Supporting mental health care one tree at a time
The Royal Mental Health Centre launched its 37th annual Christmas tree sale on Saturday, and sales were brisk.
At 10 a.m., supporters were lining up at the lot located on the hospital campus at 1145 Carling Avenue, waiting to have the first pick of the fresh Christmas trees.
Annmarie Nicholson, the Director of Volunteer Services at the Royal, says the sale is an important fundraiser for the hospital. Last year, the sale raised over $50,000.
"It gives us an opportunity to connect with the community and it also raises really important funds that support client and family centred care here at the Royal," Nicholson said. "One of the nicest things about this sale are our return customers that come year after year, in many cases it’s actually multi-generational families that come."
Dan Hoang and Kathleene Tayler arrived around 12 p.m. It’s their daughters first Christmas, and they wanted Amelia to experience the Christmas traditions they grew up with while supporting an important cause.
"We are from the neighbourhood and we love the work that the Royal Ottawa does. This is a great cause; we want to be able to share that joy with everyone else," Haong said. "We love the smell of these fresh trees and love supporting the community."
According to Tayler, she grew up getting trees from the Royal, and coming here on Saturday continues that tradition of kicking off the Christmas season.
With hundreds of trees to choose from, there are still many up for grabs, but Nicholson warns last year's trees sold out in nine days.
This year, she expects the trees to be gone by the end of the week, so if you want that Christmas tree smell and to support mental health in the community it is best not to wait.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.