January 7, 2004

LIGHTING THE WAY - The Sixth Annual Light The Way Campaign is rapidly nearing its $65,000 goal. The campaign site just $2,205 short of its target and the Cumberland Health Care Foundation is hoping to wrap things up by later this week it possible. Foundation managing director Jodi Swan receives a demonstration of the new infrared spectrometre by district manager of lab services Jim Scopie.

Light the Way officials hoping to surpass campaign goal
Darrell Cole - Amherst Daily News
Campaign need $2,205 to meet $65,000 fundraising goal
UPPER NAPPAN - The sixth Light the Way Campaign is nearing yet another significant milestone.

The annual campaign is just over $2,000 short of reaching its goal of $65,000 and officials with the Cumberland Health Care Foundation are hoping to surpass their target sooner rather rather than later. "If all goes well, we'd like to wrap it up by the end of the week," foundation managing director Jodi Swan said Tuesday. "We're so close and the response we've received from the community makes us confident we'll be successful."

The campaign set a record last month when it surpassed the $51,000 mark - the amount of money raised last year - and sat within $5,000 of its goal by Christmas. While campaign officials have given themselves until the end of the month to conclude this year's effort, Swan believes it will happen much sooner than that.

"We need $2,205 and we'll be done for another year," Swan said. "The community response has been great. We've had big donations and small donations from all over the community. It serves such an important purpose and the people of the area have responded. We're very excited with what we've raised to date."

Established in 1998 to help raise money for capital equipment, the campaign has raised around $200,000 for both the former Highland View hospital and the present Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre.

This year, funds are being used to purchase a portable ultrasound sonosite, which can be used throughout the facility, and an infrared spectrometre for use in the laboratory. The spectrometre will allow some individuals to be assessed by providing a breath sample for analysis, instead of having to undergo a gastroscope procedure in which a scope, with a tiny camera on the end, is inserted down the throat and into the stomach. Using the spectrometre, patients are asked to blow into what looks like an aluminum bag. They are then given a solution and retested. The machine can test both gastro and duodenal ulcers and is much more comfortable for patients.

When the campaign goal was set back in the fall, there was probably more than one skeptic who didn't believe foundation officials would be successful in achieving the goal since it added $14,000 to last year's total. Swan said the organizing committee was always confident of the community's ability to rise to a challenge just as it has done so many times before.

The highlight of the campaign was the tree-lighting ceremony at the hospital and a visit by Santa Claus on Nov.23. It also marked the second ceremony at the hospital since it opened in late 2002.

Light the Way is one of three major fundraisers held by the foundation each year with the Highland Classic Charity Golf Tournament in August and the Foundation Dinner in April being the other two.