The annual Vaudreuil-Soulanges Palliative Care Residence’s poinsettias campaign is officially underway.
Nearly 3,000 of the Christmas flowers will be sold during the last week of November.
The annual fundraiser, which is run completely by volunteers, is expected to raise around $74,000 with all proceeds going directly towards the end-of-life care centre.
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Since 2010, the fundraiser has been organized and run by husband and wife duo, Gilles and Marie Hebert.
Along with the help of volunteers, putting in hundreds of hours of work, the campaign has raised more than $500,000 for the off-island residence.
“It’s a bit crazy I would say,” Hebert said.
The effort is run out of the Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac garden centre, where thousands of plants are packed, bundled and shipped by volunteers to hundreds of buyers.
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All proceeds from the $25 sale go to supporting the residence.
The residence receives some government funding, but it only covers 38 per cent of the total cost needed to run the facility. The rest comes from donations.
“Our community supports us to the tune of $1.5 million,” said Christine Boyle, the residence’s director.
“People like to bring holiday cheer into their homes and they know that they are bringing cheer to our patients. It’s a win win.”
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The campaign will surpass a major milestone this year with more than 25,000 plants ordered and delivered since the program kicked off nine years ago.
One special plant will be kept and delivered to the nurses of the palliative care residence Hebert said, “because they are the heart of the palliative centre.”
“People don’t come here to die. They come here to live and the Poinsettias Campaign helps us to do that,” Boyle said.
The campaign runs from Nov. 25-29.
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