Party with a purpose

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Raising a couple of dozen grand in one night is no problem, says local business owner Scott Geddes; not when it’s a good time for a good cause.

His restaurant, the Cocoa Pesto Bistro in Windsor, will host a Gala Masquerade evening and auction Oct. 11 in support of the Hants Community Hospital Auxiliary.

The auxiliary’s goal is to purchase four bedside cardiac monitors for the hospital at a cost of $40,000. They hope to raise money for the units through the gala ticket sales and auction.

The event comes close on the heels of the Woodshire Inn and Bistro’s one-year anniversary and Geddes said he can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

“If we’re going to have a party, why not have something good come of it since so many people would be here to celebrate anyway? What better way to say thanks to the community for all the support they’ve given us over the past year.”

Geddes has worked closely with the auxilary for the past three weeks and said they’re already well on their way to raising the needed funds. “We’re at about $10,000 now,” he said. Many businesses approached for auction items opted to give cash donations instead. Nevertheless, many unique objets d’art and other great auction merchandise have been collected to date.

Sue McNabb, auxiliary president, said that based on past fundraisers she has no doubt this one will be a huge success. “This town has always shown so much support for the hospital. It’s just tremendous.”

The auxiliary’s last major fundraiser in 2005 brought in enough funds to purchase two cardiac crash cart defibrillators for the acute care and emergency units.

“We’re not talking piddling little things here,” McNabb said. New equipment for the hospital isn’t always covered in the budget set out by Capital Health, she said. Through yearly events such as the Hospital Bazaar, teas and raffles, auxiliary volunteers are taxed to the limit.

“You just can’t believe how hard these ladies work,” Geddes said. “They’re working full-time for charity.”

Geddes and McNabb say it’s a necessary task if the community wants a well-equipped hospital. They say the only way to entice young doctors to come and stay in the community is by providing a top-notch hospital service. Geddes says a good local health care system also helps to draw businesses to the area.

“The hospital is a vital part of the community,” he said. “At some point, everyone in going to use the facility,” he said.

McNabb agrees. “Those monitors are crucial and it would be very unfortunate not to upgrade them. If we don’t have cardiac monitors, people will have to go to the Valley for treatment.” She said the current monitors are so old they’ve become redundant.

Tickets for the event are on sale now through Scotiabank in Windsor. The bank has added its own incentive by offering to match $25 for each ticket sold at their location, to a maximum of $5,000. Geddes hopes people will head there for ticket purchases and has even offered to take the trip himself should someone not be able to get to the branch.

“If need be, I’ll pick up the ticket on their behalf. As long as they’re paying for it and we get that extra match from the bank.”

The idea for a masquerade gala came quickly to Geddes and McNabb. “This has been wonderful; we’ve just been bursting with ideas,” she said.

“Some fundraisers take months and months to organize, but we want to keep it simple and not complicate things,” Geddes said. “It’s about having fun and doing something good for the community.”

Besides, he has enjoyed the planning so much it could very well become another successful annual event in the town of Windsor.