There was excitement and anticipation on the bus on the way to the STARS Air Ambulance hangar in Winnipeg Thursday morning. Names were drawn for the 35 spots available on the bus from over eighty volunteers who work at the Morden Community Thrift Store (MCTS).
The excursion’s purpose was for the volunteers to see where community dollars were going, and how it was supporting the life-saving air ambulance service across the province.
Another reason was for the MCTS to see the unveiling of their logo on the helicopter that makes many visits to the Pembina Valley for accidents, emergencies and transfers from hospitals to Winnipeg.
MCTS Board Chair Kent Noel expressed his thoughts on the day.
“It's exciting to see the logo, but then you look down at the rest of the chopper, and if you put into perspective what this chopper is for, it's saved a lot of lives. To me that's what donations are about is if we're here to help, and that's what we're trying to do.”
To date, MCTS has donated $250,000 to STARS alone.
“We let every volunteer have a say of what should happen with the money, and this is one of the guaranteed ones. When we have it on our docket this is a guaranteed donation.” Noel paused briefly and added with a twinkle in his eye, “And there's more to come.”
MCTS Financial Advisor Scott Beatty said he is happy to manage the money for the thrift store, as the growing support has required his role to manage more and more money each year.
“STARS has been on the list here for five or six years now, and a quarter of a million dollars, it's really special to achieve that milestone. The big one, of course, was earlier this year when we gave a million dollars to the hospital. That's a lot of coffee cups and little knickknacks that get put through there. And believe me, the amount of change that goes through that organization. It's just staggering, like the amount of coins to count on a daily basis.”
Grant Therrien is the Provincial Director for Stars, along with a few other hats he wears. He shared his gratitude on behalf of the team.
“They've been very generous to STARS and we recognize that today by unveiling a logo on the side of the helicopter acknowledging the Morden Community Thrift Store. It's just unbelievable support. They achieved a total over all the years they've donated of an accumulated total of $250,000. So, we recognized that today, and we've opened our doors for the volunteers to come in and see the helicopter up front, interact with our crew.”
“We have a duty crew here with two pilots, a nurse, a physician and a paramedic. And they're answering a lot of questions and showing them all the great equipment, we have on board here and some of their experiences and some of the training they've been able to have as a result of our foundation. As you know, STARS is a not-for-profit and we have a foundation and it's because of donations like this that makes us our program so excellent.”
Volunteer Ron Schwarz shared his experience touring the helicopter and talking to the staff about how they use the donations to improve their ability to save lives.
“Well, it's a wonderful thing to be able to come here to see this and actually see the helicopter here as they are busy and you never know when they're out, to be able to talk to one of the paramedics that is part of this system, to show me the equipment that's in there and how they are able to do what they can do with a small compact area, but to be able to help anyone in any sort of thing. It's just a blessing to have this service here in our area, in our community, and our province and we just appreciate what they can do for us so much.”
The hangar was filled with volunteers telling stories about people they know who have had to use STARS and asking questions, taking pictures and expressing their gratitude. At the end of the time at the hangar, the alarm sounded and Therrien walked the visitors through the process of how the helicopter is dispatched. In the end, it was determined the chopper wasn’t needed, but it did finish off the tour with a touch of reality and where the money really goes.
Noel and the board are grateful for the community support, from those who donate their items to the thrift shop, to the over 80 volunteers who sort, price, display and sell the items, to those who buy from the organization enabling them to donate close to 600,000 a year, according to Beatty.
Below are some interviews with those in attendance at the logo unveiling.
