Peterborough’s Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital has successfully reached its goal of raising $2,250 in just over a week to purchase medical supplies to help treat injured survivors of the February 6th magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria.
On Friday (February 17), veterinarian Dr. Kristy Hiltz presented the donation to Mark Cameron, president and cofounder of the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO), who visited the veterinary clinic accompanied by CIMRO’s disaster response service dog Zaria.
A resident of Hastings in Northumberland County, Cameron had launched an urgent appeal on behalf of CIMRO last week, seeking donations to help the internationally recognized organization purchase needed drugs and medical supplies to treat as many injured people as possible with life-saving surgeries.
Cameron is a friend of Dr. Hiltz and her husband David McNab, a retired OPP officer. Upon learning of CIMRO’s appeal, she launched the “Suitcase Full of Suture” fundraiser and asked people to donate enough money to purchase 15 boxes of suture material that CIMRO can use repair wounds of those injured during the earthquake.
Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital matched donations to the fundraiser up to $500. According to Dr. Hiltz, Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto also donated medical supplies for CIMRO.
Cameron will soon be flying to Turkey to deliver drugs and medical supplies to CIMRO’s team on the ground in the region, which includes local physicians.
