The Airdrie Health Foundation is holding a pair of unique fundraisers during the Christmas season with the goal of purchasing a valuable piece of medical equipment to help keep infants warm at Airdrie Urgent Care.  

Airdrie residents are being given a way to remember someone special during the holiday season by making a $10 minimum donation.  When they do an ornament and the name of the person being honoured will be placed on the 'Tribute Tree' inside the entrance of Urgent Care and Community Health Centre.

The second fundraiser is a partnership between the Health Foundation and London Drugs in Airdrie.  As masks are now mandatory in Airdrie and special non-medical masks, displaying the Health Foundation logo, will be sold for $10 at London Drugs in the city starting December 1st.  After production costs of around $5 per mask, the remaining proceeds will be donated to the Health Foundation.  Local health care workers will each be given two masks in recognition of their tireless work over the past more than eight months of the pandemic." 

Executive Director Michelle Bates is excited about the fundraisers, the first of their kind for the Health Foundation. "The Tribute Tree is new this year and you can go online to our website  and you'll see the Tribute Tree link there and you can make a minimum donation of $10 and we will put an ornament with the name of a loved one that you want to remember or honour on the tree."

Bates says the staff at Urgent Care have been requesting a baby warmer for some time.  "They find when a baby's not feeling well, and when you have to undress them (for examination) they get cold and cranky and it's really hard when they're crying or fussing to do a proper exam.  Sometimes babies come in and they are having trouble getting their temperature up so this will be a multi-use thing."

The other reason a baby warmer would be so valuable to the facility is on the odd occasion when a mother gives birth at Urgent Care.  Yes, says Bates, that does sometimes happen.   "Airdrie has seen five deliveries done at Urgent Care, and please, don't go to Urgent Care to deliver your baby," She smiles.  "But there has been some need for that when getting to Calgary was just not an option and the family decided to stop there."

Bates explains that they last time a baby was born in Urgent Care, it took 90 minutes to get transport to Calgary. "Baby was fine, mom was fine, but in a situation like that the baby warmer would be very handy."

The cost of a baby warmer is over $24,000 and the foundation is looking to raise over that amount through both fundraisers.

Purchasing a mask from London Drugs or making a contribution to the Tribute Tree benefits health care in Airdrie and all funds remain in the community.  The tree will remain up into the new year and masks will be for sale as long as Airdrie continues to need them.  Bates says while the Tribute Tree will be inside Urgent Care and likely won't be seen by too many people because of the pandemic, next spring they are going to partner with Blue Grass Nursery and Precise Pruning to plant a live tree outside of the facility.

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