Greater Victoria firefighters donate $25K to Victoria Hospitals Foundation, total donations now $250K
Fire departments from across Greater Victoria donated $25,000 to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation on Thursday to support pediatric care in the region.
The donation was part of a 10-year promise from the Professional Firefighters of Greater Victoria Community Foundation to donate $250,000 to support child health care in Victoria.
Since 2011, the fire departments of Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Victoria have donated $250,000 to support pediatric and neonatal care at Victoria General Hospital.
This year's donation will go towards acquiring pediatric stretchers, which are used to safely transport children and newborns.
"Our firefighters’ pledge to ensure our youngest and most vulnerable patients have access to leading-edge pediatric equipment and resources demonstrates their compassion and commitment to the community," said Avery Broham, executive director of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation in a release Thursday.
"They are helping us keep local kids on Vancouver Island as much as possible, by their family’s side—what a gift that is."
A 13-year-old former patient of the pediatric unit at VGH presented all four fire departments with art made by other young patients as a way of saying thanks for the decade worth of donations, the hospital foundation said Thursday.
"We are so proud to have partnered with the Victoria Hospitals Foundation and so grateful to have supported the littlest patients in our community over the years," said Frank Williams of the Victoria Fire Fighters Charitable Foundation.
"They are our future, and this is why it mattered so much," he said.
Victoria General Hospital is the referral centre for all maternity and pediatrics on Vancouver Island, according to the hospital foundation.
It also accepts transfers from across the province and is home to one of four high-level neonatal intensive care units in the province, and is host to one of only two pediatric intensive care units for critically ill children in B.C.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.