We are firm believers in the power and necessity of community and charitable support here at Hillcrest Animal Hospital. We have a long tradition of supporting local recreational children’s sports teams as well as a number of higher profile local charities (see our “cyclone” on the lower right corner of our homepage) and most especially supporting our beloved OHL franchise the Belleville Bulls. This year I took a quick look at our donations to these and other charities over the last 4 years and it comes to over $64,000…
This year we again purchased game-worn jerseys from the Belleville Bulls Charity Jersey Auction. For 4 of the last 5 years the Bulls have played a regular league game wearing jerseys that are specifically designed to support a local/national deserving charity. During the game a number of activities also serve to raise money for the charity (this year they also sold “hearts” to be hung around the arena). At the end of the game the jerseys that are worn by the players are sold to the highest bidder during a live auction (they get washed of course!). All of the funds raised go to the charity. This was our fourth year of supporting these wonderful causes. It began 4 years ago when we bought Nick Palmieri’s jersey during the “Pink In The Rink” event in support of Breast Cancer Research.
Three years ago we bought Steven Silas’ jersey in support of the Military Family Resource Center, as well as Andy Bathgate’s (my son Mason’s favourite player at the time). We have continued our support of this wonderful group of people through sponsorships of their annual “Invisible Ribbon Gala” ever since.
Last year we also purchased 2 jerseys; Scott Simmonds and Daniil Zharkov. Together they were actually quite a bit cheaper than the one 2 years ago when Dr. Steen got a bit carried away bidding on Steven’s jersey. But that is another story…
The auction last year was in support of Quinte Health Care to raise money to purchase a Holmium Laser for the Belleville General Hospital. In the end the Bulls and their generous fans managed to raise almost $30,000 towards the purchase of the laser! This was all through the untiring efforts of the wonderful folks at The Belleville General Hospital Foundation.
This year the Bulls were raising money and awareness for an organization that has become important to a huge amount of people right across this country of ours, the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Again this year the Bulls managed to raise a large sum of money for this wonderful organization. The total was over $27,000 and we did our part by purchasing 3 jerseys; Daniil Zharkov’s, Carter Sandlak’s and Stephen Silas’. We will have Carter Sandlak’s jersey on display in our waiting room as soon as it is framed.
It is a special feeling to know that you have contributed to such wonderful causes, both local and national. We would like to applaud the Bulls organization, all of the players, and all of our fellow fans for their continued generosity. For those curious to see the sweaters, we have many of them proudly on display in our waiting room. Please drop in and take a look!
Dr. Michael Steen
