By Taylor MacPherson

SaskTel Pioneers deliver pallet of gifts to hospital

Nov 29, 2017 | 7:00 AM

The SaskTel Pioneers delivered a pallet laden with Christmas toys, crafts, books and games to the Victoria Hospital yesterday to help make a stay in hospital easier for local kids.

Mike Vancoughnett, SaskTel regional sales manager, said employees across the province held a friendly competition to raise money for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and Teddy Bears Anonymous.

“We called it the Comfort for Kids Challenge,” Vancoughnett said. “We were encouraged to compete to see who could come up with the highest fundraising numbers, and at the end of the campaign SaskTel employees raised $27,000.”

Employees also logged 2,800 volunteer hours and donated more than 3,500 new toys, he said, but they didn’t stop there. Vancoughnett said the Pioneers wanted to share the donation with children across the entire province, so they included every hospital with a pediatric ward in the donation.

“It’s always nice when you can give back,” he said. “It’s been a really, really positive thing.”

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Jane Antoine, nursing unit manager, said yesterday’s donation will bring happiness to children during hospital stays, which are often emotionally difficult.

“If they’re feeling lonely or scared, sometimes it’s nice to bring a gift in to them. They really enjoy it,” she said. “This will really look after our kids throughout the year.”

The gifts can help parents too, Antoine said, who may not have the means to go out shopping or take their child to see Santa at a mall. The donation will help everyone feel more at home over the holidays, she said, including the nursing staff who can use the gifts to help bring a smile to a sick child’s face.

paNOW is part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, which is owned by children’s hospital benefactor and namesake Jim Pattison.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews