TeleMiracle kicks off with million-dollar donation

TeleMiracle 47 is already off to a great start, thanks to a generous donation from the Kinsmen Foundation.

On Thursday, the non-profit pledged $1 million towards new health-care equipment for Saskatchewan.

Rob Bateman, chair of the Kinsmen Foundation, said the pledge was made possible by last year’s TeleMiracle 46, which brought in more than $8 million. He said the donation is on top of what the organization gives to the province throughout the year.

Bateman said TeleMiracle events, which have been held since 1977, fund the entire charity. The majority of the money is spent on mobility, medical equipment and travel funding for the province.

The funds will be allocated towards Saskatchewan-based health-care foundations and facilities who are eligible to apply.

“The Kinsmen Foundation is truly helping people every day, and it’s thanks to the generosity of TeleMiracle donors that we continue to fulfil this mandate,” Bateman said.

The money raised from TeleMiracle has been shared with many different organizations, including the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation. Foundation CEO Lecina Hicke said she’s grateful for the help from TeleMiracle, which has helped her foundation since 1986.

Hicke said the donations have provided the province with innovative technology, and a recent example is the hospital’s hospice and palliative care unit. She said funds from the Kinsmen Foundation also helped the hospital get its da Vinci surgical robot this past year.

She added the hospital is also the home of the province’s digital electron microscope, and has access to the province’s only digital stroboscope through the assistance of the Kinsmen Foundation.

Scott Lamb, chair of TeleMiracle 47, said the event brings the province together in an effort to help those that need it the most. He said this year’s cast has already been touring to places such as Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital.

TeleMiracle, Lamb said, is a staple in Saskatchewan culture.

“Things like the Roughriders, bunnyhugs, Vi-Co and TeleMiracle root you back to this province,” he said.

“It’s because of the people in this province that we are able to make those differences in our health-care system and in individual lives.”

The 20-hour telethon begins Saturday at 6:15 p.m.