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Four Edmonton business leaders were airlifted by STARS to a remote location Thursday morning, each having to raise a goal of $50,000 to secure a flight back home.
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One participant in Thursday’s event said she had a personal connection with the air ambulance.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of STARS,” said Danielle Woo, general manager of West Edmonton Mall, prior to boarding the STARS helicopter at the STARS base in Edmonton.
“I had a family member that was transported by them years ago. So, having the opportunity to be involved in a fundraiser like this, I jumped at it.”
Woo said she was excited for the flight and had a “secret strategy” to reach her goal.
“In the week leading up to it, it’s just been a matter of reaching out to as many people as possible and the same thing today, once we’re at the remote location, just making sure that I’m going to be calling a number of people and saying, ‘Get me off this island, I need your money,’ ” she said with a laugh.
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Sine Chadi, president and CEO of Imperial Equities Inc., Shane Chrapko, owner of Birds & Bees Distillery, and David Leeworthy, CEO for First Truck, also participated in Thursday’s fundraiser.
The fundraising campaign for at least $200,000 is part of Edmonton’s first Rescue on the River event, similar to Rescue in the Rockies. Terri Strunk, chief fundraising and brand officer for STARS, said the Edmonton fundraiser was postponed last fall due to COVID-19 public health measures, while Rescue on the Island in Winnipeg and Rescue on the Prairies in Saskatchewan took off in September.
Upon arrival to the remote location, Strunk said the business leaders would participate in a series of “survival challenges,” as well as make phone calls in hopes of reaching their fundraising goal.
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“At the end of the day, they come together back at the base here, in their flight suits, having experienced a day in the life of our air medical crews and the work we traditionally do for patients across Alberta,” said Strunk.
Strunk said STARS annual operating budget for its Alberta locations in Grande Prairie, Calgary and Edmonton is about $30 million. She added 20 per cent is government funded, while STARS relies on donors to raise over $25 million to $26 million a year.
“Fundraisers like this, that can bring in several $100,000 in one day, are tremendously important to our organization,” said Strunk.
Jody Holva, who was rescued by STARS in 2009, was a VIP guest at the event and said he wouldn’t be alive today without the efforts of STARS.
“This fundraiser today, it actually hits home pretty well,” said Holva. “My incident happened during hunting season and it was a hunting accident on the North Saskatchewan River, so my rescue was on the river.”
Anyone wanting to donate to STARS can help rescue one of the participants at rescueontheriver.ca. Each business leader’s profile and updated funds raised can be found online.
