The annual MASH Bash hits the hills of Snow Valley today and the winter party will only add to an already impressive fundraising campaign.
The 32nd annual event takes place at Snow Valley Ski Resort from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to raise money for the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, at Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH).
RVH's Donna Danyluk, who helps organize MASH Bash, says the event has been a huge success over the years and hopes that trend continues today.
“Last year, 2,080 infants, including 60 sets of twins, were born at the health centre with more than 254 of those tiny patients spending some time in our NICU,” said Danyluk. “Over the years, MASH Bash has raised $540,000 for RVH and our goal here is $20,000, which will be used to purchase specialized medical equipment for newborns.”
Some of the items needed are Bili lights and Bili blankets for babies with jaundice, specialized monitoring equipment, intraveneous pumps and other life-saving equipment (defibrillators used in the NICU require special, smaller pads to help when needed to resuscitate a baby), a transport incubator which can provide oxygen support, temperature stabilization and all the monitoring equipment to support a baby who has to be moved to imaging for an examination or for a surgery or to the city for specialized care or procedures.
This year’s MASH Bash theme is 'An Epic Winter Party' and activities include bedpan races, military/emergency services tug-of-war, live music and Darren the Great (juggler and emcee extraordinaire).
New activities include outdoor Zorbing and the bash-and-dash tunnel challenge, mini tub slide and slingshot target challenge.
Indoor activities include face painting, a slime making station and selfie station.
Anyone can join the fun and tickets are $25. For more information on Snow Valley, click here.