Car show raises $1,100 to help with medical transportation expenses

The Country Classics Car Club held a successful car show during Summer in the City and raised money for medical transportation to help people who cannot afford the costly trips. 

Mario Silva, club president, says the event was well attended with over 235 vehicles to see. 

“The year before, there were only 84 cars,” he reports. “So, I planned for about 100.” 

The car club is already planning for next year, improving on a few things, he says, like fundraising and creating awareness. 

Executive member Sandra Kihn says they got the idea of raising money for medical transportation from another car club in southern Manitoba. 

“We had seen this in a car run that we had been invited to with actually the Legends Car Club, which is out of Altona,” she explains. “They've done something similar for many, many years and so, we thought that was something that we'd like to be on board with, to raise funds here in Steinbach.” 

Silva and Kihn both say that it makes a lot of sense for car enthusiasts to offer support to people without wheels who need help getting to medical appointments. 

They say it was easy to sell this idea to the executive and get sponsors for the fundraiser. 

With prizes from Creative Print All, Grand Prize Amusement, Ledingham GM, and Super Splash, Kihn says they were able to collect extra money by selling raffle tickets. The 50/50 also brought in additional money.

Members of the Country Classics Car Club present a cheque of $1,100 to Audrey Harder with the Pat Porter Active Living Centre, in support of medical transportation expenses for people who cannot afford the fee.

The car club met earlier this week to present the $1,100 cheque to Audrey Harder, Executive Director of the Pat Porter Active Living Centre. 

She says this is the first time an organization has approached them with a fundraiser for something specific. 

“We do fundraising, we get grants for this and that, but never is it for the individuals that we have coming in our building who need extra help,” Harder says. “So, when we do get (donations like this), that is amazing.” 

She says there is a need for financial support to help people get to their medical appointments. 

“I've had experiences in the past where people cannot make it to their appointments or can't get to their appointments and medically, they suffer because of it.” 

Harder says a lot of people have cancelled their appointments because they can't afford it. She notes they offer a payment but when a person has multiple appointments outside of Steinbach, it can easily become too much of a financial strain for a person on a fixed income. 

“If it's in town, that’s one thing, but when you have to go to Winnipeg or you have to go to Morden or those kinds of places, it's very different.” 

Harder says she will be grinning when she offers financial support for medical transportation to someone who needs it. 

If you need financial support for medical transportation, or if you want to offer a donation for this cause, contact Audrey Harder at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre at 204-320-4600.