Radiothon nets $900,000 for new Surrey ER
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Updated: November 03, 2009 12:37 PM
Sixteen hours. Nearly a million dollars.
During its third-annual radiothon on Monday, Surrey radio station Red 93.1 FM received pledges totally $900,000 in support of Surrey Memorial Hospital's new emergency centre.
“For three years in a row, the South Asian community has shown its generosity through this fundraiser for Surrey Memorial Hospital,” said Red FM owner Kulwinder Sanghera, who is also a board member at Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation. “It is a very moving experience to witness the number of people who have come together to give.”
This week's pledges add to the more than one million dollars contributed last year and $700,000 the year before, allowing the community to surpass a $2 million goal set in 2007.
The radiothon took place Monday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pledges ranged from small amounts to a $50,000 donation from local food company Fruiticana, whose owner Tony Singh made a successful plea to listeners to match his contribution in a half-hour period.
All contributions were valued by the hospital foundation.
“What a powerful show of generosity,” said hospital foundation president/CEO Jane Adams. “We saw children donating piggy banks, businesses joining forces to give, and families contributing what they can.”
Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Emergency Centre is raising $15 million to help replace the hospital’s current ER, which is the busiest in B.C. at 77,000 visits a year.
The new emergency centre will be triple the size and will include a separate children's emergency room as well as a separate mental health and addictions area, an enhanced minor treatment unit and an improved area for acute patients. Construction is expected to begin next year.
In 2007 it was announced the main entry to the new Emergency Centre will be named the Guru Nanak Emergency Services Front Entrance, in recognition of the South Asian community’s contributions to the foundation throughout the years.
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