OXBOW - After the latest fundraiser for a new ambulance, the RM of Enniskillen is one-third of its way to raising the needed $302, 145.
The ambulance fundraiser was held on April 9 at the Memorial Hall in Oxbow. With 240 people in attendance, it brought in $57,000, which will help cover the cost of a new Ford MX164 ambulance.
The RM of Enniskillen said the ambulance is on order through Demer’s Ambulances in Saskatoon and they are hoping for a fall delivery.
The fundraiser consisted of live and silent auctions, a raffle, dessert, special auctions and a 50/50. The live auction alone raised $26,875. The 50/50 pot winner’s take-home was $1,483. Dr. Nic Botha pulled the winning ticket, and the RM councillors donated their half of the winnings back to the cause.
The dessert auction was held with the highest bid having their choice of dessert. It provided entertainment and bidding wars. This brought in $4,200, with the high-selling dessert being a $700 Olive Branch Bistro cheesecake.
There was a tie for the highest-selling items. Nelson Motors donated a John Deere ATV Camo XUV Gator-12V, which sold for $1,750, and Brett’s Ag donated aerial spraying, which also sold for $1,750.
There were 160 donated items.
Another surprise came in at the end of the auction when Norm and Donna Klatt announced that they would donate $500 for every $5,000 that was donated from the crowd. This resulted in $20,000 from the crowd being donated. And the Klatts provided the $2,000 on top.
Weir’s Catering served some delicious food. Mack Auction Co. was the auctioneer for the evening.
Cannington MLA Daryl Harrison brought greetings, and Oxbow EMS paramedics Britt Venn and David Dyck delivered speeches.
“I am really proud to belong to a community that takes matters into their own hands to purchase the crucial equipment we need to provide the highest level of care possible,” Venn said. “It is really hard to cope with treating patients without the proper equipment you are trained to use for life-saving interventions.”
“I always consider my job an honour. I get the opportunity to be with people on some of their best days, but also their worst. To be with someone who's dying and there is nothing I can do with all my training is difficult,” Dyck said. “But I've learned that to be with someone in those final moments is a privilege. To not know what to say to the family, but listening and offering a hug is sometimes all I can do. It is always an honour to rush someone to Estevan where they deliver a new baby.
“And I know if we hit those trucks hard enough at Bienfait, I might just get to deliver one.”
The RM of Enniskillen was grateful to see such a strong support that gets them and the community closer to their goal.
“We are so excited to be one-third of the way to our goal with the generous support of cash donations totaling $21,800 given to date. You truly made a difference towards a new ambulance for the EMS staff, doctors, hospital staff, patients and families,” the RM said.
“We're so fortunate to live in such a caring and fantastic community. With each donation or receive we will come closer to our goal. Thank you for making a difference through your compassion and generosity.”
“[The fundraiser night] wouldn't have been possible without the attendees, event workers and DDs, everyone who helped with canvassing for donations, Weir’s Catering, Mack Auctions, Southern Plains Co-op grocery and liquor stores and Trina Hitchens.”
