The Airdrie Health Foundation has erected two Christmas trees at the Airdrie Urgent Care Centre to bring some holiday cheer to the medical facility this year, and raise funds for Pregnancy & Beyond – an Airdrie-based Alberta Health Services (AHS) initiative.
Michelle Bates, executive director of the Airdrie Health Foundation, said it is the group’s second year hosting a tribute tree at the emergency care centre. Like last year, for a minimum $10 donation, the foundation will decorate the tree with an ornament featuring a loved one’s name on it.
New to this year is a real live tree outside of urgent care, which for a $15 donation, the group will light up with festive-coloured lights.
Bates said with the initiative, board members hope to fundraise for and raise awareness of local health-care causes, but also bring good cheer to health-care workers and patients.
“The last couple of years, [with] everyone going through COVID, it’s been really hard on health-care workers,” Bates said. “So even having this beautiful tree in the facility and outside, it really brings up the spirits of the health-care workers and it’s a tribute back to them which is what we really want to focus on.”
The Airdrie Health Foundation was registered as a charitable organization in 2013 and has since been an advocate for Airdrie Community Health Centre, Urgent Care, as well as mental health, and other high priority needs in the community.
The organization’s mandate is to endorse health and wellness priorities, such as services, equipment, and education for Airdrie and the surrounding area.
Bates said the idea for the tribute tree stemmed from a panel of the foundation’s board members who were brainstorming ideas for growth and fundraising last year. The chosen recipient of the tribute tree donation dollars, Pregnancy & Beyond, has been a “lifesaver” for local moms, according to Bates.
“This is our fourth year supporting this program and without our support, the program would actually close down,” she said.
She added as part of the program, the foundation pays for two public health nurses to be there for moms and families and gives them timely access to other medical resources, as well as a dietitian and two Community Links personnel.
The Pregnancy & Beyond Program works with other local groups such as the Airdrie Food Bank and Community Links to offer a program for moms that may experience challenges or isolation, said Bates.
“This is one of the limited programs out there for moms right now due to COVID,” she said.
According to Margie Yellowega, program facilitator and nurse, the program is a collaboration between the Airdrie Health Foundation and AHS.
She added the program is targeted towards mothers and children up to one year old, but because many are not referred into the program right away, they have extended it up to 18 months old.
“After that, we graduate them on to other programs at Community Links for older kiddos,” she said.
Yellowega added the program is all about health promotion, and increasing resiliency and strength, which then “helps the health of the entire community.”
Fellow Pregnancy & Beyond facilitator, Karen White, said the program features both moms and pregnant individuals who meet together towards the end of the month to discuss a specific conversation topic. Since the pandemic began, the meetings have been taking place virtually over Zoom.
“The group is designed to have a positive impact on [mothers'] determinants of health,” she said.
White added the program is increasingly important during the pandemic, which has resulted in an increase in social isolation for participants.
“Moms are not as able to get those natural supports that they might have been able to get before like parents visiting or relatives,” she said. “Margie and I both feel that Pregnancy & Beyond is become even more crucial to this population in Airdrie."
The foundation is accepting donations for the Tribute Trees until Dec. 31. Those interested in learning more about the foundation’s initiatives or donating funds are encouraged to visit airdriehealthfoundation.com or make an in-person donation at the Airdrie Health Centre.
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