Members of the KGH Auxiliary with high-school volunteers who contributed to the campaign
Members of the KGH Auxiliary with high-school volunteers who contributed to the campaign. (L to R) Jenny Raymond, Marie-Ange Kanellos, Abby Ross and Heather Breck.
Credit
Supplied by KGH Auxiliary

The Kingston General Hospital Auxiliary has wrapped up another successful Teddy Bear Campaign, surpassing their 2015 goal of $20,000. Over the course of the six week campaign the Auxiliary saw more than 200 teddy bears sponsored, each for $100.

The campaign received overwhelming support from the community including donations from local high-school student volunteers who sponsored more than 20 bears and Cruickshank Construction Kingston whose sponsorship of 50 bears helped push the campaign over the top this year. The “photos with Santa” event held at KGH also raised $1,400 towards the campaign.

The bears themselves will be given to pediatric patients as a gift over the holidays throughout the various programs and clinics at KGH and Hotel Dieu Hospital. Any bears left-over will be given to pediatric patients throughout the rest of the year.

The funds raised from the campaign will be used to purchase several CARESCAPE V100 monitors for the Pediatrics Unit. These monitors will help front-line staff perform quick and accurate physical assessments on pediatric patients.

“A major contributing factor to providing Outstanding Care, Always is the ability to provide our clinical staff with the most up-to-date equipment at the bedside,” says Kellie Kitchen, Pediatric Program Operational Director. “We are very grateful to the KGH Auxiliary for their annual commitment to ensure the highest level of care is delivered to our pediatric patients.”

The Teddy Bear campaign is just one of the activities keeping the Auxiliary busy this month. They will also be handing out cards to all patients who are in the hospital on Christmas. The cards have winter image on the front, inspired by the work of a local artist.

If you would like to learn more about KGH’s Auxiliary, the work they do, or if you are interested in becoming a member, please visit the Auxiliary’s section of our website