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Toys for Tickets donations are seen at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital - Photo by Bob Schneider

AHS brings Toys for Tickets program to Medicine Hat

Dec 6, 2019 | 4:49 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — If you received a parking ticket at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital last month, Alberta Health Services has given you a new option to repay it.

The Toys for Tickets campaign, which AHS launched in Calgary and Edmonton last year, is in place now at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.

If you received a parking ticket at the hospital between November 1 and 30, you are able to purchase a toy to cover the fine and donating it to the hospital.

They’re looking for toys for newborns all the way to age 17, and are asking for toys valued at a minimum of $25.

The toys are given to the Medicine Hat and District Health Foundation, who will distribute it to children staying in the hospital.

“It’s an opportunity for individuals to give back to their community in a different way, rather than just paying a parking violation ticket,” said Linda Iwasiw with Alberta Health Services in Medicine Hat. “It’s an opportunity to brighten the day of some of our little kids who are in the hospital with their families, and kids, you know, they enjoy toys.”

Iwasiw says the response so far in Medicine Hat has been positive, with multiple toys being donated already.

“We do have people who are just coming in and donating as well, so we’re really excited about that,” she said.

If you wish to donate, bring your parking ticket and a toy to the parking office at the hospital.

Toys for Tickets runs until December 13.