On her way back from an appointment in Ottawa over five years ago, CCH’s Dr. Celine Lemire sent me a message: “Amy, have you heard of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s (TOHF) Dancing with the Docs fundraiser? Could we do this in Cornwall?”
Dear readers, I had heard of TOHF’s incredible – and incredibly successful – fundraiser, based on TV’s hit series, Dancing with the Stars. To me, the chance to hold an event like this would mark an incredible opportunity for our Hospital Foundation; but I had to ask: “Celine, I love this idea, but do you think people will want to put themselves out there and dance?” With confidence and charm (as is her way), she replied, “Yes! We can do this, and I can help. When can we get started?”
It takes a village to build a fundraiser like Dancing with the CCH Stars. We started our research in 2018, and in 2019 we visited The Ottawa Hospital Foundation to learn about their program; we created relationships with local dance schools, Ecole de danse Powell School of Dance inc. (PSOD) and Studio C Dance School; we dreamed and developed an event to reflect our community values; working with Dr. Lemire, we recruited dancers across CCH, and prepared to announce our new fundraiser in 2020.
We all know what happened next. To respect COVID protocols, our Hospital Foundation couldn’t hold any indoor fundraisers, so our hopes were dashed, and our event sat quiet for three years.
Luckily, good things can happen for those who wait. Since September, six incredible teams from across CCH have been putting on their dance shoes, training at PSOD and Studio C, and preparing to perform. Brought to our community by title sponsor Blake Hambleton, Senior Investment Advisor, RBC Dominion Securities, and a host of fantastic sponsors, our LIVE “Dancing with the CCH Stars” show will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Aultsville Theatre.
Our dancers will compete to win the Clinical Cup Trophy and $50,000 in medical equipment for a project of their choice supporting the needs of patients and healthcare workers at CCH. The team with the highest average of fundraising and dancing points will win our $50,000 medical equipment grand prize.
Introducing, our dance teams!
- Celine Lemire (Hospitalist program; Emergency Department) and Mr. Anthony Powell (PSOD)
- Akram Arab (ICU) and Meghan Cafferky (Momentum Physiotherapy)
- Andrew Bissonnette (RN, ICU) and Robin Barillaro (RN, ICU)
- Josee Amyot (RPN, Assault & Sexual Abuse Program; Emergency Department) and Rhiannon St. Pierre (Manager, Privacy at CCH)
- Renee Givari (ICU) and her husband, Tim Mazereeuw
- Joy Cella (Medical Staff Office), Amie McCosham (RN, OR), Kathleen Jack (RPN, OR) and Dr. Leslie Stephens (OR)
Please visit www.cornwallhospitalfoundation.ca to learn more about our dance teams, find out about the projects they’re dancing for, and pledge your favourite (or favourites!), supporting their fundraising journey to win the Clinical Cup and our grand prize of $50,000 in medical equipment! Fundraising and sponsorships will help us reach our $50,000 goal. Any net proceeds raised over this goal will help CCHF purchase more urgently needed equipment serving local patients at our hospital.
Tickets sales begin on Monday, February 6, and a link for tickets ($35 for the show; 75$ for post-show Dance Party; $100 for show and Dance Party combined) will be available on our CCHF website. Please keep your eyes on Seaway News – we’re grateful the paper will be sharing stories about our teams and helping us promote more information leading up to our event at Aultsville Theatre!
