A generous response to the Foundation’s Spring Campaign raises essential funds

At Guelph General Hospital, community support is essential to supporting the exceptional work of its caregivers

At the end of June, the Foundation launched its annual Spring Fundraising campaign with an appeal letter from Marianne Walker, Guelph General’s President and CEO. The letter explained how important donors are to supporting our Hospital’s caregivers – donors support the GGH team’s “superhero” work of providing the highest quality care and experience to all patients and their families. Marianne asked for the continued support of our donors.

Hundreds of our caring donors responded, totaling over $52,000 in generous donations.

“We are especially grateful for every gift received in response to this year’s campaign. The pandemic has created financial difficulties for many members of our community and we want all current and past donors to know just how much we appreciate their support,” said Suzanne Bone, CEO, The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital.

Marianne’s letter was also sent to numerous households throughout Guelph and Puslinch in effort to reach community members who may not have given to the Hospital in the past. This mailing resulted in 223 community members stepping up to support the Hospital for the first time.

“Finding members of our community who are interested in starting to support the Hospital is more important than ever,” said Suzanne. “Guelph is the fastest-growing city in Ontario. Our Emergency Department alone sees nearly 20,000 more patients each year than it was designed for. Across the hospital, we’re struggling to meet demands that will continue growing far into the future.”

And, we’re excited to announce that thanks to a generous donor who matched all donations made to the campaign before July 31, an additional $91,384 was raised!

The Spring Campaign funds will go to the Hospital’s most urgent patient care equipment needs and right now the most urgent need is replacing our suite of scopes, at a cost of more than $1 million. This includes gastroscopes (small intestine), colonoscopes (colon or large intestine) and bronchoscopes (lungs), as well as specialized scopes for the diagnose of diseases of the gallbladder, biliary system, pancreas, and liver.

Next month we promise to report back on the purchase of these scopes, sharing details about the technological advancements compared to the ones they are replacing, and how those advancements will result in better patient care.