auxiliary chose to support the to-be-constructed Negative Pressure Isolation Room with this year’s donation, due to the urgency of COVID-19. Such a room is intended for patients with communicable diseases, especially airborne ones, to ensure the safety of other patients, staff and visitors. To recognize its volunteers during National Volunteer Week, KDH will hold a Virtual Volunteer Appreciation event on April 22, 2021 at 2 pm.
The Kemptville District Hospital Auxiliary (KDHA) plays a crucial role at Kemptville District Hospital (KDH), both providing volunteers for every area of the hospital, and raising funds for the direct benefit of KDH patients. Founded in 1959, the KDHA’s mission is to provide volunteer service to hospital patients, promote good public relations, and assist the hospital in providing quality community healthcare. Annually, the 200-plus members of the KDHA – men and women – gave a total of approximately 11,500 volunteer hours to their community hospital.
