By Matthew Liebenberg
A fundraising walk hosted by the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation in Swift Current gained momentum in its second year.
The Grand Parade fundraising walk took place along the Chinook Parkway on Sept. 19 as part of a national initiative that supports local charities to raise funds for services and care provided to aging Canadians.
Similar charity walks took place in communities across the country on the same day. Swift Current participants had the option of walking the full distance of five kilometres or a shorter route of 2.5 kilometres.
The Healthcare Foundation organized the walk for the first time in 2025 and Executive Director Helen Arnold is pleased with the growing support for the event in only its second year.
“We’re so excited for the turnout,” she said. “We had triple the number of teams participating and about five times the number of participants.”
She added that they were expecting around 40 people for the 2026 walk, but there were actually around 60 participants.
“We raised close to $15,000 when all was said and done and we’re pretty excited about that for our second year,” she said. “It grew tremendously and people are starting to catch on to what we’re up to with The Grand Parade. It was very well received and we appreciate everybody’s support.”
Swift Current is the first and still the only location in Saskatchewan hosting a fundraising walk under The Grand Parade banner.
“We definitely were a little bit disappointed with the results last year,” she said. “However, we were determined to carry on with it, because we saw the success that other communities across Canada were having with the same event.”
The Healthcare Foundation therefore looked at what it needs to do to make this fundraiser a success into the future.
“We made a plan for how we were going to improve it in the coming years, how we would encourage participants and sponsors, and make sure our teams were in place prior to the event,” she said. “We had a little bit more of a lead time than they did in the previous year as well. So we had that advantage going into this year and it turned out good.”
Funds raised through The Grand Parade walk in Swift Current will be used to support the healthcare equipment needs of The Meadows long-term care facility in the city.
The Healthcare Foundation will liaise with the Saskatchewan Health Authority about the equipment needs at The Meadows to determine how this year’s funds from the walk will be used.
The amount from last year’s inaugural The Grand Parade was combined with a donation made towards The Meadows to purchase a medical device used for the treatment of wounds and sores.
The vacuum assisted closure (VAC) system uses negative pressure wound therapy for faster healing. The device, known as a wound VAC, uses gentle, controlled suction to remove fluid and bacteria, and then new healthy tissue can form.
Arnold noted that The Meadows residents have been strong supporters of The Grand Parade from the start.
“I can’t even describe the feelings that I had watching some of the participants from The Meadows and how eagerly they participated,” she said about this year’s walk. “They raised funds as well. It was great to see and hopefully even more can come out next year. It was a heartwarming event.”
She mentioned that the Healthcare Foundation wants to make The Grand Parade a signature event on the same level as other fundraisers hosted each year by the Foundation.
“If somebody has questions about The Grand Parade, they can be in touch with us and plan for next year,” she said. “We’re hoping to attract even more teams and make it an even larger event.”
