Sunday's 'Hair for HALO' fundraiser as part of Help HALO Weekend (Photo courtesy of Tiffany Goodwein)

By Scott Roblin

Help HALO Weekend

Thousands raised over course of successful Help HALO Weekend

Jun 8, 2020 | 5:22 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – HALO Air Ambulance was given another reason to celebrate over the weekend, continuing with their fundraising push within Medicine Hat city limits.

Help HALO Weekend was held at the HALO hangar, Stampede Grounds, and businesses across Medicine Hat raising money for the medevac service.

Final numbers have yet to be tabulated by organizers, but it’s expected that another sizable cheque will be in the hands of HALO CEO Paul Carolan later this week.

“We’re very, very pleased with the outcome and it was a very fast-paced and busy weekend right through the Saturday and Sunday,” said Carolan.

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Dozens of local businesses stepped up to provide services and goods over the weekend, donating a portion of their profits back to HALO.

A pair of marquee events were also held to bring in some extra money including a ‘Park and Watch’ drive-in movie at the Stampede Grounds which saw between 60 and 80 vehicles attend.

Despite some wet and rainy conditions, Carolan said it was an enjoyable night with many families donating more than the $25 minimum.

“People really stuck it out with us,” he said. “We had that many visitors come to watch the movie and about three inches of rain, so it was an interesting time. But, most people stuck around and watched the movie through the windshield wipers.”

That was followed by a ‘Hair for HALO’ event that brought together 17 hair stylists from across Medicine Hat, who offered haircuts in exchange for donations to HALO.

Throughout the six-hour event, there was a steady stream of customers with a handful of big donations according to Help HALO Weekend co-organizer Kole Dalgleish.

“Seeing the people come through we’ve had old, young, women, men, kids, everybody has been here and it’s been phenomenal,” said Dalgleish. “We’ve had a couple $5,000 hair cuts, which has been amazing and we are so grateful for that.”

Combined with an estimated $350,000 raised the week prior, HALO say the immediate need for emergency funding has settled in recent weeks thanks to the generosity of local residents.

Last month, HALO reached out to the community asking for support after their financials fell into dire straights with a chance of the program folding this summer without an injection of cash.

HALO is confident they’ll have enough in the bank to last until the fall and the province’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Services review, at which point they’ll try to return to some annual fundraisers.

However, Carolan added they’re still focused on securing long-term funding from the provincial government.

“We launched a video on Saturday talking about the lack of government funding and an opportunity for people to go to our website and send a letter to their local MLA, as well as Minister Shandro in the health department,” he said. “We know that we crossed 1,000 letters over the weekend and we want to see that number continue to grow.”

A curbside bottle drive in support of HALO is planned for June 16-17 in the Medicine Hat TD corner parking lot along 13^th Avenue SE, while HALO is revamping its annual golf tournament to raise funds in Bow Island and Redcliff.