Beneath the Surface campaign closes in on target

The $300,000 goal of the Beneath the Surface ultrasound campaign is tantalizingly close, with only $35,000 left to raise.

Executive director Brenna Baker of the East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH) which is running the campaign, said that the community response had been “phenomenal.”

“To date we have 140 brand new donors that have never donated to the EKFH. So that’s exiting news for us. I don’t think a lot of people knew who we were or what we did. We raise a lot of Money for the elk valley so this is hopefully one of many projects for the elk valley.”

The campaign which kicked off on August 12 was originally expected to take between three to six months to reach its goal of $300,000 for a an ultrasound service at the Elk Valley Hospital.

Baker said that once the $300,000 was raised, they would be able to order the equipment for the hospital with ultrasound service to begin operating out of the hospital hopefully in early 2021.

“I’ve talked to numerous people saying they wished we’d had this (a long time ago). This isn’t just for pregnant moms, its for everybody. Its a huge boost for health-care in the Elk Valley.”

Businesses have been handing over checks, while charity events have been organized to help the campaign all through the past two months, including the Elk Valley Epic, which was put together in a little over a week.

Baker said that she hoped the $300,000 target could be hit before the end of September. “Lofty goal, but I think we can make it.”

READ MORE: EKC makes $5,000 donation to Elk Valley ultrasound campaign