2011 Donor Impact Report - Charity Focus

For Grandma, Love CassieDecember marked CassieWilloughby’s eighth birthday –a birthday she was thankfullyable to share with hergrandma.Cassie’s grandma spentsix and a half weeks inthe Intensive Care Unit atRockyview General Hospital.During her stay, she was puton life support twice. “Whenwe first got there, we were toldto expect the worst,” sharedCassie’s mom, Colleen. “Thestaff who looked after her aresimply amazing; they savedmy mom’s life.”So when it came time forher birthday, Cassie wantedto pay it forward to the staffat the ICU.With her grandma’s help,Cassie sent out specialinvitations to her ‘Pay itForward’ birthday, askingfriends and family to celebratewith her by donating tothe ICU.“They don’t know what animpact they have. This wasCassie’s way to say thankyou to the medical staff whogive so much to their patientsand patients’ families everyday,” explained Colleen.The staff at the ICU threwa special birthday party forCassie and many of the nurseswho played a big part in theWilloughby’s life were able toattend. “They decorated theroom and gave me cake,”described Cassie.‘Pay it Forward’ birthdays area tradition for the Willoughbyfamily. Over the years, Cassieand her family’s generosity hasinspired many of her friends towant to give back to programsthat are important to them too.“I gave my birthday money to theICU because my grandma was in thehospital and they made her better.”– CassieThanks to the staff at the Rockyview Intensive Care Unit (ICU),Cassie celebrated her eighth birthday with her grandmaby donating her birthday money to the unit.Three cheers for Rockyview2011 marked the third annualRun for Rockyview, bringingtogether staff and volunteersto support programs and unitsin the hospital. The partnershipwith Calgary Health Trust giveshospital staff an opportunityto use team fundraising pagesto raise support amongst theirfamily and friends. With staffraising money that can beused by their own units, thingscan get fairly competitivequickly, but all in good spirit.$11,000The event also brings manypeople from different unitstogether. The hospital’s VicePresident, Nancy Guebert,met teams at the finish line tocongratulate staff for their hardwork and join in the post runactivities.This year’s brightest team,the Allied Health Antelopes,adorned hot pink as they allhit the 5km in stride. Togetherthe 100 runners raised over$11,000 for programs andunits at Rockyview.Team Allied Health Antelopes brightened the 5km path as theyjoined 100 fellow Rockyview General Hospital co-workers toraise over $11,000 for their units.Thank you.15