HUMBOLDT — With SGI rebates coming in the mail, the St. Mary’s Villa Foundation is asking Humboldt residents to donate the money towards a new home.
St. Mary’s Villa was built in 1963, with additions constructed in 1965, 1977 and 1992. The wing built in 1977 has issues, so it’s been closed off, leaving the villa as a 85-bed long-term care home.
Donna Muench, the executive director of the St. Mary’s Villa Foundation, said they were inspired to ask for the SGI rebate money by other organizations that are running similar campaigns.
“I thought that would be great for us because we are wanting to build a new care home in town,” she said.
“We are hoping to raise our money as soon as possible because once we have it, then we can move further with looking at what type of building, where and that sort of thing.”
Rebates are expected to be around $285 per registered vehicle. If that amount is donated, that would result in a $89.40 charitable tax credit.
The foundation is aiming to raise between $5 million and $8 million within the next five years to pay for its 20 per cent share for a new replacement for the 58-year-old home. The provincial government would pay for the remaining 80 per cent.
So far, around $200,000 has been raised. Plans to launch a fundraising campaign last year were disrupted by the pandemic. In January, the foundation sent brochures to mailboxes in Humboldt and area, raising around $10,000. More fundraisers are being planned.
Muench pointed out in the last decade, Humboldt has seen the hospital and high school replaced.
“Our building now is older than the old hospital was when the new one opened.”
The St. Elizabeth Hospital opened in 1955, while the Humboldt and District Health Centre opened in 2011 – a 56-year span.
A report publicly released by the provincial government in May 2020, the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s 2019 CEO Tour Report, said the aging building and infrastructure at St. Mary’s Villa creates significant challenges and restrictions in caring for its residents.
The rooms are small. Most of them either do not have bathrooms or have shared bathrooms. The newest part of the building, built with a suspended ceiling, prevents the installation of ceiling track lifts.
Donations can be sent by mail to St. Mary’s Villa Foundation Inc, Box 1743, Humboldt, SK, S0K 2A0, or online at canadahelps.org/en/charities/st-marys-villa-foundation-inc/.
