Windsor Firefighters Calendar Raises $26,000 For Ronald McDonald House

Wednesday December 21st, 2016, 11:54am

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The Ronald McDonald House, located on the third floor of The Windsor Regional Hospital’s Metropolitan Campus, received a donation of $26,130 from Windsor Firefighters today.

The money was raised through the sale of their annual Windsor Firefighter Charity Calendar.

“This is one of our largest fundraising events of the year,” says Windsor Firefighters executive member Wayne Currie. “We pick a charity that would suit our community needs. People at need and sick children is where we’re focused.”

The Ronald McDonald House, which has been open in Windsor since May 9, was an easy choice as this year’s recipient, as two members of Windsor Fire have utilized the service in London. Firefighter Aaron Campeau was one of these.

“This is awesome to have this here now,” says Campeau. “When you’re in a tough situation it’s nice being able to come to a nice spot that feels like home.”

2,900 calendars have been sold, and Campeau believes the popularity of the product is due in part to the choice of charity.

“When we were selling the calendars everyone either had a direct correlation with the Ronald McDonald house or knew someone that had utilized the service,” he says. “As soon as we would say it’s for The Ronald McDonald House everyone was willing to donate to that cause. “

Jenne Wason, Director of Development for The Ronald McDonald House Charity in Southwestern Ontario, is thrilled about this donation and the community support for The House.

“We’ve been supporting Windsor families at the Ronald McDonald house in London for 31 years,” she says. “Having this local support from the fire fighters who do so much for this community really sends a great message about how we’re helping Windsor families.”

The donation will benefit The Ronald McDonald House in Windsor as well as London, as twenty-six per cent of the families served there are from the Windsor-Essex area, according to Wasson.

The Windsor location is the first in-hospital house in Canada, and since opening seven months ago has served seventy-two families for over-night stays and over three hundred on the day pass system.

“We’re proud that we worked to participate with Ronald McDonald House here in Windsor, we couldn’t pick a better charity,” says Currie. “We’re proud of the work that gets done; the calendar is tasteful. We represent our firefighters and this community well, and it’s just a way that we can give back.”