The Campbell River Hospital Foundation brought back their old friends The Timebenders again this past weekend to help them raise more money for much-needed hospital equipment.
The foundation brought the group to town for five years in a row from 2011 to 2015, but after the 2015 event, executive director Stacey Marsh said, it was time to switch it up.
“We don’t want people to get sick of it,” she told the Mirror back in 2015. “We’ve done it five years in a row and it’s a very similar show every year and we think it’s time to maybe put it to bed, take a year off and look at what else we can do.”
So for the last couple of “Dinner/Dance” events, the entertainment has been provided by Ten Souljers.
“These events were a blast but each year we had many guests say they wanted The Timebenders back,” says Carly Pisterzi, event and communications director for the hospital foundation, “so we decided to listen.”
Based on the turnout and atmosphere Saturday night, it was definitely the right decision.
Over 400 people attended this year’s dinner/dance, with the event selling out months in advance and a list of a dozen or so tables of people waiting for possible cancellations.
“We are still finalizing a few numbers, but we are confident this will be a record year for funds raised at the event,” Pisterzi says, “and we had heard very positive feedback. An excellent mix of music, fabulous costumes, and a packed dance floor all night.”
Check out some of the fun:
But if you missed out this year, not to worry. After the success of the event and the amount of fun everyone had, the foundation has decided that The Timebenders will be back again next November.
The money raised at this year’s event completes the fundraising for a Hematology Slide Review System ($47,000) for the Laboratory at the Campbell River Hospital.
The system, Pisterzi says, “allows lab technologists at small labs to connect and support other sites with digital technology. Improves confidence for lab technologists at our small labs by allowing fast access to consultation on difficult cells at any time of the day, and improves ability for training and co-working at smaller labs.
“It also saves hands-on analysis time allowing lab technologists to concentrate on other duties,” Pisterzi continues, “which is especially beneficial due to today’s operational challenges of working short, staff shortages, and loss of expertise on site at the small rural sites.”
The next event on the docket for the hospital foundation is their annual Trivia Night event, coming up on Feb. 9.
The cost of the event is $25 per player and has raised over $213,000 for the foundation over its 19 year history. The 20th anniversary event is sure to be something special in continuing the fun, so register now if you’re interested in attending. Much like the Timebenders dinner/dance, Trivia Night always sells out well in advance.
You can do that by heading online to crhospitalfoundation.ca, calling the office at 250-286-7164 or by emailing info@crhospitalfoundation.ca
