By Susan Mullin
President & CEO
Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation

The weather is warming and all of us here at Southlake Foundation are buzzing with activity and anticipation for the 2019 Nature's Emporium Run for Southlake this Sunday!

I'm looking forward to being there for the second time myself, for a number of reasons. As our largest annual fundraiser, this fantastic event brings out about 2,000 participants, spectators, and sponsors, all to support Southlake Regional Health Centre. It's a really special opportunity to be able to see the sheer volume of support that we are so fortunate to have within our communities, and to feel their energy.

Last year I was particularly touched by the people who had tears in their eyes as they crossed the finish line. It made me realize that this event is so much more than a 5K fitness event. People come because they care. They come because they want to make sure Southlake is there for everyone when they need it. And they come because they feel like they can make a difference.

This year one of our returning participants is Aurora resident, Zach Ferry. In 2018, Zach formed a team in memory of his late mother, who received care in Southlake's Intensive Care Unit last year. As the top community fundraising team last year, he talked about how good it felt to help others have the same positive experience he and his family had. The team's fundraising page this year says it best:

“We want to give back to Southlake to ensure that any family that faces a similar situation will be able to do what my family got to do, which was to be there when she needed us most and to say goodbye.”

I am grateful for these types of stories and, since joining the Southlake family a little over a year and a half ago, these stories have helped me learn a lot about the communities that we are part of. Southlake serves a population of more than 1.5 million people. Amazingly, in many ways we still feel like a community hospital at our core – and that is something that is truly unique.

It's also incredibly inspiring.

The government does not provide funding for most new and replacement tools and equipment, so we rely entirely on the generosity of our communities to fund things the expert clinical teams at Southlake rely on to provide the leading-edge care you expect and deserve.

From the growth of Southlake over the years, it's clear to me that our communities see the value in having the best possible health care in their own backyard. That's why you continue to support our campaigns, helping us to build a state-of-the-art cancer centre, expand and upgrade our digital imaging technology, and so much more.

It's that passion and dedication that is so evident in our supporters that energizes me every day, and why I feel so fortunate to be part of Southlake.