Calling all donors: Phone-A-Thon this Friday

The drive is on for the final $9 million for the Why It Matters campaign for the new hospital wing.

Ralph Richardson, the executive director for the Bermuda Hospital Trust, said no donation is too small as it ramps up for the September deadline.

Part of that drive will include a Phone-A-Thon this Friday to help push the campaign towards its goal. The Phone-A-Thon will last from 9am to 4pm and is just one of four thrusts being promoted by the Why It Matters Campaign.

Mr Richardson told the Bermuda Sun: “We wanted to change the messaging in the Why It Matters campaign now. People have been giving and through the 10 years of the campaign, it has raised $31m. The home stretch is $9m, which we have to hand in at the end of September. 

“I am guilty of something which I think many Bermudians are, which is procrastination.”

He said if people would like to have their name on the Donor Wall, they will have to get their $5,000 contribution in by June 7. 

“If they wait until September, when the hospital is open, it will be too late. They will have put it off too long.

“The Donor Wall is being fabricated abroad. A few days after our June 7 deadline, we have to turn in all our names. If you miss it, you miss it. Those will be the founding members, the people who got it in on time. We are working on ways to extend that wall because we will continue to do fundraising for the foreseeable future.”

He said people who give less than $5,000 will go on a scrolling screen that will repeat and all those names will be in alphabetical order.

“Everybody will be recognized on the Donor Wall but the $5,000 and above will be in print.”

He said the deadline for donating a $1,000 brick for the Legacy Walkway is June 20.

“We’re hoping to be able to continue the brick sales forever, but to get on the pavement by the Opening Ceremony, they need to have their donation in by June 20.”

For those people who don’t have $1,000 to give, they can give a lesser amount such as $50, $100 or $500. Mr Richardson said a $50 donation is the equivalent of purchasing a stainless steel IV stand while $100 is the equivalent of a rolling walker. 

He said people can give specific amounts, knowing what their contribution is worth in real terms.

The Phone-A-Thon will see volunteers making phone calls on Friday to help solicit funds for the campaign.

“People can call one of the numbers and people will be there to take their pledge.”