The Ashcroft and District Health Care Auxiliary (ADHCA) played a large part in helping the Royal Inland Hospital meet its goal of raising $100,000 in its second annual “Radiothon” on March 3. The executive of the ADHCA travelled to Kamloops to present the Foundation with a cheque for $20,000, a decision the group made during a budget meeting last year.
“We didn’t donate last year, but have donated to RIH previously,” says ADHCA President Irene Trueman. “They’re our hospital now; a lot of people from this area end up there.”
The money was raised through the Auxiliary’s Thrift Store at the Ashcroft Village Office building. It’s open Wednesday and Friday from noon to 4:00pm, and Trueman says the Auxiliary appreciates the support it receives, through donations and purchases, as well as the volunteers who work there. “It’s our main fundraiser.”
She notes that the ADHCA has given the Ashcroft and District Hospital around $20,000 in the last year, and has supported many other local, regional, and provincial organizations that residents of the area use. These include a $1,500 donation to Ponderosa Lodge in Kamloops, where many local people use the Pathways to Home program in transitioning from hospital back to their home. Other donations have gone to the Kamloops Hospice Society, the Assisted Living facility (Thompson View Manor) in Ashcroft, the Ashcroft/Cache Creek Better At Home program, the Terry Fox Foundation, Children’s Hospital, and the Variety Club.
Trueman says she’s proud that the ADHCA was able to donate so much to the RIH Foundation this year. “We feel we should support it, because just about everyone uses Royal Inland Hospital.”
This year’s Radiothon raised $200,000 in donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses throughout the region. The Robert L. Conconi Foundation had pledged to match any donations up to $100,000, which means some $300,000 will go to help the RIH Foundation purchase equipment and fund programs at the hospital.