To the Editor:

The Potsdam Hospital Guild would like to thank the entire community for their support during the three month collection of footwear for the Guild’s Footwear Fundraiser.

It was great to see the community join together for such a worthy cause: to distribute footwear to 45 underdeveloped countries, to protect our Green Spaces and to support the purchase of a Rapid Infusion System (Life-saving equipment for patients in need due to large volume blood loss (Examples: trauma, postpartum hemorrhage, surgical cases ) for the Canton-Potsdam Hospital.

An expression of personal thanks goes out to our businesses, schools and organizations for distributing flyers and promoting our event. A special thanks to those who served as drop off and organizing sites for footwear; CJ’s, Clothes Closet, Potsdam Elks Club, M&H Studios, SUNY Potsdam Fitness Center, Clarkson University Fitness Center, St. Lawrence University Student Center, Norwood Library, Canton Central School, Colton-Pierrepont Central School, Parishville-Hopkinton Central School, Potsdam Central School and St. Lawrence Central School.

Several organizations in our community donated footwear from their collection for which we were most appreciative: Church and Community Workers in Canton, Canton Neighborhood Center, SUNY Canton, Dr. Ferriter’s Office, Wagner Whistle Stop in Norfolk, St. Vincent DePaul in Canton, Partridge Knoll Retirement Home in Canton and numerous church rummage sales.

The collection efforts were amazing but the fundraiser also succeeded due to the donation of time and space offered by Randy LaValley and his Lavalle Transportation staff who put in many hours receiving, lifting, organizing, storing and finally transporting over 150 boxes (3500 pairs of footwear) to the receiving site in New Jersey. It was a wonderful gesture on their part to make this happen for the Potsdam Hospital Guild.

Many thanks to all of the individuals in our community who made very generous footwear donations that supported so many needy people around the world and, in turn, benefited Canton –Potsdam Hospital.

We very much appreciate our friends and neighbors who take an interest in our fundraising activities throughout the year.

The Potsdam Hospital Guild