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Since 2011, De Beers Canada has donated $90,000 worth of diamonds that helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund the purchase new health care equipment and improve services to over 115,000 people living in the Timmins, Ontario region.
This year, De Beers has donated a 1.02 ct Ideal Cushion Forevermark diamond valued at $12,500 as a prize to be won in the Spring Lottery, to be drawn during the Timmins and District Hospital Foundation’s 19th annual Spring Gala. In addition, a pair of 0.34 ct Ideal Square Cut Forevermark diamonds valued at $4,000, will be up for auction during the Gala. All three diamonds were mined at Victor and are part of the exclusive Forevermark Black Label collection.
“De Beers Canada is proud to once again participate by donating three Forevermark diamonds from our Victor Mine, Ontario’s first and only diamond mine, that will go to support the purchase of ophthalmic surgical equipment for the hospital,” said James Kirby, General Manager of Victor Mine. “Collaborating with partners is important to De Beers and we look forward to seeing this contribution help improve the quality of health care for residents of Timmins, northeastern Ontario and our partner communities along the James Bay coast.”
The gala is behind held on Saturday, May 6 in Timmins, ON with a goal to raise $200,000, including an estimated $85,000 from the lottery. Only 200 lottery tickets are available at a cost of $500 each and are available until May 6.
Funds raised will go toward the purchase of equipment needed to expand the Ophthalmic Surgical Program at Timmins and District Hospital, where demand for cataract surgery is increasing due to an aging population. The new equipment will enable the team to increase the number of ophthalmic surgeries by one-third to 1,000 surgeries per year.