CORNWALL, Ontario – What’s whacky, fun, and brand-spankin’-new?
If you answered the Cornwall Community Hospital’s Minute to Win It, you’d be totally right.
As part of the Corus Radiothon, the Cornwall Community Hospital hosted its first-ever five-part series of silly games to benefit the hospital’s newest project. Having recently hit the halfway mark on the forthcoming Community Addiction and Mental Health Centre, Executive Director, Amy Gillespie says events like this put the ‘fun’ in ‘fundraiser.’
“It’s the first year we’ve done this event, and I was so excited by the response,” said Gillespie. “When you see the groups that are part of the city standing behind something with the hospital, it’s incredibly exciting.”
Teams involved were ‘Buns and Guns’ (Cornwall Community Police), ‘the Traumatics’ (EMS Cornwall), ‘The Bullet Boys’ (Border Control Services), Smokey & the Bandits’ (City of Cornwall Fire Department), Team ‘The FHITtastic Five’ (Hospital’s Electronic Health Record), ‘The Kicking Assets’ (Hospital’s Finance Team), ‘Managers of Mayhem’ (Hospital Management Team), ‘I Care for You’ (Hospital’s HR Team), ‘The Fearless Five’ (Hospital’s In-Patient Psychiatric Care Unit), and ‘The Wellness Warriors’ (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Management Team).
Featuring a hilarious rivalry between Buns and Guns and Smokey & the Bandits, the games brought out the spirit of competition among participants.
“We’re genuinely surprised to see these guys here,” said Chief of Police, Daniel Parkinson.
Teams were made up of five members, with members alternating for each game, which were timed at a minute each. The games were all silly and seemed to involve an astounding amount of marshmallows. However, only one team could reign victorious, and in the end, it was Smokey & the Bandits who burned up the competition.
With a big win in the infamous Mallow Toss, Fire Chief, Pierre Voisine credits the win to his stellar team. “It was a solid three weeks of preparation…there was a diet and some training involved,” laughed Voisine. “We selected our team based on motor skills and athleticism.”
The FHITtastic Five won for most funds raised by a single team, bringing in an additional $1,500.
“It’s just great knowing that we’re raising money for such a worthy cause,” said Mohammed Shaheen of the Five.
Having raised a total of $8,000 towards the cause, Gillespie says she’s thrilled with the community support.
“I think the energy today was palpable,” said Gillespie. “We’ve still got some work to do, but if we have the interest and can make it bigger and better next year, we’ll definitely do it again.”
For more information about the Community Addiction and Mental Health Centre, or to donate, check out the website.
