HFA donates to local hospitals

May 11, 2020

The organization donated a total of $7,500 to three organizations

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

An Ontario ag organization is doing its part to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hastings Federation of Agriculture (HFA) donated a total of $7,500 to three area hospitals. The Bellville General Hospital Foundation, the North Hastings Fund Development Committee and the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation each received $2,500.

Gore Mutual Foundation matched the donation to the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Supporting hospitals during these challenging times is a no-brainer, an HFA representative said.

“We were saving this money for a rainy day and coronavirus makes it seem like it’s pouring,” Harry Scanlan, president of the HFA, told Farms.com. “We should all be doing our part and making those donations where we can. Honestly I wish we could do more.”

As of May 11, Ontario has 20,546 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 15,000 people have recovered and almost 1,700 have died.

Of the total number of confirmed cases, 42 are located in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health reported.

Scanlan hasn’t had any personal connection to the virus, but his mother was in a nursing home in the Ottawa Valley that has experienced an outbreak.

“She passed away last year, but the nursing home she was in has had an outbreak where 28 people have died because of the virus,” he said. “Almost for certain she would’ve been affected.”

As doctors, nurses and health care workers continue to treat those sick with the coronavirus, Scanlan wants them to know the community is here for them.

“We’ve got your backs,” he said. “It’s a very emotional issue and those people are there every day, and we can’t thank you enough.”

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