With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I wanted to share this story with you.  It's a powerful example of how a small donation can have such a big impact on a patient's (& their family's) experience here at Ajax Pickering Hospital.

So as you may know, part of our Compassion Fund activities includes amazing volunteers knitting beautiful & colourful blankets that we distribute to patients throughout the hospital.  They are a way to help the patients feel more comfy during their stay.

One of those patients was Margaret. 

four generations of women: Margaret surrounded by her daughter, granddaughters & great-granddaughters (Maggie was yet to be born)

Margaret was dignity and grace personified, and saw life as an adventurous journey.  She had a wonderful sense of humour and a feisty spirit, as well as an ability to finish a crossword puzzle faster than any one of her offspring!

Last year, Margaret`s daughter, Juli, had to bring her into the Emergency Department for a transfusion, and we took down a blanket to help keep her warm.  Whenever we saw Juli after that, she would tell us how much her mom loved that blanket and how thoughtful it was that we hand them out!

Margaret kept that blanket.  I can imagine her children lovingly tucking the blanket around her against a chill, or its burst of colour brightening up a room, or her great-grandchildren cuddling up into it as they came and visited  her.

Margaret passed away recently - in her 96th year!  But that`s not the end of the story for that blanket.  It has been passed on to her great granddaughter (and namesake) Maggie.  And I am sure she will remember Margaret, and how much she loved her, every time she looks at the blanket.

This story is just an example of how donors - like you - make such a big difference in the lives of patients and their families.  And it`s not always a piece of equipment that has beeping lights, high definition monitors or the latest technology that does it.  Sometimes it is a small item of comfort that can have a lasting impact.

This year is the first year that Margaret's children, Juli & her brother Doug, will not be able to celebrate Mother`s Day with their mom, but I know Margaret`s spirit hasn`t left them!

If you would like to celebrate your mom this Mother`s Day with a donation to the Compassion Fund at Ajax Pickering Hospital, just click here .  Your gift could change a life too.

Yours in philanthropy,