Kristen Belland found a way to make fundraising as comfortable as it gets. Disguised as a regular girls' day out - complete with mini spa treatments, crafts and shopping - her fundraiser is a finely-tuned machine that has raised more than $5,000 in just 3 years.

 

   Kristen, of Breton, Alberta, organized a day of relaxation, enlisting local practitioners for manicures, pedicures and facials, and she invited sponsors both small and large to sell their products and donate a percentage back to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation.

 

   "The support I get is awesome," Kristen says of past donations from companies, including Home Hardware, Rocky Mountain Soap Company and Wetaskiwin's Shanti Wellness Centre. The sponsors for the 2014 event counted among them Essentials Spa & Wellness, Alberta Egg Farmers, Haida Realty and Valerie Jane Morrow, of Plain Jane Pretties and See Jane Knit, whose son spent time at the Stollery as an infant.

 

   "In the morning, we do a potluck breakfast and lunch so we can keep costs low," Kristen says. "We charge minimum for people to come here, so they can donate maximum to the Stollery." Everyone donates their time, and they all make contributions to the Foundation.

 

   "It's a lot of family and friends," she says. "The morning is spent doing a workshop of some kind. This year, Jessica Radis with Pure Bliss Esthetics taught us how to make homemade scrubs." Lunch follows, and so does a round of handing out donated items and door prizes.

 

   What drew Kristen to organize this event for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation are thoughts of her family and friends, who have spent time at the hospital with their sick kids. "The Stollery is such an important thing to have in our province. If it wasn't around, it would be a huge loss," she says. "I've never had to take a child to the Stollery, but it's a good thing whether you need it or not. Even if you don't know them personally, you know someone who has used it."

 

Story was originally posted in the Summer 2014 edition of HEROES