This is the time of year where images of runners, joggers and walkers participating in the Nature's Emporium Run for Southlake grace these pages, along with good news of thousands upon thousands of dollars raised to purchase vital equipment for our local hospital.
While we don't yet know when the 2020 event, originally slated for April 26, will be rescheduled, participants are in the spotlight online.
Last week, marking the Run's original date, the Southlake Foundation launched the #SL5KTogetherApart challenge, a creative way to bring participants together virtually to celebrate their support and fundraising efforts for the cause.
Participants already registered for the run were encouraged to engage in an activity of their choice – whether an at-home workout or a 5K jog around the neighbourhood – and share their efforts online with the hashtag.
As images and videos rolled in, the Southlake Foundation cheered them on and each participant was entered into a draw to win one of five $50 gift cards for title sponsor Nature's Emporium.
“We didn't want to let the day pass without acknowledging the incredible support of our participants so far this year,” said Susan Mullin, President & CEO of the Southlake Foundation on the launch. “Our communities have always been by our side, but particularly during this pandemic. We want them to know that it is not only deeply appreciated, but that we're all in this together.”
Following the launch of the #SL5KTogetherApart campaign, Ms. Mullin shares that in the days since the launch of Southlake's COVID-19 Action fund, the community has raised close to $2 million in monetary and in-kind donations. More than 1,100 individual donors have stepped up to the plate with nearly 450 individuals donating to Southlake for the very first time.
“When we talk about fundraising, it is about building relationships with people and I think the COVID crisis has really made clear to people the importance of hospitals and making sure your local hospital has what it needs – not just in the good times, but in the challenging times we're in now,” Ms. Mullin tells us. “Knowing there are 435 people who, perhaps, hadn't thought of giving to us before is a pretty special message and I am pretty excited about that.”
In addition to monetary donations, valued and appreciated donations include the donations of masks and meals for frontline staff, and even lotion to help soothe the hands of doctors and nurses who are now washing and sanitizing their hands hundreds of times per day.
The need is still there for all of these items, but the Southlake Foundation, in particular, is looking for people to donate Level 3 and Level 4 gowns to keep the Southlake community safe during this time of crisis.
“For us, having flexible dollars for the COVID-19 Action Fund is helpful because we are doing things as they come up and it is everything from supporting tea and coffee for our staff during this time as a way to give back to purchasing ventilators,” says Ms. Mullin. “Knowing we have flexible dollars is always the top priority but if people are thinking about some of the personal protective equipment, there has been lots and lots of talk about the need for masks. We're in pretty good shape these days on masks, but we are really looking for gowns, specific reusable gowns, that we can deploy. That is actually where we are running low at our hospital right now; the hospital is doing everything it can to get some from the government, but, until they are in our hands, we don't have them.”
At press time, more than 600 people had registered for the Southlake Run. Until it is re-scheduled, Ms. Mullin reminds registrants they can continue to reach out to their friends and family to support their fundraising efforts.
“Our focus right now has been on raising dollars for the COVID response at the hospital,” she says. “The reality is when we will come out of COVID and our needs will continue in the other areas of the hospital that do continue to need our support, whether that is our operating rooms…we have folks whose surgeries have been deferred. We want to make sure the equipment in the operating rooms is as current as possible so there is no downtime when we do get back up and running and we have old equipment that needs to be replaced. The Run, for us is, really an important message about the other things that are ongoing needs at the hospital.”
For more information about the Run, visit runforsouthlake.ca. For an up to date list of material needs faced by Southlake and ways you can help, visit southlake.ca/foundation.
By Brock Weir
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