Since
1990 4-H clubs across Alberta have come together to fundraise for STARS.Together
4-H members have raised over $900,000 to ensure all Albertans have access to
life-saving transport.
VIP Story
Lorenz Entz
Hometown:
Drumheller, AB
Twelve-year-old Lorenz would rather work
than play around. It was this hard working nature that took him to the mechanic
shop on the Cloverleaf Hutterite Colony on one sunny Saturday afternoon in May.
He was tasked with cleaning the truck wash.
When he was finished he was to close the electric overhead garage door.
However, a piece of pipe had fallen into the door’s track and would not let it
close properly.
When Lorenz pushed the open button again,
his arm got caught and he was pulled 16 feet to the ceiling until the door
stopped.
His screams brought the attention of
another boy who ran for help. By the time help arrived, Lorenz had fallen to
the ground, his arm still caught above in the door.
As his father, Joe, prepared to take him to
meet a ground ambulance from Drumheller, others on scene got Lorenz’s arm from
the door. STARS met the ground ambulance in Drumheller and took him to the
Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
Thanks to rapid transport, surgeons were
able to successfully reattach his arm in a nine-hour surgery.
Today Lorenz has regained much use of his
arm and continues to recover from the incident.
“We will forever be grateful to have STARS
in the sky,” said Joe. “Thank you STARS for your quick response.”
Animal Auctions
Every year,
Alberta 4-H clubs, members and leaders help fundraise for STARS through charity
auctions of steers, calves and sheep, or via other animal-related projects. As
a club, you share the responsibilities of raising a
charity animal from start to finish and then you can donate the proceeds from the
auction of that animal to STARS. Some clubs choose to auction the charity steer
more than once to raise more funds. Alternatively, some clubs choose to donate
a portion of the proceeds of each animal auctioned to STARS.
STARS Calendar Sales
Starting this
year, from July 2015-February 2016, 4-H members can sell STARS calendars and
receive a commission on each calendar sold. The annual STARS Calendar Campaign
is in its 21st year and raises millions of dollars with many moving
patient stories of rescue and recovery and photos of our STARS team in action. You
can help STARS fundraise through calendar sales and your club will also benefit
by receiving $6 per each calendar sold. Get in touch with us to arrange for
calendar supplies.
STARS Red Ring for Life
We all share a
degree of separation from STARS. One in ten Albertans knows a patient or was a
patient. How many degrees of separation are you?
Show your pride in
being part of the STARS team and support our life saving mission by wearing a
Red Ring for Life. The ring is a symbol of the many hands involved in a
life-saving mission and is worn by supporters, donors, former patients and
members of the chain of survival. With a minimum donation of $5 per month for
one year, or a yearly donation of $60, you will receive your stainless steel
ring.
STARS Fund a Flight
You can help keep
STARS in the sky when you fund one of our vital flights. Life can change
without a moment’s notice – from a farm accident or a heart attack to a car
crash. Your support is critical to our ability to save lives.
A donation of
$5400 will help make one patient’s mission possible – this includes the medical
and aviation crew, as well as the necessary medical supplies and helicopter
fuel needed. This donation is equal to one dollar per second for an average 90
minute mission. When the mission you helped fund has been completed, you will
receive a STARS Certificate of Support and information about the mission your
donation funded.
About STARS
STARS is dedicated
to providing a safe, rapid, highly specialized emergency medical transport system
for the critically ill and injured. In our 30th year, we have flown over
30,000 missions since 1985, including 1,839 missions in Alberta last year. On
board, patients are always cared for by a STARS flight nurse and flight
paramedic team. A transport physician accompanies the patient when required, and
are always available for consultation through telephone or radio link.
When seconds count
and the mission is critical, timely and accurate sharing of information is
vital to the patient’s outcome. To meet this need, the STARS Emergency Link
Centre (ELC) is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by a team of highly
skilled Communication Specialists. The STARS ELC facilitates communication
between the helicopter-based crew and external organizations such as ground
ambulance, fire services and hospital staff. The STARS ELC also manages
requests for deployment of helicopters, monitors the helicopter while in flight
and coordinates landing zone preparation prior to their arrival.
For more than half
the population of Western Canada, access to critical care is measured in hours.
That can mean the difference between life and death; full recovery or permanent
damage. STARS offers time, hope and live-saving transport to critically ill and
injured patients. STARS is a charitable, non-profit organization and funding is
met through donations from individuals, service groups, businesses and
corporations, municipalities and through collaborative agreements with the
provincial government. The incredible support of the community helps us
continually enhance our innovative and leading-edge air medical programs and
service.
Your support
ensures that STARS can be there for the next patient.
For
more information on how your club can get involved, please contact:
Claire
Smith
Development
Officer, Events, Calgary
403-516-3569
csmith@stars.ca
Sabrina
Ali
Development
Officer, Events, Edmonton
780-890-3145
sali@stars.ca
Shaundra
Siebert
Development
Officer, Events, Grand Prairie
780-830-7015
ssiebert@stars.ca
