A charity run has raised $10,000 for a new piece of equipment needed at the Lloydminster Hospital. “Run For Lloydminster” was held for the first time on Saturday by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Lloydminster to raise funds for an ophthalmology microscope.
125 people spent the day at Bud Miller Park to run for the cause. Imam Mansoor Azeem says he wasn’t expecting the amount of support they received from local businesses and opticians.
“The opticians who came to the race they just wanted to be there. They wanted to see something that is coming to the Lloydminster Hospital, which is relevant to them because they are opticians and they’re in the business.”
The $160,000 microscope will help prevent residents who need cataract surgery from leaving to neighbouring cities such as North Battleford or Edmonton to get the procedure done.
The Muslim community hopes to make this an annual event. Azeem says next year they will be supporting a different cause because funds for the microscope have come together with help from other organizations in the city.
“We will make sure this is the first of many runs and make it a regular event in our calendar. The weather was a bit chilly, we were not expecting it. Next time we’ll probably do it in the summer so the turn out is better.”