Wellington Rotary fundraiser

Service club aims to raise $400k for hospital build

The Wellington Rotary Club has set itself a goal to raise $400,000 by mid- 2022 for the new hospital to be built in Picton. The club had been looking to undertake a large project, and the level of public interest in seeing a new hospital built in Picton to replace the current Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital led the members to take on this fundraising task. “We felt, as a service club, this was something we could undertake,” said project lead David Smith. “Time has allowed the project to come into focus a little better, particularly because of the announcement this spring about moving to Stage Three, and with our MPP Todd Smith saying this is a green light and there’s no turning back. That allowed us to set a reasonable number to target, and $400,000 was the number the club came to an agreement on.” Currently, the club has raised $270,000 towards that goal. These funds have been generated from a combination of the club’s bottle depot operation, the annual fundraising dinners over the past three years, and an appeal to private donors that has raised about $100,000. An initiative broached by Smith for seniors to donate their recent windfall payment of $300 from the federal government has raised close to $8,000.

Wellington Rotary Club member Mike Lattner holds a bottle of the private-label red wine the club is selling as a fundraiser for the new hospital build.

One fundraising project that will be launched on September 15 is an online auction. In partnership with local company Yeboo Digital, the club has created an online portal for residents to bid on a wide variety of items and services. While many of these have values ranging up to about $300, one item is noteworthy. Prinzen Ford has donated a one-year lease on a Ford F150 crew cab pickup truck, with an estimated value of $10,000. Former Wellington Rotary Club president Mike Lattner anticipates the online auction could generate as much as $40,000 for the hospital build fundraiser.

The club will also receive funds from the sale of a private-label red wine. Two years ago the club sold a private-label white wine made by Lacey Estates. This year the club will be selling a specially blended red wine made by David Gillingham at Domaine Darius. The wine is a 2018 vintage, made using grapes picked by Rotary Club members. Some of the grapes came from club member Brian McGowan’s vineyard. Brian passed away in September of last year, and he was the leading force behind both the white wine and the red wine projects. “It took us two full picking days, with about 10 Rotarians,” said Lattner. “It was a considerable investment in time, but we learned a lot about grapes and what you have to do to make good wine. I’ve tried the wine, and it’s fantastic.” Lattner says the club expects to raise a bit over $16,000 from the sale of the wine. Just 55 cases were made, and the wine is only available at the winery. Lattner says it’s best to call the winery in advance (416.831.9617), and have the bottles ready for pickup. The private-label white wine sold very quickly, and it is expected the new red wine will be a brisk seller too. For more information about the Wellington Rotary Club, please visit wellingtonrotary.ca.