REGINA, Sask. — Jason LeBlanc has an even greater admiration for STARS Air Ambulance following his experience with the STARS Rescue on the Prairies.
LeBlanc was one of five Saskatchewan leaders who participated in the annual fundraiser Sept. 17. They were flown from a STARS hangar to a remote location, where they were each tasked with raising at least $50,000 for STARS' lifesaving work in the province.
After they reached their goal, they returned to the base, where they attended a gala fundraiser. The efforts raised $774,000.
Thanks to the support of people he knows throughout the province, LeBlanc said he reached his $50,000 objective a couple of days before Rescue on the Prairies. He doesn't know how much money was donated in his name, but he believes it's around $250,000 to $300,000.
"There were a lot of donations that don't get put on the website yet, because the cheques were brought in last night at the gala, and they're in care of Jason LeBlanc or whoever was in there," said LeBlanc.
He said he received tremendous support from people across the province who know him through his work as a farmer, an auctioneer with Steffes Group or his other efforts.
"It was one of the easiest fundraisers that I've ever done, because people want to support STARS. They weren't necessarily supporting Jason. They were supporting STARS through Jason, and it really, really went over well," he said.
A couple of people who supported him said they recalled when he led a fundraising auction for a family member, so they wanted to give back by supporting his involvement.
STARS is a very important organization, and he described it as a lifeline to rural Saskatchewan. He believes everyone should see the work that STARS does to help others.
"They've got the technology and the equipment, and the people in the background that are making each flight work. It's top-notch all the way. It's trained medical staff. It's trained pilots for all adverse conditions, and those people are very special. It's a big organization that takes a lot of people to put all the pieces together."
When a call comes in, the trained STARS crew is in the air within eight minutes.
"They have to get equipped, get dressed, get their flight plans, calculate their fuel, because they don't know where they're going. Each call is different. And within eight minutes, it's all done. You want to see action, boy, it's something to see."
The day of Rescue on the Prairies, LeBlanc and the other participants were flown to a remote location and, armed with a cellular phone and their contacts, they went to work reaching out to supporters. They also completed challenges throughout the day, including some before they left.
"The first one was … they put you in a room and they give you an explanation one time on how a certain part of the helicopter works, and they have pieces of it laying there, and you have to disassemble them and put them back together again. They just tell you one time, and then you see how fast you can put it together and do it flawlessly."
Companies sponsor every challenge, and the winner earns money toward their total.
LeBlanc also had a STARS employee, Martin, as his partner. LeBlanc noted a lot of the STARS pilots have experience with the Canadian Armed Forces.
The other participants were a diverse group, he said. Cindy Michel, the director of sales for Regina and Yorkton for Harvard Media, was among them. Business owners and a lawyer were also involved.
"We all got along great all day. We had a lot of fun, but yet the serious side of it was we were trying to raise funds all day. And it was very competitive, but very good."
The gala featured sponsors, business leaders, STARS employees and others. Some people from the southeast were there, LeBlanc said.
He believes everyone should donate to STARS to keep it operating. A call costs several thousand dollars, and its presence can be the difference between life and death in a lot of situations.
If anyone is asked, LeBlanc encourages them to participate in Rescue on the Prairies because it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
