The Belleville General Hospital Foundation’s flagship fundraising event is making an in-person return for the first time since 2019.
After being limited to an online event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was announced Tuesday that the gala will return this year for 250 fully vaccinated guests at the Quinte Mall.
The event, themed as “Winter Wonderland” will be held Saturday, December 11 in the 32,000 square foot space that was formerly Sears.
Normally the event is planned over the course of six months ahead of the big night. This year, the turnaround time is just six weeks.
BGHF Executive Director Steve Cook talked about what guests can expect from the evening.
“Guests in attendance can look forward to a fantastic Winter Wonderland experience this year as we transform a 32,000 square foot space that was previously the Sears shop within the Quinte Mall. Our silent and live auctions promise some fantastic experiences and thank you again to those businesses who, again, have been hard hit during the pandemic putting their best foot forward and lending their support to get this event off the ground. We have over 100 items already up for grabs on the night which guests will be able to peruse between a sumptuous three course meal and live entertainment as well.”
There will be precautions in place due to the ongoing fourth wave of COVID-19. Every guest must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with the second shot happening no later than 14 days before the event.
The event is being supported in tandem by McDougall Insurance and Knudson Construction Ltd. and a portion of the evening will be dedicated to the late Maurice Rollins who was a staunch supporter of the foundation.
Rollins’ daughter Christine Mills was in attendance at the announcement on behalf of the Rollins family. She spoke about Rollins’ experience at BGH.
“Over the last few years, as we know, Dad’s been in and out of the hospital, used the facilities, was very thankful that there were facilities here locally. And professionals, Dr. Hollett, Dr. Davies were wonderful and all the rest of the team were just fabulous. He could never say enough about his visits to the hospital and actually he didn’t even complain about the food. We feel a real sense of pride that Dad can be recognized at this year’s event knowing that it will support the nuclear medicine project and further inspire others to contribute as well.”
Two years ago the BGHF began raising money to purchase new nuclear medicine cameras and thus far they are approximately $700,000 short of the goal of $2.7 million, according to Cook.
Cook was coy when asked about a specific fundraising goal for this year’s event, saying that the main idea is to give back to the people who give to the foundation.
“I don’t know if I’d like to put that out at the moment to be honest. Traditionally we know that in years gone by the gala has raised around $340,000. Obviously in 2019 it raised just shy of $600,000 so, maybe that was a banner year. If we could see somewhere in between that I think we’d all be happy, but the main thing is that we are able to host our donors. It’s not always all about acquiring the money. It’s also, from a foundation perspective, about looking after the people that care for us and kind of giving something back in a time when, I think, people need it.”
Tickets for the event go on sale for $200 each Wednesday night at 4 p.m. via the Belleville General Hospital Website and Cook said they are expecting them to sell out quickly.
(Photo: Ryan Peddigrew/Quinte News)
