Dragon Boat Festival Raises Over $90,000 For PRHC Breast Assessment Centre

The fight against breast cancer takes another step forward as Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival members donated $91,853.20 to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation at Peterborough Square on Thursday.

To date, the festival has raised more than $3.7 million for cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment through the PRHC Foundation. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The money is towards a diagnostic ultrasound machine for the Breast Assessment Centre at the PRHC which Dragon Boat Festival had raised money for in their first-ever campaign. It will aid in cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

The target goal was $84,509.18, a specific figure that was quickly addressed by Gina Lee, 2021 festival chair.

“We also realized that we have come full circle and to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we decided our goal would be to match the $84,509.18 donation we made to the PRHC Foundation 20 years ago when we were first starting out,” she said.

Volunteers from Survivors Abreast, the Dragon Boat Festival organizing committee, PRHC reps and sponsors were in attendance to unveil the final amount raised.

This year’s event was run virtually where teams were challenged to hold virtual races online. Points were awarded to individuals and teams for participation, fundraising and video or photo submissions.

The number of cancer treatment patients from Peterborough and the surrounding area is trending upward every year. 

“The hospital’s mission to provide world-class cancer care, close to home, remains as important as ever. So the support of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival and our community is vital,” said Lesley Heighway, PRHC President and CEO. “This state-of-the-art equipment will provide better quality images so radiologists can detect smaller, difficult-to-see breast abnormalities quickly and accurately. This will help save lives.”

Survivors Abreast is the festival host team and is overjoyed of the Festival’s impact on the PRHC.

“Our goals remain the same,” said Marg Walsh, Survivors Abreast President. “To raise funds for the best cancer care in our community, to raise awareness about breast cancer and to encourage participation in the festival. None of this would be possible without the generous spirit of giving in our community and the joint efforts of our sponsors, volunteers, enthusiastic paddlers and donors.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.