WELLINGTON, July 3, 2024 – For more than 20 years, their old has been your new.

Wellington on the Lake (WOTL) 's annual garage sale was held on May 4, 2024, at the WOTL Clubhouse. Kevin Flynn, director of special projects and coordinator of the community garage sale, was excited to hand $1,500 to Nancy Parks, chairperson of the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Back the Build Campaign.

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

“Since many WOTL residents rely on our County hospital for care, the garage sale committee felt a portion of the proceeds should be made to Back the Build for our new hospital, which not only helps WOTL residents, but benefits everyone in Prince Edward County,” said Flynn. “We wanted to Back the Build because there is an overwhelming need for an upgrade to our County hospital.”

The garage sale at WOTL historically raises funds to support residents' activities and contribute to improvements to the property. In recent years, the number of people residing at WOTL has significantly grown.

“We are thankful for the creative fundraising initiatives that local businesses and community members dream up!” said Nancy Parks, chairperson of the Back the Build campaign. On average, over $100,000 is raised each year by third-party fundraisers, like the WOTL Garage Sale, to help PECMHF provide the best quality and safest patient care possible and get us closer to building our new hospital in The County.

The WOTL Garage Sale is a huge undertaking that takes place over three 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.

Items left over after the sale were divided among local not-for-profit organizations.

“The garage sale couldn't have been accomplished without the generosity of our incredible community and the 100+ volunteers who provided their time over three days. We involve as many people as we can and try to do the best we can with what we receive,” said Flynn. 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 for an excellent cause—our hospital.”

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

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Photo: Pictured at Wellington on the Lake from left: Rick Stevens, WOTL Vice President; Briar Boyce, senior development officer with the PECMH Foundation; Kevin Flynn, WOTL Director of special Projects; Nancy Parks, chairperson of the Back the Build campaign; Andy Mackenzie, WOTL Treasurer; and Doug Henderson, WOTL President.