For Immediate Release
Monday, May 30, 2016

Health Foundation launches Gratitude Day on June 1

Fort McMurray, Alberta – This June 1, the Northern Lights Health Foundation is kicking off the first-ever Gratitude Day, as declared by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. This day is to celebrate everything you’re most grateful for – health, family, community and much more on social media and out in your local community. 

The Health Foundation invites individuals, families, businesses, community groups and students throughout Alberta and Canada to join us through posting videos, photos and written messages sharing what they’re most grateful for, using the hashtag #ShareYourGratitude. We also encourage people to engage in acts of kindness and paying it forward to celebrate what they’re most grateful for. 

“The Health Foundation is proud to launch the first-ever Gratitude Day on June 1. This special day encourages people to join together and celebrate what they’re most grateful for,” says Susanne Chaffey, Executive Director of the Health Foundation. “Gratitude Day was originally inspired by the launch the Health Foundation’s Gratitude Campaign, however in light of the recent wildfires in Wood Buffalo, it has taken on an even greater meaning. We felt it important to hold this day as a way of uplifting those effected and bringing positivity to such a difficult situation.” 

There are many ways one can get involved in Gratitude Day, including:

• Posting videos, photos and written messages sharing what you’re most grateful for on social media, using the hashtag #ShareYourGratitude
• Liking and following the Northern Lights Health Foundation on Facebook and Twitter, and sharing our messages of gratitude on June 1
• Volunteering your time and talent to a social profit of your choice
• Tweeting or Facebook messaging an individual, organization or business sharing why you’re grateful for them using the hashtag #ShareYourGratitude
• Donating or organizing a fundraiser for the Health Foundation or another social profit of your choice, and leverage Gratitude Day to expand your reach into the community
• Bringing coffee, muffins or a healthy treat to work for your colleagues
• If you walk by a car with an expired parking metre, put a quarter in it
• Cooking a meal or do a load of laundry for a friend who is going through a hard time
• Buying a coffee for the stranger beside you in line
• Calling a loved one to tell them why you’re grateful for them

The ultimate goal of Gratitude Day is for communities to make it their own. The Health Foundation will host it in 2016 with hopes that the Wood Buffalo community and others will embark on their own Gratitude Day activities on June 1 for years to come. For more information on Gratitude Day, visit gratitudecampaign.ca.


About the Northern Lights Health Foundation

Established in 1985, the Northern Lights Health Foundation exists to provide funds to support health care priorities within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The Health Foundation is proudly accredited under Imagine Canada’s Standards Program. For more information, visit www.northernlightshealthfoundation.ca.

About The Gratitude Campaign

The $16 million Gratitude Campaign is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the history of the Northern Lights Health Foundation. The Campaign is comprised of eight projects, which will impact everyone from newborn to senior across the Wood Buffalo region. The projects include: Minimally Invasive Surgical Suites, the Multi-purpose Clinic, Palliative Care, Community Clinics, Health Centre Lobby, the Healthy Schools Initiative, Continuing Care and the Early Investments Project. For more information, visit www.gratitudecampaign.ca.

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For more information, please contact:
Amelia Schofield
Marketing and Communications Officer
Northern Lights Health Foundation
Email: amelia.schofield@ahs.ca