Mont St. Joseph Home in Prince Albert is curling without ice for a fundraiser that began Feb. 3.
The Mont St. Joseph Foundation is hosting the 23rd Annual ‘Iceless’ Monty which is an online auction that replaces the traditional fundraising curling event.
“We actually usually curl at the Golf and Curling Centre and have a great fun event where we get to mix with our families and our supporters and our residents,” Jessica Gale, resource development coordinator with the Mont St. Joseph Foundation said. “Of course, with the prevalence of COVID in the community we decided not to go that route again this year … so we went with an online auction instead with our ‘Iceless’ Monty.”
The second online auction runs from Feb. 3 to Feb. 6. This year the auction’s goal is to replace all 120 beds and mattresses in the home, which will cost $350,000.
“The Foundation has always supported the Home and when the Home asked if this was something we would get behind, we said 110 per cent,” Gale said. “The beds and mattresses haven’t been replaced within the home since it was built, so the current beds that we have in our home are from 1997. It is beyond time to replace them.”
All of the items in the auction are donated by local business and people from the community. Gale said the bidding is contagious.
“We have got staff that are here on their coffee breaks and you can hear them chattering back and forth about people bidding them out and people in the community getting on board,” she said. “It’s so much fun and that was what was important to us to create an event that is online so that people can stay safe but still include the fun that our Monty always has.”
There are various items up for auction and there is also a 50/50 draw. The auction can be found on the foundation’s Facebook page, or on their website.
Gale explained that Gary Anderson is the presenting sponsor and has donated $10,000 towards the purchase of beds.
“We are really excited and we are really thankful for all of the support that we have gotten so far,” she said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
