The oncology department at St. John鈥檚 Hospital has $5,000 to invest in patient care thanks to the Vanderhoof Golf Club.

According to Cindy Daley, director of media, the annual summer fundraiser has been held for at least a decade.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always been exclusively going to the oncology ward and then what they choose to do with it,鈥� said Daley.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cause near and dear to a lot of our hearts. Everybody that we know has had something to do with cancer in and around our area. It鈥檚 really important to us that our oncology ward has everything that it needs. They can鈥檛 do it for themselves.鈥�

The fundraiser takes the form of a golf scramble tournament, followed by a raffle.

鈥淓very year somebody makes a quilt; it鈥檚 usually the hospital guild or the auxiliary. The quilt gets raffled off after golf on that Wednesday night and they make a lot of money off of it usually,鈥� said Daley, adding that the ladies also contribute items for a silent auction or door prizes, along with contributions from local businesses.

鈥淎nd so it winds up raising quite a bit of money usually,鈥� she said.

Unlike many events, the group didn鈥檛 need to cancel their event during the height of COVID.

鈥淲e got really lucky because it turns out golf is one of the very few sports that you can actually do during a plague. You鈥檙e able to actually go out because you鈥檙e outside and as long as you鈥檙e not handing sticks across to each other or sharing drinks,鈥� said Daley. 鈥淏eing out in the open air was really nice. And we were able to do the actual scramble, and then do the auction and everything online.鈥�

They are happy, Daley added, that things are getting back to normal.

Even though COVID is still a concern, she said, it鈥檚 nice to gather again.

鈥淔or the most part, everybody鈥檚 just kind of happy enough to be back together,鈥� she said.