Take the stress out of decorating for the holidays by attending the ever-popular Festival of Trees and All Things Christmas fundraiser co-hosted by the North Bay Regional Health Centre in conjunction with the PADDLE program.
Choose from a variety of auction and raffle items such as the Christmas Cheer basket, where people could win one of three $500 baskets filled with adult drinks.
A package filled with massages and self-care products worth over $1,000 will also be raffled off.
People are encouraged to bid on pre-decorated trees of all shapes and sizes, along with holiday décor, wreaths, and gifts to brighten any home or office.
Live music will also keep the holiday spirit alive.
“We have been part of the Festival of Trees for a very long time. It is a great way to partner up with the PADDLE program to raise funds,” explained Justin Perron, Foundation Development Officer, Community Giving.
The Foundation’s share of the proceeds will help support the greatest healthcare needs at the hospital.
The PADDLE program (Providing Adults with Developmental Disabilities Lifelong Experiences) provides life skills for adults over the age of 21.
“We operate Monday to Friday; we offer a wide variety of programs. We go out in the community, we cook, we go to the mall, we’ve done a trip to Toronto. We want to go camping this year, so basically whatever they (participants) are interested in we make that happen,” explained Kristy Hunter PADDLE Program Manager.
Programs can be costly, but this fundraiser will help with those costs.
“We started with seven participants; we now have 37 participants in our program. Our portion of the money will be spent on programming. So, all the things we do inside of PADDLE, and then if we have community events outside of PADDLE. Last year we raised about $20,000 and we split that, so it would be nice to do the same, or raise even a little bit more.”
The family-friendly festival runs until 10 p.m. today and again Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live music at Gateway City Brewery 490 Gormanville Road.
