When Lorne and Charlene Hanson made the choice to donate a 1979 Lincoln to the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, they had no idea how much money it would raise at auction. As it turned out, when the bidding wrapped up, the SJHF had taken home a good-sized cheque thanks to their generosity. 

Mack Auction Company drove up the bids on the classic car on Saturday, June 27, and the bidders responded to the tune of $12,500. To say they were pleased with the donation would be an understatement. 

"It was absolutely incredible," said SJHF executive director Breanne Van De Woestyne. "It exceeded our expectations. We're really, really excited about this new kind of an opportunity to raise money for our hospital."

The money is exciting enough, but the new way of raising it (donating items for auction rather than cash donation) was another promising aspect of the day. Van De Woestyne and the SJHF are already looking into ways to keep doing it. 

"We've had some interest coming in after that," she said. "We're just kind of looking to be creative with people. There are so many ways you can give back and this is just a great example of how to do it."

In a time where money is tight for a lot of people, finding new ways to take in donations will be a big part of helping the hospital for the SJHF. That and, as an added bonus, auctions are fun environments. 

"I think it's really an interesting opportunity for us," Van De Woestyne said. "Just to see the attraction we got from all over North America, I know the Hanson family received calls from California. It really took off." 

St. Joseph's Hospital gives the SJHF a capital wishlist every year, and this year's has more than $400,000 worth of upgrades on it, so every dollar helps. The money raised by the car auction already has a destination, however. 

"We actually have our addictions centre opening soon," Van De Woestyne explained. "So that's a huge one on our list right now that we're able to help the hospital. So a lot of the funds from that (the car auction) will be going towards that." 

Van De Woestyne added the new addiction centre was a huge opportunity for Estevan, and something the hospital staff were looking forward to having. The province announced a sizable financial package for the new centre in their spending report earlier this year.