59th KDH Auxiliary HEY DAY Thank You!

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submitted by Jolene Stover

The 59th annual KDHA Hey Day was once again a huge success due to the support of our amazing community!

Both Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8, the crowds lined up in anticipation of finding that one special treasure, bargain or collectible. This KDH Auxiliary major fundraising event is a celebration of community and support. This year’s Hey Day was a success on so many different levels. The money raised this year was done so one donation and one dollar at a time. For 59 years, the KDH Auxiliary has organized this gigantic yard sale to raise funds for hospital equipment. There is no government funding for this equipment.

For two days, the NG Curling Club was hopping…children and parents swarmed the toy section; weary shoppers took a break to enjoy a coffee and slice of homemade pie at Lil’s Canteen, the ever popular bake table was sold out in a hurry, the sections were piled high with donated items. On Saturday, the tradition of the paper bags continued, over 1000 paper bags were purchased for $3 each, and filled to the delight of shoppers.

At 1:00 on Saturday, we were honoured to have Mayor Nancy Peckford announce the raffle winners. The big winner of the 50/50, Ian Bell, collected $2744, a nice welcome for the new Kemptville resident. The silent auction winners were contacted and collected their treasures.

The items sold at Hey Day are donations by North Grenville residents and surrounding area. We had it all, everything from tools, furniture, small appliances, clothing, plants, toys, housewares, jewelry, antiques, crafts, sporting goods, treasures, books the list goes on! There was definitely something for everyone.

We want to say Thank You to the people who make this happen. We rely 100% on the donation of “time”. Volunteers are the foundation of Hey Day. It was started by volunteers and is orchestrated every year, by volunteers, young and old. Without them, there would not be a Hey Day. We had an overwhelming 282+ volunteers come out to help with everything from set up to tear down, sorting, unloading, security, selling and so much more. Tirelessly donating over 3450 hours of their time, for our Hospital.

Thank you to the volunteers from the curling club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Kiwanis among others who provided the much needed manpower to help set up on Tuesday.

Hey Day is not a sophisticated revenue generating event run by professionals, it is an Auxiliary fundraiser put together by dedicated volunteers doing their individual best to help out, however and where ever they can, to raise as much money as possible for the KDHA and the hospital. It is an exhausting yet rewarding task. To say the KDHA is proud of the volunteer community is an understatement.

In addition to thanking the volunteers, donors and shoppers, the KDH Auxiliary would like to especially thank the many businesses and groups that contributed to Hey Day again this year. These businesses continue to support our community, event after event, please say “Thank You” by supporting their business.

Several deserve special mention:

Jim and Judy Beveridge – B&H Foodliner for an endless list of items
Kevin Render and Diana Fisher for MC’ing again this year
Bob Beshara – Class Axe Guitars for donating our speaker system
Mr. Dumpster and Britt Construction – Dumpsters
Kemptville Truck Centre generously contributed much needed trucks

Cafe supplies were donated by Albert’s Meat Shop, Beking Poultry Farm, Dempsters, Loughlin’s Country Store; B&H Foodliner contributed food items for the canteen and Betsy Boxes as well as the dozens of individuals who donated baked goods for sale.

Grahame’s Bakery – for the generous donation of baked goods for our bake table

Thank you to all the businesses that posted our Hey Day posters, flyers and ads and allowed us to sell our 50/50 tickets.

The leftover books were donated to the KYC for their upcoming book sale, and all other articles were donated to OF4CP and local charities.

“I am proud to be part of the Kemptville District Hospital Auxiliary and all the amazing fundraising they continue to do in support of our local hospital and their efforts to enhance the patient experience. We are an extremely lucky community to have such an incredible facility accessible to our families. We need to continue to support the many fundraising efforts that go on throughout the year. There is no government funding available to the hospital to purchase what it needs to care for the patients. Largely due to funds raised at Hey Day, the Auxiliary has over the years contributed over an astounding $1.3 million to the Kemptville hospital.”

Hey Day 2020 will mark our 60th Anniversary! We plan to celebrate this momentous date and look forward to you all joining us.

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