On March 25, 2023, local dairy farmers held the inaugural Dairy Cares 4 SDG fundraiser at the Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre. Together, grassroots dairy farmers and their industry partners raised $187,488.12 on that evening for three area hospitals.
It all started about six months ago when farmer Don Johnson from Martintown brought the idea to do a Dairy Cares fundraiser to his county’s Dairy Producers Committee. After agreeing to the idea, the Dairy Producers committees from Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry counties formed a subcommittee to work on the event.
The first Dairy Cares 4 SDG committee consisted of members Ryan Wert, Don Johnson, Thomas Kuipers, Arnold Reijmers, Adam Beaudette, Kathrin Speck, Julia Booijink, and Ron Odermatt.
“This year we decided to choose the hospital foundations in light of everything that’s happened in the last few years and how stressed their systems are but also how critical they are to our rural communities,” explained Julia Booijink, who has been a member of the Stormont County Dairy Producers Committee for 8 years.
“That’s kind of the point that we really wanted to send home was how important it is to keep those rural hospitals going, where we run our businesses and raise our families,” Booijink added.
The money raised was split three ways between Glengarry Memorial Hospital, Cornwall Community Hospital, & Winchester District Memorial Hospital. Each of the three hospitals receiving a cheque for $62,496.04.
When planning the fundraiser, the Dairy Cares 4 SDG committee asked that each hospital name an item or project that the donated money would go towards.
The Cornwall Community Hospital will be putting the money towards building a green space for their mental health rehabilitation program. The Glengarry Memorial Hospital will be using it towards a bone densitometry or ultrasound machine, and the Winchester District Memorial Hospital will be purchasing a new piece of needed equipment, to be decided at their next board meeting.