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November is Be An Angel Month

Since 1994, the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation has been dedicated to raising funds to enhance patient care at Fort St. John Hospital, raising over $194 million in the past 29 years. When the Peace Villa Residential Care Facility opened in 2012, the Foundation added Peace Villa to its fundraising efforts.

This year, the Foundation’s Be An Angel Campaign, which runs from October 1 to November 30, will focus on raising funds for an additional ultrasound machine. Already on order from earlier fundraising efforts are  a hematology analyzer, MRI coils, and Butterfly tables and swivel chairs for use in Peace Villa. The Foundation aims to raise $350,000 to cover the cost of much-needed equipment, through the Be An Angel Campaign.

The campaign kicked off with the Be An Angel Mailout to existing donors on October 1^st. The next scheduled event is the Be An Angel Gala on November 4 – there may still be a few tickets available – the Gala this year has a Roaring 1920s theme, with dinner and auction at 6 p.m., followed by an evening of dancing.

From November 12, the Be An Angel Tree will be in the Totem Mall, decorated with personalized decorations and “in memory of” cards, which can be purchased by donation.

Already this year, a generous private donation has allowed the Foundation to purchase the MRI coils, which are used to perform MRIs on wrists and hands, which are more difficult to do with a regular MRI machine, explained Kelly Amboe, FSJ Hospital Foundation executive director.

The purchase of the additional ultrasound machine, aims to reduce the excessive wait time for an ultrasound. Currently, patients in Fort St. John are waiting for up to a year to get an ultrasound, a situation which is not conducive to timely diagnosis or treatment. Amboe says the Light A Moose Radiothon – running from Nov 15 to 17 – will focus on raising $175,000 to purchase the ultrasound machine.

The Foundation recently raised funds to purchase Butterfly tables and swivel chairs for Peace Villa, items which will make dining easier for residents and staff alike due to their ability to raised and lowered to fit.

In addition to the Be An Angel campaign, the Foundation is busy raising funds throughout the year. These fundraisers include the Tim Horton’s Smile Cookie fundraiser which yielded $10,000 for the Foundation this year; the Arnie Isberg Memorial One-pitch tournament, which raised $14,556 for Cancer Diagnostic and Treatment Fund; the Have a Heart Radiothon which raised $58,831 for Peace Villa; and Bluey Day which also raised $67,803 for the Cancer Diagnostic and Treatment Fund.

Both Fort St. John City Council and the District of Taylor Council have proclaimed November 2023 to be Be An Angel Month, in recognition of the hard work and generosity of volunteers and the community for this very worthy cause.