WELLINGTON, July 14, 2022 – For more than 20 years, their old has been your new.

Eager to get up and going after a two-year break, The Wellington on the Lake Residents Association (WOLRA) were pleased to announce the return of their biggest and most intensive fundraiser of the year - their community garage sale.

The annual garage sale at Wellington on the Lake (WOTL) was held on May 14 at the WOTL Clubhouse. Brenda Little, coordinator of the garage sale and president of the WOLRA was excited to hand over $2,000 to Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s (PECMHF) Executive Director, Shannon Coull.

The funds will be invested in the new Quinte Health Care Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (QHC PECMH) to support major equipment purchases, such as a Computerized Tomography (CT) Scanner, Digital Mammography Equipment, and a new Digital Radiography Machine that are part of the PECMHF’s Back the Build campaign.

“Since many WOTL residents rely on our County hospital for care, the WOLRA felt that a donation should be made to Back the Build which not only helps WOTL residents, but helps everyone in Prince Edward County,” said Little.

The garage sale at WOTL historically raises funds to support activities for the residents as well as contribute to improvements to the property. In recent years, there has been significant growth in the number of people residing at WOTL. Because of the increased number of residents, WOLRA felt it was time to contribute to the Back the Build campaign.

“We are thankful for the creative fundraising initiatives that local businesses and community members dream up!” said Coull. “I had a wonderful time looking through all the treasures and was every excited to find the perfect mirror for my son’s bedroom. On average, over $100,000 is raised each year by third-party events, like the WOTL Garage Sale, to help PECMHF provide the best quality and safest patient care possible. Attending third party fundraisers is a win-win!”

 At QHC PECMH, every piece of equipment used in the direct care of patients is funded by our community – including proceeds from community-led fundraisers.

The WOTL Garage Sale is a huge endeavour taking place over a period of four days. It requires about 100 hardworking volunteers to set up and accept donations on the Thursday and Friday before the sale, work the sale on Saturday and then clean up on Sunday.

Items leftover after the sale were divided between seven charities including the PECMH Auxiliary, Kate’s Rest, local churches and local Syrian families.

“This is probably the most labour intensive fundraiser that we host, but it’s also one that I always say is the greatest because it involves the whole community and is one where we enlist a lot of volunteers. We involve as many people as we can and we try to do the best we can with what we receive,” said Little. “Though the garage sale is a lot of hard work, the volunteers feel satisfied making it fun for each other, making new friends and pulling the community together.”

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

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