A young Red Deerian featured in the 2018 STARS air ambulance calendar is going a step further to raise money for the life-saving organization by hosting the inaugural Hot Chocolate For Helicopters Saturday.
Nine-year-old Jayden Sorsdahl and his family and friends will be serving $2 mugs of hot chocolate from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside Save On Foods, at 6720 52th Ave.
In March 2015 Jayden, who was six at the time, was flown to Children’s Hospital in Calgary after his sodium levels plummeted and his organs started to shut down from a rare condition.
He was rushed to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre where staff gave him saline to buy him time, but they did not know what was causing Jayden’s symptoms and STARS was called.
STARS saved his life that day and today he’s “100 per cent like it never happened,” said his mom Melanie Sorsdahl.
She said her son came up with the idea for the hot chocolate fundraiser after he raised $158 for STARS with a lemonade stand few weeks ago.
“It would be really awesome see it at least double what he earned at the lemonade stand. I’d love to say $500 but it’s our first event,” his mom said.
She said he knows first hand what STARS can do.
“He knows that every dollar counts. We donate every month to them $25 and that buys them an oxygen tank so everything helps.
“(STARS) has six bases. To keep just the Calgary base running alone is $10 million a year. They need a lot of help.”
The intent it to make Hot Chocolate For Helicopters an annual event, similar to Lemonade Stand Day in Edmonton that raises money for the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
“We’re going to try and make it grow next year and hopefully have various locations throughout the city and other families and children involved. And it all started with Jayden’s little idea.”
Jayden was “Mr. March” in the 2018 STARS air ambulance calendar.
“He thought it was pretty cool. He got to dress up in an actual flight suit. It was vary large on him.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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