Not everyone can donate millions to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, as Jim Pattison did this week, but even a small donation now has twice the clout, thanks to the condition attached to his gift. Pattison has pledged to give a dollar for every new dollar donated to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation鈥檚 Building Care Together campaign, up to $5 million.
The foundation set a goal two years ago to raise $25 million for equipment for the Royal Jubilee Hospital鈥檚 new patient-care tower. The fund was at $13.4 million before Tuesday; now it stands at more than $18 million, thanks to Pattison matching the $2.5 million recently raised by the foundation.
He鈥檒l chip in another $2.5 million as that much more is raised, and we believe the people of southern Vancouver Island will not let this opportunity pass.
To pledge that much money to health care is generous of Pattison; to make it a matching donation shows foresight, as it inspires others to become involved.
Some may wonder, as did Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens鈥檚 A Christmas Carol, why taxpayer-supported institutions should need more funding than taxes provide (鈥淎nd the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation?鈥�), but as government budgets are pinched, private donations are becoming increasingly important in areas such as health care and education.
That shouldn鈥檛 give governments licence to abdicate their responsibilities. They should not reduce funding in the hope that private donors will fill the gaps. That is not conducive to long-term planning; sustainability cannot be built on the expectation of donations.
Furthermore, donations often come with strings attached, such as directing the funding to a program in which the donor has a particular interest, while government must be concerned about all aspects.
Taxes should fund the basics, but the generosity of individuals can enable innovation and add a considerable margin of excellence. The funds raised for the Building Care Together campaign aim to enhance a facility that has already acquired a reputation as an attractive workplace with a patient-centred philosophy.
Scrooge, before his ghostly visitations, would not have approved. It鈥檚 a hospital, after all, not a spa. But the repentant Scrooge would have understood that compassion, beauty and peace of mind are things more substantial than figures in a ledger. The patient-care facility is showing that pleasant, comfortable surroundings can speed the healing process and enable health-care providers to do their jobs more effectively.
Private and corporate donations enable institutions to explore possibilities outside established routines, and to take routines and procedures to a higher level.
Pattison鈥檚 gift has moved the Building Care Together fund substantially closer to its goal. There are only so many Jim Pattisons in the world, but there are hundreds and thousands of contributors whose combined efforts can be just as effective.
Melanie McKenzie, executive director of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, believes the $25-million goal is within reach. She said the donation from Pattison has stirred a lot of interest in the campaign.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got an incredibly generous community, and people believe very strongly in our campaign,鈥� she said.
The Building Care Together effort is in addition to the $7 million the foundation contributes each year to every area of care in the region鈥檚 two main hospitals.
Taxes are what we pay because we have to, and sometimes we pay them grudgingly. Donations to such causes as the hospitals foundation elevate the givers as well as the recipients.
