The Grandparent’s Day Stroll-a-Thon and fourth annual Ball Drop were a huge success for Mont St. Joseph Home on Sunday.
This was the 25th Grandparent’s Day celebration and the most successful Ball Drop since the event started. Resource Development Coordinator Jessica Gale said momentum for the event seems to grow and so does the crowd.
“We just keep getting better and better each year and it’s only because of the support from our community that we can do what we can do what we can do,” Gale said.
“This is our fourth annual Ball Drop. We have raised over $24,000 and we are rolling into our 25th Grandparent’s Day celebrations right now so we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout, better weather, and better support. Today is just turning out to be absolutely fantastic,” she explained.
The Ball Drop fundraiser saw 2,470 golf balls dropped from the top of a Prince Albert Fire Department ladder truck for three cash prizes. The Fire Department remained after the Ball Drop to offer tours of their fire engine.
“Every year gets better and better. Last year we sold a little over 2,200 and this year we are almost at 2,500. Next year let’s max it out at 3,000. That’s our hope,” Gale said.
“The Fire Department has been instrumental in helping us make sure we get this done. They come out, they love participating (and) our residents really love seeing them come out here. They’re not shy about giving people tours of the fire trucks. It really adds to the family festivities.”
The first-place winner of $2,500 was Cory Quick, the second-place winner of $1,500 was Patric Jones and the third-place winner of $500 was Cam Addley.
Along with the walk and ball drop, a whole array of activities were planned for the entire Mont St. Joseph’s family who were invited to come and participate.
Gale said celebrating grandparents is important.
“We call them the trunk of our families because that’s where all the branches come from, ‘she said. “One day isn’t enough to celebrate them, but we’re going to make the best of it that we can.”
The day included music, face painting, games and a family barbecue.
Pattison Media as a platinum sponsor of the drop also donated $5,000 and RBC donated $5,500 towards Grandparent’s Day with this year’s fundraising goal towards enhancing the dining experience.
“All the funds that we raised this year are going towards redeveloping our dining experience for our residents,” Gale said. “We’ve got a big reach. We’re trying to make sure that each of our areas is like a home. That’s our focus here at Mont St. Joe’s. It’s where our folks live. We want to make it feel as homey as we can and making our dining experience more home-like is our goal.”
This year there were 2,470 tickets sold for the Ball Drop, which raised more than $24,000.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
