PICTON, June 17, 2024 – It was a high-energy night at Picton’s Crystal Palace in support of bringing leading-edge diagnostic equipment to Prince Edward County’s new hospital.

Bid for the Build, a fundraising art auction held on Saturday, June 1, in support of the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s (PECMHF) Back the Build campaign for the new hospital raised $375,000, which will help bring a CT Scanner to the County’s new hospital.

The event drew approximately 300 people and featured a silent and live auction. Over 80 pieces of work by Canadian artists, many local to the region, were displayed. The committee that curated the works comprised five area galleries: Hatch Gallery, Mad Dog Gallery, Maison Depoivre, Oeno Gallery, and 2gallery.

When guest auctioneer Julie Riches from Riches Appraisals and Consult’s hammer dropped on the last lot, PECMHF had raised $75,550 from the 30 lots in the live auction and $34,975 from the silent auction.

The event closed with a special lot asking participants to consider a cash donation that would be matched by the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary up to $100,000.

In about 10 minutes, 38 people enthusiastically raised their paddles, raising an additional $141,900 for the CT Scanner!

“We are thrilled with the incredible generosity of our supporters and the community,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation. “Bringing a CT scanner to our new hospital will be a first in our County’s history and a new service available in our new hospital. In 2022, patients from Prince Edward County were referred to other regional hospitals for CT scans over 2,100 times. Access to these leading-edge technologies will revolutionize local healthcare options for our neighbours, friends, and families.”

Bid for the Build was made possible through the generous support of sponsors, including the Gold Sponsor RBC Wealth Management and Dominion Securities and Silver Sponsors CIBC Private Wealth and HDR Architecture Associates.

The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to raising funds to advance health care for the people of Prince Edward County and patients of the hospital. 

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Photo: Pictured on the future site of the new hospital from left: Anne House owner of Mad Dog Gallery; Wendy Reid, PECMHF board member; Nancy Parks, Back the Build campaign chairperson; Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation; Carlyn Moulton, owner of Oeno Gallery; Dana Charles from Oeno Gallery; David Hatch, owner of Hatch Gallery and Jim Turner, owner of 2gallery.