hospital
2016-2017 Lights of Life Campaign Chairs, Sam and Sher Sevier announced the campaign & gala theme, goal and projects to the committee at the first campaign meeting which was held on Tuesday, May 17th at noon at the Southwest Dairy Museum. The committee was excited to learn the theme of this years Gala: THE BEAT GOES ON.
Long time Gala Designer Kent Smith explained the vision of the gala decorations to the committee. “Gala attendees will defiantly notice a change as soon as they enter the venue this year”, explained Smith, “It’s going to be outstanding.” Eddie Deen catering will once again provide an amazing dining experience for the over 550 expected guests on Saturday January 28, 2017. The fun will begin at 6:00 p.m. and continue through out the night with dinner, live and silent auction bidding and dancing. This year’s entertainment band will be Downtown Fever. The band knows how to bring a party to life and the crowd to their feet. The professional eleven-piece party band provides a musical range that spans decades of standards and classics to the current hits of today.
“We feel like we are on top of a well oiled machine”, joked Sam Sevier. “This is not our comfort zone, but we are honored and we are going to embrace it. We we took the job because of what the community has meant to us and we wanted to work with and give back to the community that has given so much to us”
“The Foundation board set the campaign goal at $250,000 again and I’m certain with Sam and Sher’s “positive attitude this will be another successful year. Of course we couldn’t reach our goal without the generosity of this wonderful and supportive community. We are blessed every year to have dedicated leaders chair the campaign and I’m certain Sam and Sher will do an outstanding job”, said Meredith Caddell, Foundation Director.
On April 5th, the Foundation board approved the projects that will be funded with the money raised through the campaign this year. With the continued generous support from the community the Foundation will be able to purchase;
- AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill $46,537.00
Using NASA Differential Air Pressure technology, the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill comfortably supports the user and “unweights” them by as much as 80%. Benefits include reducing ground reaction forces, minimizing discomfort, creating safe environments to work on technique and allowing increased training with less impact. Estimated to help 70% of the current rehabilitation patients and essential to those with spinal, hip and lower body issues, the machine will be available for rehabilitation patients as well as the public.
- 2 Giraffe OmniBeds for Nursery Department $76,584.00
The Giraffe OmniBeds are a combination system that brings together features of a traditional incubator and a radiant warmer that will serve both premature as well as full term newborns. These beds will support our Level II Special Care Nursery designation allowing our facility to care for almost all newborns born at greater than 32 weeks with a range of medical issues, rather than being transferred to other hospitals.
- Endowment Fund $50,000.00
The Foundation is committed to adding additional funds to the Foundation’s Leaving a Legacy Endowment Fund.
“Sponsor solicitation letters will go out June 1st but we’re already receiving calls and commitments, which means the Gala will probably be sold out again. It’s a wonderful problem to have, I think? The community has certainly embraced this campaign over the past years and together we have made a huge difference for our hospital and our community” continued Caddell.
“We’ve finished 10 years,” continued Sevier, “and we are transitioning a lot of things. The concept of generosity in the community and how they have addressed changes of all kinds is what inspired this year’s theme: THE BEAT GOES ON. Businesses change, our downtown is revitalized, the hospital transitions to a new system and the Health Care Foundation evolves…THE BEAT GOES ON!”
If you cannot attend the gala but still want to support your local hospital and the campaign, contributions may be made with a donation to the Lights of Life Christmas tree lighting event that will be held December 1st at 6 p.m. in The Gardens at Memorial. A $25 donation given in memory or honor of someone special is represented by a light on the Lights of Life Christmas tree.
Additional opportunities to become involved and support the campaign are by participating, attending and/or donating to the the Style Show, hosted by Lou Nell’s on September 15, 2016, the Half Marathon on October 1st, or the Fly Your Flag Campaign and lunch on November 15th. All contributions help to make a difference for our community.
Please join us as we work together for the benefit of the hospital and the community. Through your support of the 2016-2017 Lights of Life Campaign and Gala we will reach our $250,000 goal. Call the Health Care Foundation office at 903-439-4799 for more information.
