It’s the toughest, worst-paying job Andrea Peyton has ever had.
The gig requires her to haul heavy loads, scrub plastic surfaces with a toothbrush, and wash and iron thousands of pieces of fabric.
At her busiest, she works 40 hours a week during evenings and weekends.
Oh, and the job doesn’t pay a dime.
That’s because Peyton, a senior financial officer for Calder Bateman by day, reaps the rewards of knowing sick and injured children in northern Alberta will prosper from her hard work and generosity. Peyton is preparing for the Edmonton Spring Pop-Up Tot Sale, a fundraiser for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Peyton was inspired to give back three years ago after family friends lost their son to leukaemia.
“I just wanted to give back to the local hospital here…It’s just really inspirational for me,” Peyton said.
She started collecting donations of gently-used baby and kids’ clothing, toys and furniture and putting on pop-up sales. In just three years, she’s raised more than $80,000 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“The amount of money that they get – it’s a tiny portion of their program – but they always just make you feel like you’re giving a $1-million cheque instead of a $20,000 cheque.”
That’s because these kinds of community initiatives make up $1.7 million of the foundation’s annual revenue.
“The money that’s raised through community initiatives goes to funding excellence at the hospital, so it’s anything that’s above and beyond the standard level of care,” Joanna Begg Pattison, senior community initiatives coordinator for the foundation, explained. She cites the hospital’s pet therapy program, which eases the stress and anxiety of patients, as an example.
“It’s really heart-warming.
“It’s very rewarding and inspiring that these people in the community have taken their own time and initiative and put a lot of their own effort into these events,” Begg Pattison said.
The Edmonton Spring Pop-Up Tot Sale runs April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Terwillegar Community Church.
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