Acute care clients in the Sunrise Health Region received a special gift this Christmas. Sunrise Health Region volunteers and staff, on behalf of Breast Friends, delivered Breast Wishes for Christmas cookbooks to clients in hospitals in Yorkton, Canora, Kamsack, Preeceville, Melville and Esterhazy. Cookbooks are also being gifted to clients receiving treatment in the Yorkton Regional Health Centre Chemotherapy Department between Christmas and January 15, 2016.
Breast Friends is a group of ten women from Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, that has donated 1.8 million dollars from the sale of their cookbook series to cancer causes over the last ten years. Most of their funds are directed toward system gaps or unmet patient needs, especially for patients in rural areas. Their cookbook series has raised not only funds but also awareness for both breast cancer and prostate cancer with their fifth, award-winning cookbook, Breast Wishes, for the Men in our Lives.
“This is our region and we wanted to give back to our community for their support of our project and our cookbooks,” said Patti Hack, member of Breast Friends. “The volunteers graciously offered to deliver the books to everyone that was staying in the hospital on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”
“This was a very thoughtful gift”, said Suzette Szumutku, Director of Volunteer Services for Sunrise Health Region. “I think it lifted the spirits not only of the patients who were in hospital during the holidays, but also of the volunteers and staff members who did the delivery.”
Cookbooks are also available for purchase in the gift shop at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre and all proceeds from the sales of the book go directly to the Health Foundation.
