The last thing Tereen Mowrey wants to do is find herself stranded in the wilderness on the evening of September 5.
Not only would that be a less than ideal situation for the Henderson Insurance account executive, it would also mean she came up short in her fundraising goal of $50,000 for the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service, better known as STARS.
That’s because Mowrey is the latest Moose Jaw resident to take part in the Rescue on the Prairies, which has participants dropped off in a remote location on the day of the event to take part in a variety of STARS-related activities. If they’ve reached their fundraising goal they’ll be ‘rescued’ by a STARS air ambulance at the end of the day.
“My partner Dean (Lang) and I are really passionate about STARS and believe it’s a vital service in our province and the fact it’s only 50 per cent funded by the government and they need to raise over $20 million a year just to keep the birds in the sky,” Mowrey said. “And we know that it’s not about if, it’s when someone is affected and saved by STARS, so we know they need a lot of money to keep going.”
Lang participated in the first Rescue on the Prairies in 2015 and found the experience so positive that he couldn’t resist getting others involved. Including members of his family.
“We were at the after-party last year from the Rescue and the next thing I know the CEO and president of STARS is coming and thanking me ‘I hear you’re going to do Rescue!’. Dean had signed me up when I went to the washroom,” Mowrey said with a laugh.
“So we’re excited and it’s a fun way to raise money for such a great cause.”
To help fundraise for her part in the venture, a special STARS fundraiser auction was conducted by Ritchie Brothers at Gibson International Carriers on Thursday afternoon, drawing hundreds of auction-goers and even seeing a few items donated to the cause. The event also included a barbeque lunch, silent auction and 50/50 draw.
Also on hand were members of STARS air ambulance, including events manager Kimberly Kroll-Goodwin and director of development Jeri-Lynn Johnston.
“We love coming out to support the people who support us, so we’re here today,” Kroll-Goodwin said before explaining the Rescue program and how it helps give participants a chance to experience what being a STARS aircrew technician is like.
“The participants get a feel for what the training is like for our staff every day and they get a real feel for STARS as a whole and our sort of family atmosphere, how important it is to have the technical skills… we’re literally a flying ICU unit,” Kroll-Goodwin explained.
With the remaining $10.5 million to support STARS having to come through fundraising, it’s a project that requires an immense amount of support from the communities STARS serves.
“That’s done through a combination of efforts, like Rescue on the Prairie, along with a few others,” Johnston said. “We have a lottery that will be kicking off in another month as well as a major gift-giving program and a calendar that runs annually for us.
“Every dollar counts for STARS.”
For more information and to donate to Mowrey’s Rescue on the Prairies quest, check out stars.ca/event/rescue-on-the-prairie
