{"id":32551,"date":"2023-02-02T18:50:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T23:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=32551"},"modified":"2023-02-09T17:34:39","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T22:34:39","slug":"run-for-southlake-aims-to-get-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels-of-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/run-for-southlake-aims-to-get-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels-of-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Run for Southlake aims to get back to pre-pandemic levels of fun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The countdown is on for the 2023 Nature\u2019s Emporium Run for Southlake and, in this second in-person event since COVID-19, organizers are hoping to see a return to pre-pandemic levels of participants and fun \u2013 and, of course, funds raised for the local hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizers formally launched the countdown to the Sunday, April 30, event last week at the title sponsor\u2019s flagship Newmarket store and lending their enthusiasm to the cause were some of the frontline workers who know the realities of what it takes to keep a hospital like Southlake going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo say the Nature\u2019s Emporium Run for Southlake is meaningful to our clinicians at the hospital would be an enormous understatement,\u201d said Barb Steed, Executive Vice President of Clinical Services for the Hospital. \u201cThe event brings with it a groundswell of community support we feel in every corner of Southlake. Not only do we get the pleasure of actually seeing the event as some of us lug up that hill\u2026we see day-to-day difference [when] the community shows up to fundraise for our hospital. Because of the fundraising events, you \u2013 the participants, the donors who sponsor them \u2013 we can purchase very critical equipment, create and renovate healing spaces, and meet the urgent needs the government doesn\u2019t fund.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you plan to participate in the run itself or sponsor a runner, every step and dollar helps Southlake reach their goals; money raised by the Southlake Foundation through the event will go to the hospital to tackle myriad needs, from day-to-day equipment to their ongoing capital campaigns raising funds for mental and maternal health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery April this event inspires grateful patients, families, community members and partners from across York Region and Simcoe County to come together for Southlake\u2019s largest fundraising event across all of our communities in our catchment,\u201d said Jennifer Ritter, President & CEO of the Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation. \u201cLast year was the first in two years we came together in person and it was my first in-person run. It was incredible to see literally hundreds of participants on Davis Drive. As we gear up for 2023, what\u2019s really exciting is to think about getting back to numbers in the thousands. If last year was any indication, I think that is achievable as people start getting out and about again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFundraising is integral. The province doesn\u2019t cover all costs of equipment, all capital needs, all infrastructure. It\u2019s a partnership among hospital, province or governments, and among our communities, and having all of our communities come out, celebrate Southlake and celebrate those who have taken such great care of us in the last two or three years of these crazy times. It\u2019s a great show of support and an opportunity to say thank you and to put the right tools in the right hands so that they can create healthy and thriving communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to COVID, the Nature\u2019s Emporium Southlake Run\u2019s highest participation level was in the neighbourhood of 1,500 individuals, with subsequent virtual and hybrid events over the pandemic bringing out 850 and raising just under $40,000 in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be fabulous to see the numbers go back up to over 1,000 [participants] and we would love to raise $500,000,\u201d said Ritter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another goal, according to Joe D\u2019Addario of Nature\u2019s Emporium, is to help the Southlake Run\u2019s cumulative fundraising total surpass the $3,000,000 mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we started this partnership, we were thinking what would be better than to partner up with Southlake because we share a common bond in health and wellness and that is the most important part in life, to have good health,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the community and new people who are coming to the Newmarket and Aurora community it is important for them to see the type of culture we have here. We have a bond and we share that bond through health and wellness. It is the best community\u2026for me it is the best community in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Ms. Ritter: \u201cNature\u2019s Emporium has been an extraordinary community partner to Southlake and many other organizations in our community, demonstrating their commitment to community-based care. Last year we celebrated a decade of the Nature\u2019s Emporium Run for Southlake and this will be our 11th<\/sup> year. It\u2019s a tangible expression of your passion for all things community and keeping our communities healthy and thriving and we\u2019re all truly grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To register to participate in the 2023 Nature\u2019s Emporium Run for Southlake, or to support an individual or team, visit runforsouthlake.ca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The countdown is on for the 2023 Nature\u2019s Emporium Run for Southlake and, in this second in-person event since COVID-19, organizers are hoping to see a return to pre-pandemic levels of participants and fun \u2013 and, of course, funds raised for the local hospital. Organizers formally launched the countdown to the Sunday, April 30, event […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2023-02-02-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8t1","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 10:35:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}