In only their second year of fundraising, a group of local mothers known as the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation Mombassadors have raised $115,504 to purchase lifesaving equipment for PRHC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The group’s original goal was to raise $70,000 in 2019, but after receiving a matching donation of $32,000 from the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament in the spring, the group adjusted their original target.
“The PRHC Foundation Mombassadors took on a huge goal in only our second year of $102,000,” says Mombassadors chair Marcy D’Alessandro.
“We were motivated by the continuous stories that parents would tell us of their babies using the very equipment we were trying to replace. We constantly heard about the wonderful staff of the NICU. We know without their unwavering drive for excellence in care, the community would not be so receptive in helping us achieve our ambitious goal.”
In addition to the donation from the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament, support for the Mombassadors’ 2019 campaign came from a large number of local businesses, families and individuals. Several events were held throughout the year, including the group’s annual Girls Night Out event before Mother’s Day.
This year the addition of title sponsor Marketing Ink helped the Mombassadors take this year’s event to the next level through their support.
“The support of these incredible community partners allowed us to dream bigger, to surpass $100,000 this year and together make a greater impact,” says Sarah McDougall Perrin, who founded the Mombassadors group along with her sister Erin Marshall.
Over 1,600 babies are born at PRHC each year. The Mombassadors’ 2019 fundraising target was designed to fund a new ventilator and a radiant heater/warmer for those babies who need extra support after birth. Through the group’s successful fundraising efforts, they will be able to fund both pieces of equipment for the hospital.
“About 23 per cent, or an average of 368 newborns a year, will need critical care in the NICU in their first moments of life,” says PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway, thanking the Mombassdaors group for their passion and dedication.
“The PRHC Foundation is committed to funding the lifesaving equipment and technology that keeps both mother and baby safe and healthy,” Heighway adds. “This includes investments in heater/warmers that mimic the conditions of the womb, as well as a dedicated ventilator to help babies breathe until they can do it on their own.”
In 2018, the Mombassadors reached their first fundraising target of $35,000 in five short weeks and, as a result, funded a new electronic fetal heart monitor for PRHC.
