For the past nine years, every June, Maple Ridge’s Doris Jenkins straps on her running shoes and joins the hundreds-strong throng at the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation’s annual Fund Run.
And by her side, every step of the way, is her granddaughter Lauren.
For these two, taking part in the event is a way to show their support for their local hospital, something Doris says Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents shouldn’t take for granted.
“We’re lucky to have it here, it’s a great little hospital,” says Doris. “It’s important to do things for your own community like this, and help in any way you can.”
Doris’s husband Ivor was a patient at Ridge Meadows Hospital, where he underwent knee surgery, and was a resident of the adjacent residential care home, Baillie House, before he passed away two years ago.
Doris says she’s grateful for the care he received at Ridge Meadows Hospital, and will be walking in his memory.
“We’re very thankful for the care he got there,” she says.
Nine years ago, Doris, now 77, did the five-km walk with Lauren’s older sister, Megan. But for the past seven years, Lauren has been by her side.
“I don’t even remember the first time I did it, it’s just something we’ve always done together,” says Lauren, a Grade 8 student at Maple Ridge Secondary School.
This year Lauren plans to run the course, and says she’s looking forward to annual on June 3.
“It’s fun and it’s healthy and everyone is happy and having a good time,” she says.
The Fund Run itself is organized by the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation, which raises money for equipment, education and research at the hospital. With government funding in short supply, staff at the hospital have come to rely on the foundation to provide things like colonoscopes, cardio monitors, surgical equipment, blood analyzers, and much more.
The Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation collected more than $800,000 in donations last year. Thanks to that kind of community generosity, the hospital has been able to expand significantly in the past five years, adding a new emergency ward, ambulatory care ward, and psychiatric ward.
This year’s Fund Run takes place Sunday, June 3, with a five-km walk/run and a 10-km run, as well as a kids’ run, which is new this year.
Last year’s event drew more than 300 participants, and help ed raise more than $30,000 for the hospital.
• For more information about the ninth annual Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation Fund Run, or to register, visit www.rmhfoundation.com