Being dropped off in the wilderness and told to raise more than $50,000 to get home might seem daunting, but for Moose Jaw's Tereen Mowrey, she accomplished that objective — and then some.
Mowrey was one of five Saskatchewanians to participate in STARS Air Ambulance’s fourth annual Rescue on the Prairie fundraiser on Sept. 5. All five participants were supposed to be dropped off by a STARS helicopter in the middle of the wilderness, with only a cellphone and STARS employee for help. They then had to phone friends, family and business associates to raise at least $50,000, although some had higher goals.
However, due to fog in the area — the location was northeast of Saskatoon — the participants were instead trucked in. The five competitors were dropped off around 9 a.m. and picked up around 4:30 p.m.
“It was amazing,” exclaimed Mowrey recently, who worked with STARS pilot Ian Bonnell. “As a group, we raised over $352,000 … . A lot of lives will be saved because of that.”
Mowrey was “voluntold” to participate in the fundraiser, she chuckled. She had attended the event’s after-party supper the year before and was signed up to participate.
The night before this year’s event, Mowrey and some of the participants gathered to strategize about how they would acquire the money. Three of the participants all had a mutual contact in the agriculture industry, so they made one call to that particular supporter during the day.
Mowrey raised more than $53,000, but pointed out it is still possible to donate. Donations can be made at RescueOnThePrairie.ca. She noted it wouldn’t have been possible to acquire the funds without the support of family, friends, the residents of Moose Jaw and the business community.
This includes her employer Henderson Insurance, where she works as an account executive of corporate services. Her co-workers gave payroll deduction donations, while the company matched those. Mowrey thought the support was amazing.
“It was nerve-wracking (to raise the funds) … ,” she said. “I was beyond thrilled to have met the goal and raised such a strong amount of money for the cause.”
With a laugh, Mowrey remarked she is an outdoorswoman since she spends time at the lake. She noticed many mosquitos and garter snakes throughout the day and thought the event went well. However, she and the others had to wear flight suits similar to STARS employees, which were hot to wear while operating on the prairies.
The five business leaders also took part in several medical challenges. For example, they had to administer CPR to a dummy and insert a tube as part of a tracheotomy. Another challenge saw them respond to a simulated emergency where a dummy had fallen from a tree while cutting a branch and had severed a limb, broken its pelvis and had cuts to the head.
They had to prepare the dummy for rescue by helicopter.
“It really gave us more of an insight of what they do and how they help people every day,” she said. “It was a lot of fun … and very rewarding.”
Mowrey understands how important STARS is to Saskatchewan, especially to rural communities that don’t have easy access to hospitals. She pointed out the provincial government covers only 50 per cent of the organization’s costs, so it must fundraise the rest itself.
The Moose Javian attends as many STARS events as she can. She has heard the stories of several Very Important Patients (VIPs) over the years, which makes her want to do more for the organization.
Mowrey was asked during the after-party supper whether she would participate again, she said with a laugh. She replied that she would do it again, but probably not for another five years.
STARS stands for Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service.
