Newmarket ON – The rain held off until the last of more than 1250 participants crossed the finish line during the 2023 Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake on April 30 along Davis Drive in Newmarket. Southlake supporters ran, walked, and most importantly, raised over $434,000 in support of Southlake Regional Health Centre’s most urgent needs.
“Our community came together in numbers we haven’t seen since before the pandemic and it was just incredible,” said Jennifer Klotz-Ritter, President and CEO at Southlake Foundation. “As our largest annual community fundraiser for Southlake, this event raises vital funds for new and replacement equipment and technology that is critical to delivering patient care. We are so grateful to our community and our sponsors who stepped up in such a meaningful way.”
The pandemic saw incredible pressure put on our health care system, but Southlake also continues to address the needs of a growing and aging population across York Region and beyond. Increased need for new tools and technology is felt in nearly every clinical program of the hospital and community donations are critical to funding those purchases.
“We have incredible doctors, nurses, allied health and clinical support staff at Southlake that deliver leading edge care, but the government doesn’t fully fund all new and replacement equipment,” said Arden Krystal, President and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre. “We rely on donors’ generosity, through events like the Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake, to help us make vital upgrades. Funds raised from this year’s event will literally put tools in the hands of our amazing clinicians, so they’re ready when you need them most.”
Dr. Eddie Chan, one of the 2023 Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake ambassadors, echoes that sentiment. “As a physician in Southlake’s Emergency Department, I care for so many members of our communities’ most vulnerable. Every day I use tools that have been funded by community donations to provide that care. It was humbling to be able to walk along side so many people who actively fundraised for equipment I depend on and I think I can speak for all my colleagues to say we are so thankful for that support.”
This year’s Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake saw 88 teams registered with 21 of them being hospital family teams (made up of physicians, staff, and/or volunteers at Southlake.
The event categorizes teams each year into different fundraising challenges with awards for the top fundraising team. The 2023 challenge winners are:
- Hospital Department Challenge – The Fun-Raisers (comprised of Southlake Foundation Leadership Volunteers)
- School Cup Challenge – Aurora Montessori School Wolverunners
- Corporate & Business Team Challenge – Team Magna
- Community Friends & Family Challenge – The Late Bloomers (a committed group of women from our community including former Southlake staff and volunteers)
- Mayor’s Challenge – Town of Aurora
- Community Spirit Award – Town of Newmarket (awarded to the municipality with the highest percentage of participation of citizens).
A key factor to the success of the event is the generosity and support of sponsors. Nature’s Emporium celebrated their 11th year as title sponsor for the event, sharing in a vision of health and well-being for the communities they serve, alongside Southlake.
“We’ve always been proud sponsors of this event, but this year we were so thrilled to see the volume of participants from our community on race day, showing up for our hospital, and each other,” said Joe D’Addario, President of Nature’s Emporium. “This decade-long partnership is a key way that Nature’s Emporium gives back to the communities that support us, and every year our team is inspired by the impact we can all make together. On behalf of the Nature’s Emporium family, thank you to everyone who participates and donates through the event.”
Additionally, Southlake Foundation thanks sponsors Magna International, RE/MAX Hallmark Polsinello Group Realty, The MARC Group, Upper Canada Mall, Boland Romaine LLP, GEM Health Care Services, The Bakerfield, York Rehab, Sports Medicine Centre of Excellence, Highland GM, Chartwell Retirement Residences, Orangetheory Fitness, The GUHAH Way, and Print Graphics Inc. Each one of these companies and community business leaders understand the importance of supporting access to leading edge care for the citizens of our communities and their support is so appreciated by Southlake.
Everyone on the Run Committee (a volunteer leadership organizing committee for the event), including Chair, Brian North, Kelly Broome, Lisbeth Goodyear, John Firman, Rose Fragala, Yasmeen Shahrokhi, Sarah Widawski and Krissy Young express their gratitude to runners and walkers of this year’s event, and look forward to next year’s Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake on Sunday, April 28, 2024 where they hope to see even more community members get involved to support our hospital.
For more information on the run, visit: www.runforsouthlake.ca
