Tour De Headwaters raises $53,000 for local hospital

By Sam Odrowski

Cyclists across Dufferin–Caledon had a great opportunity to support their local hospital earlier in September. 

The 7th Annual Tour De Headwaters fundraiser, where participants bike routes ranging from 25 to 135km, returned on September 17, raising $53,000 for Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC).

About 120 bikers took on six different routes, starting at the Caledon Ski Club, generating donations for the purchase of equipment at the local hospital.

The government does not fund equipment costs for hospitals, so it's up to the communities they reside in to fundraise, and makes events like Tour De Headwaters important to the well-being of HHCC.

“The budget that the hospital receives from the government doesn't include any money for equipment. So really, every unit, every room in this hospital with patients has equipment in it that is funded by community donations. That's everything from patient IV pumps to our million-dollar pieces of equipment like our CT scanner or our digital mammography unit,” explained K.C Carruthers, CEO of Headwaters Health Care Foundation, the fundraising arm of HHCC.

“That is all here because of community donations. And this year, one of our focuses is our obstetrics unit – we have over 900 babies born here every year – and [we require] all of the equipment needed to bring those newborns safely into the world.”

Carruthers added, “The beds, wheelchairs, the infant incubators, the fetal monitors, it's all expensive, and it's all funded 100 per cent through donations from our community.”

This year's Tour De Headwaters featured a Family Fun Zone, where kids could take part n face painting zoo demonstrations, colouring contests, and a bouncy castle.

While it was a fun addition to the event, it didn't help with attendance, according to Carruthers. He said this year's 120 participants in the bike routes was 80 less than last year, which had about 200.

Regardless of the turnout, the event still helped to generate much needed revenue for the local community hospital.

It's not too late to donate. Anyone looking to support the hospital through Tour De Headwaters can make a donation online at hhcfoundation.com/Events/Calendar/Tour-de-Headwaters.