Pembroke Hospital’s first post-COVID event raises $215K

It's known as the Black and White Gala, but organizers of the 15^th edition of the Pembroke Regional Hospital’s (PRH) signature event were thinking green after it was announced the fundraiser brought in a record amount totalling $215,750.

Staff and volunteers at PRH worked with members of Pembroke & District Hospital’s Foundation (PRHF) to not only raise money in support of the Cancer Care Campaign, but they did so coming out of two years of limited ability to host any major event because of COVID restrictions.

Like thousands of other fundraising events that were forced during the COVID pandemic from 2020 to mid-2020, PRH reduced public gatherings like the gala as a way to contribute in the battle against a virus that claimed the lives of thousands of Canadians.

The event, which was shelved for two years due to the restrictions limiting the number of people allowed to gather in various area, certainly returned with a large impact on both the hospital and the community.

The return of the event, held on October 15 at the Normandy Officers’ Mess at Garrison Petawawa, is only one of a handful in all of the Ottawa Valley that caters to a sector that enjoys the chance to raise money that is invested not just into the hospital, but it services thousands of residents in several parts of the Valley.

Whether it is transporting patients into the Pembroke location from communities along the Highway 17 corridor such as Cobden, Pembroke and Petawawa or extending that care to the residents in the Beachburg-Westmeath-LaPasse area along the Ottawa River, PRH provides state-of-the-art medical services for thousands of Ottawa Valley residents.

The return to an in-person event followed a two-year pivot to the virtual “Un-Gala@Home,” an effort that allowed the PRHF to remain active while thousands of health care workers provided essential services both outside and inside the walls of the PRH. The efforts of Foundation members set the groundwork and preparations for an eventual return to large events that bring together the many supporters who live and work in all parts of the Ottawa Valley.

Fundraising specialist Leigh Costello said the foundation was excited to host an in-person event once again and achieve such an incredible amount thanks to their event sponsors and attendees.

Executive director Roger Martin expressed his excitement for this year’s 15^th in-person Gala. 

“It was so exciting to see people back together to support the Cancer Care Campaign,” Martin said. “This campaign will see improvements to the chemotherapy and medical daycare units as well as the in-patient pharmacy which prepares the much-needed medication for those receiving treatment here at the PRH.”

By the end of the campaign, Martin said that the chemotherapy area will be equipped to expand the amount of treatment chairs by almost 50 per cent.

“This is great news for our community,” Martin said.  “Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s anniversary event a huge success.”

In addition to the incredible amount of money raised that will go a long way to provide quality care for cancer patients, the gala was also an opportunity for outgoing PRH president and chief executive officer (CEO) Pierre Noel to take part in PRH’s premier event before his official retirement at the end of the month.

Noel said the hospital owes a debt of gratitude to the PRH Foundation and its supporters not only for the gala’s outstanding achievements, but for the community fundraising that has taken place over the past 20 years.

“Community fundraising is an integral part of our operations,” he said. “Without it, we would have no financial means to purchase state-of-the-art equipment and make the necessary upgrades to our infrastructure. Over the past two decades alone, the PRH Foundation has raised over $20 million for local health care and our patients have been the beneficiaries.”