Bringing care closer to home is at the heart of an event in Lethbridge this week.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, Crop Aid Nutrition will host Heart of Harvest at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge.
The evening event will feature a three-course prime rib dinner, speakers, a silent and live auction, with funds from the gala helping the Bringing Hearts Home Cardiac Campaign.
The Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation-led initiative aims to improve cardiac care in southern Alberta, including through the construction of a new cardiac centre at the hospital in Lethbridge. Earlier this year, it was announced that the program had surpassed its $30 million goal, but funds continue to be accepted through to January 2027.
READ MORE: Contributions of all sizes credited for Bringing Hearts Home campaign surpassing $30M goal
Sales representative with Crop Aid Nutrition, Walter Van Ee, said when he first joined the Saskatoon-based organization, he was told that a goal of the company’s was to help local communities.
This led him to pitch an event in his home base of Lethbridge for the cardiac program.
Van Ee said it is so important to have care closer to home.
“For me it’s personal. Both sides of my family have heart issues. I’m one of the only ones my age that has not had a heart attack, or two or three by now, and everything has to go to Calgary and it’s just too far,” he told My Lethbridge Now.
Van Ee added that when he first got married, he and his wife had a daughter battling a heart issue, and the young couple made regular trips to Calgary and Edmonton, from Lethbridge, and unfortunately, their first daughter passed away.
“I’m not saying that this [care closer to Lethbridge] would have helped in that area, but it would have certainly made our life a lot easier, at that young age, if we could have just done that in our own city, right here in Lethbridge and [been] taken care of here,” he said.
Van Ee remarked that having care close to home is important for all ages.
“It’s so important, especially for young families, but also for older people. Just traveling back and forth, and if somebody does have a cardiac event, the likelihood of getting you to Calgary on time is very slim … and it’s not because the care is not good, it’s just because of the distance and the time,” he stated.
He encourages all to join for the Thursday night affair and support a positive cause.
Crop Aid Nutrition will match up to $10,000 for the cardiac campaign through a live pledge drive at the event. Tickets for the fundraiser are available online.
Crop Aid Nutrition’s Heart of Harvest is on Oct. 15 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge.
