Bennett’s Furniture and Mattresses’ “Benny” in support of the Campaign for PRHC

If you’ve been looking for a new cuddly friend and a meaningful way to give back, meet Benny the Peacock. This adorable plush toy is available at Bennett’s Furniture and Mattresses in Peterborough (105 Park St. South)!

Benny isn’t just irresistibly cute. He’s a fluffy, feathered friend with a purpose. For every Benny sold in Bennett’s showroom, $5 is donated to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation, helping support the campaign to reimagine health and care across our region.

So, the next time you stop by Bennett’s, be sure to pick up your very own Benny. You’ll be taking home a delightful stuffed peacock and supporting patient care at PRHC.

Step into the spotlight at Peterborough’s Got Talent

Kawartha Home and Health Care Services Inc. presents the fourth annual PTBO’s Got Talent on February 21, 2026, at Showplace Performance Centre. This community event will bring together music, dance and incredible local talent with proceeds supporting the Peterborough Regional Health Centre through the PRHC Foundation.

Auditions

If you’ve ever dreamed of performing on stage, this could be your moment. The show is open to performers of all ages, with two categories to choose from: under 18 and 18-plus. There will be three winners in each group and every contestant will receive a special gift just for taking part. Think you’ve got what it takes? Send your audition video by email by December 31.

Tickets

For those cheering from the audience, tickets are just $30, with $25 from every ticket sold donated to the PRHC Foundation. By joining in this unforgettable night of local talent, you’re also supporting the $70 million Campaign for PRHC to bring state-of-the-art technology, lifesaving new services, innovative care, and top healthcare professionals to your regional hospital. PTBO’s Got Talent is a great way to celebrate our community while helping shape the future of healthcare in our region. Purchase your tickets here.

Big impact with minimal effort: Gifts of securities

Imagine if you could support your regional hospital through your savvy financial decision-making. That’s the beauty of donating stock—it’s a smart financial move that maximizes your impact while giving you additional tax benefits!

What are gifts of securities?

Gifts of securities are donations of publicly traded appreciated stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment assets. Instead of making a cash donation, individuals transfer ownership of these securities directly to the PRHC Foundation.

What are the benefits of gifts of securities?

By donating appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual funds directly to the PRHC Foundation, you’ll receive a larger tax credit and receive a charitable tax receipt for the full value of your shares—meaning you may be able to make a larger gift than you could have with a cash donation alone. If you’ve held stocks for some time and the value has appreciated, this form of giving is likely for you!

Plus, when you donate appreciated stocks, you don’t have to pay the capital gains tax that you would have incurred if you sold the asset instead. This means more of your donation goes towards making a difference in the quality of healthcare available at your hospital. You’ll receive a tax receipt for the full market value of the securities, which can be used to further reduce your annual income when filing your taxes.

For more information, please click here or email Lesley Heighway, President & CEO.

Celebrating you on National Philanthropy Day

Today, November 15, is National Philanthropy Day – a day to recognize the charitable activities that make a difference in our community. It’s a time to celebrate the generosity, compassion and commitment of those who give back, those who are “changing the world with their giving hearts”. Philanthropy takes many forms, from donations and volunteer hours to advocacy and acts of kindness. Every contribution makes an impact.

At the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation, we’re grateful for your impact. Thank you to everyone who’s reimagining healthcare with their giving hearts, through the Campaign for PRHC!

“Today is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the joy of philanthropy and what our regional community has made possible by reimagining healthcare right here, close to home,” says PRHC Foundation President & CEO Lesley Heighway. “It’s the entire community coming together to make world-class care possible.”

Thank you for demonstrating the incredible difference that can be made when individuals, families, organizations and businesses – a whole regional community – unite in the spirit of giving. Your support is ensuring that PRHC’s doctors, nurses and staff have access to the cutting-edge tools and technology needed to provide exceptional patient care at your regional hospital now and in the future – equipment not funded by the government. You’re fuelling innovation, bringing new lifesaving services to the region, helping PRHC attract the best and brightest experts, and inspiring solutions to critical hospital challenges.

Because of you, we’ve reached 84% of the Campaign for PRHC’s $70 million goal. This milestone reflects the joy of philanthropy, the power of community and what can happen when people come together to change their world with a giving heart.

Thank you! Together, we’re reimagining health and care for our region.

Connect through the Sharing Tree

The Sharing Tree is back for the 2025 holiday season. This special initiative was created to connect our community with PRHC and the $70 million Campaign for PRHC while spreading warmth, gratitude and hope throughout your regional hospital during this meaningful time of year.

When we first launched the Sharing Tree last year, the response was incredible. Donors, patients, doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers and community members came together to share their stories, express their appreciation and offer messages of encouragement. This year, we’re excited to continue the tradition and once again fill the Sharing Tree with notes that inspire and uplift everyone who passes by.

Here’s how it works…

In person:
  • Anyone with a connection to PRHC can write a message, story or note of gratitude on a paper ornament and hang it on the Sharing Tree. You can thank a care provider, share your PRHC story, send well wishes to patients, or simply offer a message of hope for the season.
  • You’ll find the Sharing Tree and a member of our Foundation team in the PRHC lobby every Friday from now until December 12. If you’re visiting the hospital, stop by to say hello and add your message.
Online:
  • For those who can’t visit in person, a digital version of the tree is available here. You can fill out an online form to share your message to our website, which we’ll print and add as a physical ornament to the tree.

Throughout the holiday season, all of the ornaments will end up displayed on the big Christmas tree in PRHC’s lobby, where doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers, patients and visitors can enjoy them all season long. We’ll also be sharing some of your messages on our social media channels throughout the holidays and into the New Year. And don’t be surprised if you spot the Sharing Tree around town as some of our generous business partners are joining in the fun.

The Sharing Tree is a simple but meaningful way to lift spirits, spread joy and remind everyone what community is all about. Join us and help make this season a little brighter through your connection to PRHC.

“If PRHC had a hybrid OR, both of my surgeries could have been done in one day.”

Grateful PRHC vascular care patient and PRHC Foundation donor Mike Leach tells his patient story with the hope that you’ll donate to bring a hybrid operating room to Peterborough Regional Health Centre…

“I’m Mike Leach, and I wouldn’t be here today without PRHC and PRHC Foundation donors.

For a long time, I ignored it. My legs felt heavy. My calves cramped like bricks. Even walking short distances was exhausting.

What started as a small blister turned into a serious diabetic ulcer. I was told that without surgery, I could lose my foot.

At PRHC, my vascular surgeon Dr. Sajjid Hossain performed two separate procedures to restore blood flow in my legs: one to place a stent and another to open blocked arteries. Both surgeries worked, but they had to be done separately.

Two surgeries. Two recoveries. Twice the risk.  

If PRHC had a hybrid operating room, both procedures could have been done at the same time, in the same room, with less risk and a faster recovery.

That’s why I’m asking for your help today.

Your gift will help bring a state-of-the-art hybrid OR to PRHC. With a hybrid OR, procedures will take less time. Patients will face fewer complications and recover faster. And advanced imaging will help experts like Dr. Hossain be even more precise, spotting and managing complications right away, while keeping patients like me close to home.

Thanks to PRHC and donors, I got my independence back. I can work, garden (even if weeds are the only thing I seem to grow), and tinker in the garage. None of this would have been possible without this hospital, or the lifesaving equipment past generosity has supported.

That’s why your support matters so much. Because without your crucial investments in cutting-edge equipment, patients like me could lose more than mobility, we could lose our independence, our livelihoods, even our lives.

Your gift today will help build a hybrid operating room that will transform care for patients like me, reducing risk, shortening recovery, and giving more people in our region the chance to keep living life to the fullest. Especially since the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment. Your generosity is the only way to bring this lifesaving technology to PRHC, and to patients like me.

Thank you.”

To join Mike in donating in support of a hybrid OR, please click here.

Another record-breaking year for Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival

On October 6, the PRHC Foundation welcomed members of the Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival Planning Committee, the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team, Platinum Sponsor Kawartha Credit Union, paddlers, volunteers and supporters, to celebrate the Festival’s historic achievement: A record-breaking donation of $400,104.01 – the largest single gift in the Festival’s history!

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Hanoi House October Dumpling Drive

This October, warm your heart and fill your freezer during the Dumpling Drive at Hanoi House (Unit 4-1040 Lansdowne St. W., Peterborough).

All month long, Hanoi House is selling their handmade pork and vegetable dumplings for $25 a bag. Whether you’re stocking up for cozy fall dinners or quick weekday meals, your dumpling cravings will help support regional healthcare. 50% of every sale will go directly to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation.