By Emily Stonehouse

It’s an exciting time for the Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) Foundation, as they welcome two new students to join their roster of dedicated staff for the summer months. “This is our busy season,” said Melanie Klodt Wong, the executive director of the foundation. “Having these two students here who really want to invest in the county, that will help us so much.”

The students were hired as a part of the Canada Summer Jobs program, which combines organizational funding with governmental support to create jobs in a variety of fields. Generally, the programs are offered for a few weeks over the summer, but the Foundation made the decision to extend the contracts of the students for the majority of the summer.

Klodt Wong noted that with the upcoming Radiothon, as well as the annual Matt Duchene Charity Golf Classic, the summer is peak time for raising funds that go into the wide variety of services and equipment used at the Haliburton Hospital.

Through their recent digital imaging campaign, the Foundation was able to successfully purchase a CT scanner and a mammography machine, allowing residents to receive potentially life-saving imaging without having to leave the county.

It was these swift and tangible actions that led both Macy Thompson and Lily Vangeel to the Foundation in the first place. “I’ve always heard about it through social media and through the local newspapers,” said Thompson. “It has such a big impact on the community, and to be able to use these services locally, there’s a lot of value to that.”

Thompson and Vangeel started with the Foundation the first week of June, and will be working alongside the fundraising team members until the end of August. Vangeel has spent the majority of her summers cottaging in the Haliburton Highlands. So when an opportunity came up to start to give back, she jumped at the chance. “To be able to have the resources you or someone you know may need right here in your own community is really amazing,” she said, noting the growth is equipment that HHHS has been able to attain based on fundraising through the Foundation.

The two students have differing backgrounds, with Thompson focusing on office administration from Georgian College, and Vangeel focusing on a biomedical science degree from the University of Guelph.

But the varied backgrounds allow the summer interns to bring different perspectives to the table. Thompson has a strong interest in fundraising, and is currently involved in a number of initiatives through Walkabout Farms. She hopes to continue in the field of community outreach, and working alongside sponsors and donors to hit a goal. “I’m really excited about building relationships with businesses,” she said, noting her enthusiasm for the upcoming Moose FM Radiothon, which is slated this year for August 14 and 15. Last year, with matching donations, the two-day event raised $600,000.

Vangeel is more focused on the health sciences side of things. But working with the Foundation is giving her the chance to understand the intricacies of rural healthcare. “All the different departments are very correlated,” she said. “It shows how integrated the Foundation is in all of that.” Vangeel shared that she intends to work in healthcare in the future, but will continue volunteering behind the scenes whenever she can.

The Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation has their own social media pages, as well as a tab on the hhhs.ca website. For more information on Foundation news, as well as upcoming events, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.