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Four-year-old Mila Nixdorf and great-grandmother Gail Allen hold up cool-down bands they made with proceeds going towards Halo Air Ambulance. ( Tiffany Goodwein/CHAT NEWS)
smile sunday

Great-grandmother and granddaughter sew bands in support of HALO

Aug 16, 2020 | 10:15 AM

MEDICINE HAT AB- On any given day, four-year-old Mila Nixdorf can be seen with her great- grandmother Gail Allen. Together they sew cool-down bands in every shape and colour imaginable. Every stitch is a product of work between the two of them, and a bonding moment to help a good cause.

“I like sewing them,” four-year-old Nixdorf said while clutching her own pink Tweety Bird band around her neck.

“ We are making some pretty special memories. We are doing crafts all the time. We are having lemonade stands. We are having a lot of fun,” Allen said.

For Gail Allen creating cool down bands began many years ago, after needing them for her own health. She soon began to create them, at a lower cost with the proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation, and the food bank.

But when she heard HALO was in need of help, she knew she had to step in. HALO air ambulance airlifted her husband Dave to the hospital after he fell ill with a rare form of Vasculitis a few years ago.

“November 13 he got sick and he was put in the hospital. November 17 he went into ICU. Five minutes later they decided he needed to go to Calgary. They induced him in a coma, got him ready, and he was flown to Calgary,” Allen said.

The pair started creating and selling cool-down bands for Halo on June 7 and already the duo and their team have managed to exceed their goal of $4000 by raising close to $7000 through their bands and Mila’s lemonade stands. The two would take to special events like the convoy in Walsh Saturday, where they made $1000 and events like the Bow Island Market in The Park for fundraising.

More details about the cool-down bands and their efforts to fundraise can be found on their Facebook page. Official Oasis Bands for Halo