Donors are the Missing Piece

After a successful wrap-up of the Exceptional Cancer Care Campaign last Spring with over $7.2M raised, it was time for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation to unveil its latest awareness campaign. Held at the Health Sciences Centre this morning, the launch took place amongst loyal donors to the Health Sciences Foundation.

Board Chair Tracey Nieckarz explained, “Several years ago our Board identified the need to better show the significant role donors have in funding vital medical equipment at the Health Sciences Centre.”

“We needed to answer questions such as, ‘Where does my money go when I make a gift?’, ‘Why should I care about making a gift?’ and, importantly, ‘When I give to the Health Sciences Foundation, what impact does my gift have?’,” she continued.

“That’s how ‘The Missing Piece’ was conceived,” said Nieckarz. “We wanted our community to know that they are the Missing Piece when it comes to funding vital medical equipment here at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Without donations, we simply wouldn’t have the critical, life-saving medical equipment we have come to expect at the Health Sciences Centre.”

The campaign’s imagery is powerful and hard-hitting and its messaging is bold. Said Nieckarz, “It’s intended to start a dialogue; one in which people take a moment to think about where we’d be as a hospital without donations.”

Featured images include a hemodialysis machine in the Renal Department, an isolette in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a portable crash cart in the Emergency Department, a C-arm in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and a linear accelerator in the Radiation Department of the Cancer Centre. “All of these pieces of equipment are used to keep patients alive – whether it be a pre-term infant who can’t breathe on their own, or a senior who’s had a heart attack. When it comes to our loved ones, we expect that equipment will be there, and it’s donors who make sure it is,” said Nieckarz.

“Many people assume,” continued Nieckarz, “that the government pays for all the equipment at the Health Sciences Centre. While there is a significant financial contribution by government, it’s donors who ensure we have the latest, most advanced equipment to care for our families and friends.”

Concluded Nieckarz, “This type of awareness campaign doesn’t happen without significant support from businesses and media across our community and it is because of their generous nature that we’re able to bring our message forward. I’d like to thank them for helping us keep more dollars in place to fund vital medical equipment at the Health Sciences Centre.”

To make a donation to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation to fund vital medical equipment, go online to healthsciencesfoundation.ca/missingpiece or call 345-4673.