SURREY — An annual Surrey Punjabi community fundraiser for Surrey Memorial Hospital was given a $100,000 boost by operators of a local Indo-Canadian business.
The donation was made to the RED FM Gurupurab Radiothon by Raghbir and Manjit Atwal, owners of Atwal’s Insurance and Financial Centre, on 96th Avenue in Surrey, reported Surrey Now newspaper.
The 10th annual radiothon this month raised $715,000 to expand the hospital’s busy kidney centre, via Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation.
The facility will be named the Dukh Bhanjan Kidney Centre.
The Atwals are longtime supporters of the radiothon, which prompted callers to donate money in celebration of the birth-anniversary of Guru Nanak.
The donation of $100,000 was the largest single contribution in the event’s 10-year history.
“We believe that it is not money alone that can help people, it is how you put the money to use,” Raghbir Atwal stated.
“When we donate to the hospital, we know that the money is in good hands and it will be used to help others in the community.”
Over the years, the radiothon has generated more than $5 million in donations for improvements at the hospital – in the emergency department, the family birthing centre and also in the stroke unit, according to Jane Adams, president of the hospital foundation.
“Since 2007, we’ve used the radiothon donations to transform some of the busiest areas at Surrey Memorial, so that thousands of patients and families benefit from the generosity of the South Asian community every year,” stated Adams, who thanked the radio station for its ongoing support.
