Weyburn– Weyburn’s Dan Cugnet better have his cellphone charged on Aug. 24. In fact, he better take one of those battery chargers along, too.
That’s because Cugnet, along with hopefully four other people, will be deposited at a site somewhere on the prairie near Saskatoon as part of STARS air ambulance’s third annual Rescue on the Prairie.
The fundraiser is modelled on the “jail and bail” fundraiser, but much larger scale. Participants are taken out by one of STARS’ helicopters to a location on the prairie where they take part in challenges and make calls to people they know, trying to raise a minimum of $50,000 each for STARS, according to Mark Oddan, communications lead with STARS and its foundation. Once they reach their goal, they can be “rescued,” again, by helicopter.
“We fly them to an undisclosed location,” he said. The participants have their cellphones and address books.
“We recruit influential community leaders,” Oddan said, adding they can start fundraising before the actual day. One person, for instance, did small fundraisers like bake sales for weeks before the actual event.
The challenges participants take part in are related to STARS’ work and include medical challenges. Oddan said it was a whirlwind of activity in a day.
Ron Carson participated in 2015 and came up big, raising $217,000, around half the $440,000 total that year. Last year Rescue on the Prairie raised $525,000 in Saskatchewan. Similar events take place in Alberta and Manitoba as well.
Oddan said it’s nice to get a mix of people and backgrounds.
“We’re very excited about this year,” he said.
Cugnet, a part-owner in Valleyview Petroleum, is pretty pumped about participating. “It was something I was interested in doing, to help out a fantastic organization,” he said.
“It has a direct impact on all of us, whether we know it or not.”
To contribute to Cugnet's rescue, click here.
http://support.stars.ca/site/TR?px=1005083&fr_id=1180&pg=personal
