Peace Arch gala raises $165,000 for ER
South Surrey and White Rock movers and shakers were out in force – and Centennial Arena was transformed into an elegant ballroom – for the 23rd annual Partners in Caring Gala, May 12.
The event succeeded in raising more than $165,000 (net) to help fund Peace Arch Hospital’s ER.
Last year the ER accommodated 40,000 visits in a space designed for 20,000. Annual visits are projected to rise to 60,000 by 2030.
It’s the fifth specific target for funding that has been helped by the gala, following new acute-care space, an MRI, a new maternity ward and White Rock’s Centre For Active Living.
The primary fund-raising event organized by Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation, the gala has raised more than $2.4 million since it was established in 1990.
More than 500 business, healthcare and philanthropy leaders dined and danced at this year’s event, which received sponsorship and auction support from numerous individuals and businesses – including title sponsor National Bank Financial.
Meterologist Mark Madryga was MC, with musical entertainment provided by Tom Arntzen and his Band and catering by Vancouver’s Four Seasons Hotel.
Auction items, valued at over $120,000, including a ‘best table in the house’ – featuring lavish decor, butler service and gift bags worth $1,000 each – which was auctioned for $6,000, and ‘A Day in the Life of the ER’ experience, which also went for $6,000.
The evening featured personal stories of experiences with PAH’s emergency department that event guests and residents shared; among them final speaker Norm Rutherford, a local financial manager, who recounted the five times he has been defibrilated in the last decade at the hospital which he termed a “community lifeline.”
“We were excited to share this event with the individuals and businesses of the community who have made it all possible,” said Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation executive director Jackie Smith, who, in addition to National Bank Financial, thanked platinum sponsors CIBC Wood Gundy and Westland Insurance.
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