Bring the family out for a movie and some popcorn to help raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in Calgary.
This is the third year the Fenton family will be hosting a fundraiser with proceeds going towards “2016 Sport Chek Mother’s Day Run, Walk & Ride,” an event in Calgary that raises money for Calgary’s NICUs with proceeds to support Foothills Medical Centre, Rockyview General Hospital, Peter Lougheed Centre and South Health Campus, this year through the Forzani Foundation.
The Fentons have been fundraising for NICUs for the past three years after their son Darroch was born in August 2013 with a hypoxic brain injury and ended up spending 22 days in the Foothills NICU.
“The NICU not only saved his life but gave him a better quality of life,” Valentina Fenton said while also noting that Darroch, now 2 years old, is a healthy child with normal development.
“My son could have developed tons of delays but the treatment he received worked really well and it really hit home when the manager of the NICU at the time told us most of the machinery comes from fundraising. It is kind of scary because had those people not fundraised, it could have been very different.”
The first year the family participated in the five-kilometre walk and raised over $6,000, including a $2,000 donation from Walmart, and last year the family sold dog leashes made from donated climbing rope and metal, raising just under $2,000.
This year the family will continue to sell their dog leashes and also host a family-friendly movie at the Cochrane Movie House at the beginning of March.
“This is not about us, this is about helping those in need – this community gives us the courage to fundraise. Cochrane is so helpful, I don’t know if we could pull it off in any other community,” Fenton said.
“I think it will go well – we are trying to focus on fun for families and for the kids to come out and have a good time.”
Families attending the fundraiser will also have a chance to win free door prizes sponsored by Pook, win a 50/50 draw or enter a silent auction with items donated by Howard’s Cove Photography and Keys to Music Inc.
“You are getting a good deal and coming out and having fun and supporting a good cause – and these fundraisers do indeed make an impact, for things you normally take for granted,” Fenton said.
The Fenton family will be at Cochrane Sport Chek on Feb. 20, 21, and 28 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., selling tickets for Zootopia at $10 per ticket. The family will also be selling handmade dog leashes and will bring the silent auction items into Sport Chek, giving people the chance to bid on items.
Zootopia in 3D will be playing at the Cochrane Movie House on March 5 at 10 a.m. The Fentons are also offering families a chance to buy the tickets before with cash or e-transfer. For more information, contact Valentina Fenton at 403-852-6685 or [email protected]
