When Gerda Suess was named New Westminster’s Citizen of the Year, she wanted to find a way to continue contributing to the community. Twenty years later, her plan is still working.
Suess was named New Westminster Citizen of the Year in 2003. At a subsequent lunch at Westminster Club with friend Nancy Jickels, the two New West residents hashed out a plan that ultimately led to the formation of the Group of Five – a charity that raises money to buy equipment for Royal Columbian Hospital.
“I said, ‘Now I am Citizen of the Year – what should I do next?’” Suess recalled. “We had an idea of doing something for Royal Columbian Hospital.”
Since its formation, the Group of Five (and Friends) has raised money for much-needed equipment at Royal Columbian Hospital. Originally comprised of five women – Suess, Jickels, Shirley Piper, Marian Osterman, and Cheryl Gauld, the 100 per cent volunteer-run organization has benefited from the participation of many New West residents.
“Over the years, many of our group of five have come and gone, are no longer with us, but our mandate has never changed,” Jickels said.
The Group of Five will continue its efforts to raise money for Royal Columbian Hospital at its upcoming Because of You fundraiser. It’s on Friday, Nov. 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Centennial Lodge in Queen’s Park.
Jickels, who is the event coordinator, said the event will mark a milestone – the Group of Five’s 20th anniversary – and will celebrate Suess, who is now 94.
“The whole atmosphere will be light. Everybody can come and have a good chat, a few nibblies,” Jickels said. “It's very casual. Gerda will be in attendance, of course. I want her to sort of be the belle of the ball.”
The Because of You fundraiser features a silent auction, raffles, a cash bar serving wine and beer, tasty treats, and a Cheers to 20 Years cake, and a chance for attendees to mingle and chat. It will have a different theme than the group’s past fundraisers.
“We've stepped away from the Christmassy theme that is usual,” Jickels said. “It’s more of a celebratory tribute. And we have had some very generous donations.”
The silent auction will include opportunities to bid on prizes including a wine tasting for four from Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery and a one-night stay at the Inn at the Quay (as well as two of their king-size hotel bed pillows.)
Attendees will also have a chance to bid on two items donated by the city – official City of New Westminster street signs that the recipients can have personalized by the engineering operations department.
“We’ve had a lot of community support in people who've donated different things,” Jickels said.
In addition to bidding on five or six silent auction items, attendees can buy raffle tickets (three for $10 or 10 for $25) and put them in boxes for items on the raffle table.
“We want to be able to offer something for everybody,” Jickels said
Tickets to the Because of You fundraiser are $40. To reserve a ticket, call 604-839-2184 or email [email protected].
Supporting RCH – and patients
Through the years, the Group of Five has helped Royal Columbian Hospital check numerous items off its equipment wish list. Its purchases have included items including gurneys, monitors and arthroscopic cameras for the emergency room, televisions for the pediatric department, skeletons for the education department, and bone foam forms for the operating room.
This year’s fundraiser aims to raise $6,000 for the purchase of a much-needed lightweight LED medical headlight system, which is a headlight system that provides surgeons with bright, uniform lighting.
“Designed for rigorous use, it can operate for up to 10 hours at peak brightness on a single charge,” said a notice from the Group of Five. “Royal Columbian Hospital performs all of Fraser Health region’s neurosurgery cases. We do more unscheduled brain surgeries (craniectomy/craniotomy) than any other site in BC. Right now, we have one headlight shared between 17surgeons.”
Suess and Jickels have both seen this piece of equipment in action.
Suess, who is now blind in one eye and is losing her vision in the other, was seeing an eye specialist in Vancouver when she noticed he was using the very piece of equipment the Group of Five was planning to buy for Royal Columbian Hospital.
“I benefited from it right then and there,” she said. “I said, ‘Now I know what the hospital wants.’”
Two years ago, Jickels fell in her backyard when her new rescue dog tripped her up and she suffered a fractured an eye socket. At the hospital, the doctor used neurological headlamp like that being purchased by the Group of Five – and that, along with a CT scan, helped save her life by detecting an unburst aneurysm on her brain.
For Jickels, it was not the first time she’d seen equipment like that purchased by the Group of Five in action at Royal Columbian Hospital. At its first fundraiser 20 years ago, the charity raised money to buy four machines used to prevent blood clots from forming following surgery.
“While we were doing the presentation, one of the nurses came down and said, ‘Could we actually take one of these machines? We could use it right now,’” she recalled. “And sort of sadly, but gratefully, a few months later, my younger brother was involved in a horrific accident, and he underwent 18 hours of surgery. And when I got to see him in the ICU, two of those machines were being used on him. So just personally, everything that the group has done has, one way or another, has impacted my life.”
Jickels invites community members to attend the upcoming fundraiser and celebrate the Group of Five’s contributions to Royal Columbian Hospital – and all the folks who have made it possible.
“Come out and help us celebrate all the good that the people who've contributed over the years. I know it's impacted many different departments in the hospital, from emergency to the children's department and in between. I would like people to come out and take their piece of ownership in the good that's been done,” she said. “It’s also a special tribute to the lady who started it all. Just a big thank you for the person who had the idea.”
