Anna Buck
Carihi Mirror
Carihi’s Leadership students have had a busy few weeks as the Carihi Cares Campaign raises funds for the Campbell River Hospital Foundation.
The partnership between Carihi and the Hospital Foundation began last year when the school raised over $1,200 in a matter of weeks for the Red Cross Flood Relief, catching the eye of Hospital Events and Communications Director Carly Pisterzi.
“When we had all those floods last year in Quebec and the Interior B.C., our Leadership class thought it was important to support the Red Cross Flood Relief. So we very quickly said, ‘let’s do a coin drive’,” says Leadership teacher Kerri Perras. “It was amazing [how] people came together.”
“We are very excited to partner with Carihi Leadership for this project because we believe in the importance of charitable dollars being used locally,” says Pisterzi. “The money that we raise stays in Campbell River, so it really does make a difference in our community. We are thrilled to be able to share this sentiment with young adults.”
Carihi Leadership has already run a bake sale and a Jean Jacket Day in which one dollar was donated to the hospital for every jean jacket worn. Carihi is currently just over one-third of the way through a coin drive fundraiser, run in each B Block class, which allows students who donate one dollar or more to have a paper heart with their name on it posted outside the school office.
The funds raised will go towards the purchase of a new baby and infant scale that will be used by the Maternity and Paediatrics Departments of the hospital. The scale can handle up to 20 kg of weight and can accurately weigh a squirming baby or restless child.
The new scale will cost $1,300. Carihi Leadership’s goal is closer to $1,500, and extra funds raised will likely go towards toys, colouring books, and other forms of entertainment.
“One need we have is for DVD players for children staying in the hospital. They are often in isolation, so [are] unable to leave their room and play in the toy room or visit with friends,” says Pisterzi. “We also need crayons [and] colouring books for younger patients, or siblings of babies being born so that they feel comfortable and have something to do.”
In the first week of the coin drive Carihi raised $389. This amount, added to money raised from previous fundraisers, puts Carihi at roughly one-quarter of the way to its goal of $1,500.
“[We] really appreciate our Carihi family,” says Perras. ‘When you put the word out to support charities, [the students] are amazing. It really shows that we understand the importance of community.”