(Victoria Hospital Foundation)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Generous Donations

15th Give a Little Life Day raises over $590,000 for new NICU

Dec 4, 2020 | 6:37 PM

It had a different, virtual, and socially distanced feel to it, but the 15^th Annual Give A Little Life Day Radiothon still raised one of its best totals ever.

A grand total of $592,563 was raised to furnish and equip the new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for babies born early or are born with health problems.

“There’s no way we could do any of this without the support of our community, so thank you,” said Sherry Buckler, CEO of the Victoria Hospital Foundation (VHF).

All the donations will go directly to the new NICU, which provides much-needed upgrades with the biggest one being a lot more space.

“We’re going from 370-something squared feet, people’s kitchen or bedrooms are bigger than that in some homes, to close to 11,000 square feet,” VHF chair Lyle Karasiuk, from Parkland Ambulance. “This is modular space, so when we start to think about the new hospital coming along, this is going to be space that’s going to be used.”

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Although this year’s Give a Little Life Day was held during a pandemic, the Car Guys from Mann Northway still stepped up to allow for a safe area for donations to be accepted. They set up a contactless, physically distanced drive-thru bay to collect in-person donations.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. There’s going to be some excited people in the community. We’re just doing the right thing,” Mann Northway owner Mark Ripley said. “We couldn’t be more proud to host it, and hopefully, we can do it again.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW