Lethbridge hospital radiothon shoots for the stars

A local radiothon raised over $275,000 for the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation (CRH) on Thursday.

The 12th annual CRH Care from the Heart radiothon had radio stations come together to help spread awareness for healthcare services needed in the community.

“Last year, we set our sights at $250,000 goal and then we raised $262,000. So we upped it a little bit. We’ve seen a lot of support from the community in the past year, and we decided, ‘Why not? Let’s see if we can top last year’s total,'” said Shonna Lamb, development officer with the CRH Foundation.

The foundation surpassed its goal by more than $15,000, with more than an hour left in the charity event.

Country 95-morning show radio host Joanne Lohr said it’s incredible to see radio announcers come together every year to raise money for the foundation.

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“Everyone you know, if you live around here, you or someone you know will need to go to the hospital at some point.”

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“One of the things we love about the radiothon is we’re able to speak directly to where the donations go in the hospital, the different areas that are supported, and who the patients are that see it,” said Lamb.

Chad Benson, co-host of the Country 95 morning show, said his son Miles needed a week-long stay in the NICU to receive care when he was born.

“The staff was absolutely amazing. The facility was absolutely amazing. Everything that we needed in order to get him that little extra advantage in order to succeed and thrive was basically what we were gifted because of the CRH,” said Benson. “From where he began to now… it’s just been night and day.”

This was Benson’s fifth radiothon as an announcer, and he said that having the NICU experience with his son made it that much more important for people to support.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, isolated patients could not see loved ones while receiving care. Last year’s funds went towards wifi devices to help keep patients in contact with their families.

“We’ve been doing this for 12 years now, and we do this because the support is so warm and robust. We are thankful to be able to continue this. To whoever supports in whatever way that looks like, whether it’s financial awareness or simply tuning into the stations. We’re really thank you,” says Lamb.

You can donate to CRH Care for the Heart here until the end of February.