OLDS — The Olds Healthcare Fundraising Committee’s fifth barn dance, held May 10 at the Olds College Alumni Centre, was a great success, committee chairperson Barry McCurdy says.
McCurdy says the main goal of the event was to kick start and raise the profile of the committee’s 2025 campaign, and he says they did that.
The goal this year is to raise $250,000 for seniors health care, primarily for equipment for the Olds Hospital and Care Centre and for home care.
“Everything we get is through donations. And 100 per cent of the donations go towards providing services, equipment for health care in Olds, Bowden and some of Mountain View County,” he said during an interview with the Albertan.
Shortly before the event began, it was announced that $50,000 had been raised toward that $250,000 fundraising goal. McCurdy said that money came from local donors and other efforts.
“Because AHS (Alberta Health Services) has split everything up in the last few months, so we’re not limited just to the Olds Hospital anymore. We also can go into the community now, not just the hospital,” he said.
“But the majority of our funding goes into the hospital because that’s where the majority of our costs are.
“The committee gets funding requests from the hospital as well as a little bit out into the community.
“We review those funding requests as a committee, look into them a bit closer and make sure they’re the right fit. So we are interacting with the staff in the hospital, the staff outside the hospital that are – work for AHS type thing.
“And then once we approve the funding, then it can be purchased for the usage of the hospital and home care, he added.
McCurdy said about 150 people attended the barn dance, below their target of 175, but still a strong turnout.
Mayor Judy Dahl, Dr. Rebecca Sloan, and Olds and Area Home Care manager Brandy Antle spoke to the crowd before the evening's entertainment was rolled out.
