Wellington Rotary surpasses its $400,000 goal to support County’s new hospital

Pictured at the cheque presentation during the Past Presidents’ Dinner, from left: David Smith, president of the Wellington Rotary Club Foundation; Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation; Nancy Parks, Back the Build campaign co-chairperson and Trudy Brown, immediate past president of the Wellington Rotary Club. Dave Robinet photo

The Rotary Club of Wellington has surpassed its fundraising goal to support the building of Prince Edward County’s new hospital.

In the spring of 2017, the members voted to focus fundraising efforts toward the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s (PECMHF) Back the Build campaign.

At their recent Past Presidents’ Dinner, the club announced it had exceeded goal by raising $409,500.

David Smith, president, and outgoing club president Trudy Brown, presented Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMHF and Nancy Parks, co-chairperson of the Back the Build campaign, with the final $309,500 – as the club presented its first $100,000 installment in 2020.

The waiting area in the emergency department of the new hospital is to be named in recognition of the club’s support.

“We are grateful to have had so many community members contribute to helping make the club’s “Back the Build” aspirations a reality,” said Smith.

“This pledge helped us to raise the $20.7 million that was announced recently. We’re grateful to the Rotary Club of Wellington for their contributions and community leadership,” said Coull. “Their dedication to philanthropy and commitment to inspire others is a true reflection of their strong values of giving back as a Club and bringing our community together to provide the best possible care, close to home.”

The Rotary Club of Wellington generates funds through donations, club activities and high-profile community events. The club celebrates its 20th anniversary in November.

“I am so proud of our members who have worked so hard to achieve this success,” said Brown. “Our club has generated these funds via solicited donations, by allocating proceeds from the bottle return depot, and by conducting various fundraising activities. Over the years, these have included dinner/dance events, special Rotary label wine and maple syrup sales, and an online auction. We want to thank the PEC community who have supported all these club activities and to commend the club members for this amazing achievement.”

“We believe it is important our community continues to have access to the best possible health care. A new hospital will not only replace an aging building, it will ensure patients of the hospital continue to have access to quality health care, close to home,” added Smith.

Parks noted philanthropic clubs such as Rotary play a significant role as they help to shape how health care will be delivered in the community for years to come.

Now, the club member’s efforts have turned to supporting priority equipment needed at the hospital. The return of their annual fundraising dinner on Oct. 15 is to support the purchase of the automated endoscope reprocessor that cleans and disinfects scopes as well as an echocardiogram machine needed for heart monitoring in the emergency department. The theme of the dinner is “Happy Days Are Here Again” and more information can be found by visiting www.wellingtonrotary.ca.