The Campbell River Hospital Foundation is gearing up to host the fourth annual Scrap Metal Challenge through the month of June.
Campbell River residents and businesses are encouraged to donate their scrap metal – be it an old barbecue, aluminum lawn furniture, appliances, or old tire rims – in support of new equipment for Campbell River Hospital.
Starting June 1, scrap metal can be dropped off at ABC Recycling (4318 Terminal Rd.) or in a bin which will be placed in front of the city’s Dogwood Operations Centre (385 S. Dogwood St.), next to the RCMP station.
Businesses who would like to participate can also arrange to get a bin placed at their location free of charge.
Stacey Marsh, executive director of the Hospital Foundation, said the business that donates the most scarp metal wins a coveted prize.
“The winner gets the Scrap Metal Cup,” Marsh says.
The cup is really an old aluminum sink that bears the name of past winners on the bottom.
Finning has been the victor the past three years.
Since the Scrap Metal Challenge first began in 2012, the friendly competition has raised more than $46,000 for the purchase of medical equipment for the hospital.
The Hospital Foundation is currently raising funds for two key additions to the hospital.
The first is an ICU bed worth $38,754 that continually rotates to help decrease the chance of a patient contracting pneumonia or pulmonary complications while bed ridden.
The bed can also be converted into a cardiac chair, helping patients to sit up while they are physically unable to stand.
The second piece of equipment is an ECG machine valued at $21,892 that is used to measure the rate and regularity of heartbeats, as well as the size and position of the heart chambers, the presence of any damage to the heart, and the effects of drugs or devices used to regulate the heart.
For more information or to register for this year’s Scrap Metal Challenge, contact Stacey Marsh or Leslie Coates at the Hospital Foundation by calling 250-850-2418.