Wellington, June 21, 2022 - The Rotary Club of Wellington has made good on their promise to support the building of Prince Edward County’s (PEC) new hospital.

It was in the Spring of 2017 that the Rotary Club of Wellington first voted to focus some of its fundraising efforts towards the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation’s (PECMHF) Back the Build campaign for the new PEC hospital. Over the past five years this support coalesced into an actual goal to raise $400,000 as the Club’s contribution.

Today, Wellington Rotarians are pleased to announce the exciting news they have exceeded that $400,000 target by raising $409,500! The announcement took place at their Annual Past President’s dinner in Wellington.

David Smith, President of the Wellington Rotary Club Foundation, and outgoing Club President Trudy Brown, presented Shannon Coull, executive Director of the PECMHF and Nancy Parks, co-chairperson of the Back the Build campaign a final cheque of $309,500- as the Club presented their first $100,000 installment in 2020. 

The waiting area in the Emergency Department of the new QHC Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital will be named in recognition of the Club’s fundraising efforts achieved with the community’s generous support. In making the presentation Smith remarked, “We are grateful to have had so many community members contribute to helping make the Club’s “Back the Build” aspirations a reality.”

“This pledge helped us to raise the $20.7 Million that was announced recently. This generous gift, that is now realized, brings us another step closer to building our new hospital. A hospital our community needs. We’re grateful to the Rotary Club of Wellington for their contributions and community leadership,” said Coull. “Their dedication to philanthropy and commitment to inspire others is a true reflection of their strong values of giving back as a Club and bringing our community together to provide the best possible care, close to home.”

To achieve fundraising success, the Rotary Club of Wellington generates funds through donations, club activities and high profile community events.

“I am so proud of our members who have worked so hard to achieve this success”, said outgoing Rotary Club of Wellington President, Trudy Brown. “Our Club has generated these funds via solicited donations, by allocating proceeds from the bottle return depot, and by conducting various fundraising activities. Over the years, these have included dinner/dance events, special Rotary Label wine and maple syrup sales, and an online auction. We want to thank the PEC community who have supported all these club activities and to commend the Club members for this amazing achievement.” 

“We believe it is important our community continues to have access to the best possible health care. A new hospital will not only replace an aging building, it will ensure patients of the hospital continue to have access to quality health care, close to home,” said Smith.

“The Campaign Cabinet Members are excited to see this gift for the new hospital fulfilled by the Wellington Rotarians,” said Parks. “Philanthropic Clubs such as Rotary play a significant role as they help to shape how health care will be delivered in our community for years to come. Our new hospital will be built so those needing medical attention in our community will continue to receive the best care possible in a leading edge facility thanks in part to Wellington Rotary.”

Now, Wellington Rotary’s efforts have turned to supporting priority equipment needed at QHC PECMH. The return of their annual fundraising dinner on October 15 will support the purchase of the Automated Endoscope Reprocessor that cleans and disinfects scopes as well as an Echocardiogram Machine needed for heart monitoring in the Emergency Department. The theme of the dinner is “Happy Days Are Here Again” and more information can be found by visiting https://www.wellingtonrotary.ca/.

The Rotary Club of Wellington will celebrate its 20th Anniversary in November 2022. They are a vibrant club of 43 members who engage in both social and volunteer activities to support each other and the community, as well as international and emergency relief efforts. Rotarians are a true “service” club – having also consistently stepped up to calls for local volunteers at Covid-19 clinics, driving for Meals on Wheels, Millennium Trail improvements and Marathon Race safety crews. 

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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