For the 19th year, the Misericordia Heath Centre (MHC) takes to the streets as the Angel Squad to raise money for the hospital and for Misericordia Place, its long-term care facility.
This year, the foundation is focused on raising money for life enrichment services, such as art, music, and garden therapy at the Great-West Life Rooftop Garden and Solarium. While health care at the facilities heavily depends upon funding from the government, there are things the government cannot provide.
Queue the Angel Squad.
The premise is simple: volunteers—ranging from employees of MHC, to politicians, to schools in the neighbourhood—dress up as angels, stand on the Maryland Bridge, and wave in hopes of getting commuters to donate by pulling into the loop at MHC off Sherbrook Street. Donors are rewarded with coffee and cookies provided by Starbucks.
Kim Siddall, chair of the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation Board of Directors, strongly believes in the power of the fundraiser.
“I can’t tell you how it really kicks off the holiday season. You don’t feel like an idiot dressed as an angel when there are 70 of you [ . . . ] I’m very passionate about it,” Siddall told the Manitoban.
“The Angel Squad is probably our marquis event in terms of a reflection of our brand. [The Misericordia Health Centre] is a community-based health care facility and our specialty is healthy aging. Because we are a faith-based centre, the angels are an emblem for us and Angel Squad is a great event because it gets the community involved.”
Volunteers from the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, Virgin Radio, the Winnipeg Free Press, Starbucks, and several schools in the community are getting involved this year.
By focusing on funding life-enrichment opportunities for the residents in this year’s Angel Squad fundraiser, MHC will be able to provide patients with creative outlets, as well as visitors for individuals who do not have many to help make their worlds as big as possible.
“For older citizens, creativity gives them an outlet. It certainly helps with keeping their memories and minds fresh, and also working and things like that. Dementia is obviously a problem, loss of memory is a problem in elderly people and some of their lives get very small. And so for them, to have people come in and do music therapy or art therapy, or things like that, can really improve their lives,” said Siddall.
Misericordia Place and MHC are filled with individuals who are not able to leave the residency, due to health issues, mobility issues, or otherwise, making the “extras” funded by donations from the community that much more important.
“Anybody who has ever had a family member who is in some sort of long-term care or long-term living facility knows the importance of the extra stuff in improving their quality of life [ . . . ] it makes a big difference.”
Misericordia Health Centre Foundation executive director Patti Smith agrees.
“Life-enrichment programming is something that we at MHC Foundation are very passionate about [ . . . ] we believe [these] are not just ‘extras’ but in fact are essential quality of life issues that we must address for those living in our care at MHC.”
The life-enrichment programs assist the patients in maintaining as normal a life as possible. For many of the residents, the extra programming allows them to feel at home.
The programs can also have therapeutic effects.
“Music, for example, has been proven to have a calming effect, to provide significant joy to people who have dementia. Sometimes it even brings them back to us for a bit. We have a program that provides iPods and headphones to residents that allows them to choose to listen to music they love and remember,” said Smith to the Manitoban.
“For us, it is all about the village.”
The Angel Squad will be on Confusion Corner with Virgin Radio Dec.2, on the Maryland Bridge Dec. 3 and 4, and in the 201 Portage Avenue and 360 Main Street Starbucks locations on Dec. 4. You can also donate $10 by texting ANGEL to 45678.
