David and Sandra Butler

David Butler has been raising money for charities since he was a teenager.

You could say that giving is in his blood. David Butler has been raising money for charities since he was a teenager in Newfoundland. That was back in the ’50s.

Today, David is still raising money for worthy causes. Over the years, his skills have helped everything from the Ottawa Little Theatre to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Canadian Cancer Society, and Heart and Lung Foundation. But his longest standing charity of choice is Guelph General Hospital.

David and his wife Sandra decided to move to Guelph just over twenty years ago, coming to know the City through family and business connections. A meeting with Suzanne Bone and Diane Squires at the Bookshelf Café in 2001 began a deep commitment to the Hospital. In the beginning, David served on the Board of Directors for two terms (2001-2006); now he is a proud member of the Black Tie Bingo Gala Committee, with a record 17 years of involvement!

David remembers, “In the initial years, the event was held in the lobby of the River Run Centre. The lobby wasn’t designed for gala dinners and the board began to look for a more suitable location. I approached the residents and manager of Reid Hall in the Village by the Arboretum.” As a result, Black Tie Bingo has been staged there fifteen times.

David and Sandra offer high praise for the staff at GGH, having first-hand experience of the hospital —Sandra underwent open heart surgery in 2011. They know the value of personal donations to the safeguarding the facility’s reputation of excellent patient care. The Butlers began a monthly contribution to the Foundation back in 2001 and that continues. In addition, the couple responds to the Hospital’s request to support specific projects, and they make memoriam donations in honour of friends who have passed away.

The GGH Foundation is grateful and indebted to David and Sandra Butler for their enduring friendship and staunch support.