An Alberta bank has announced that their spring fundraising campaign has been a complete success, raising about $640,000 for both the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation in Calgary and Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in Edmonton.

ATB Financial launched the Teddy for a Toonie campaign back in May. The annual event is a long-standing tradition in Alberta that aims to benefit both hospitals.

“Money raised through this wonderful initiative helps save and change the lives of sick and injured children in our community. We feel very fortunate to be surrounded by people who care so much about these kids and their families,” said Saifa Koonar, president and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Kate Gilbert, whose daughter Rose was sick in 2015, says the support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital was invaluable when it came to what happened to her daughter when the infant stopped breathing.

“We were in the hospital in Lethbridge and they said right away, ‘we’re sending an air ambulance right away’. It was just shocking.”

She says that without hospitals like the Stollery and the ACH, she wouldn’t know what she would have done.

Now, Rose is a healthy and happy three year old and Kate says she is overjoyed with that.

“We’re happy it is behind us and we’re happy to celebrate the healthy baby I have today.”

Officials with ATB are also happy with how much work their employees have put into all of the different fundraising events, including the Teddy for at Toonie event.

"Our Teddy for a Toonie campaign has been raising funds for the last 19 years for the Alberta Children’s Hospital and Stollery Children’s Hospital. We raise fund through selling bears in our branches, through silent auctions, casinos, bake sales and any other crazy antic that the branch staff can come up with,” said Sandra Huculak, managing director at ATB.

This year, the total raised through the campaign is $637,143.82. Those funds will be used to help support a mobile ICU at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the same equipment that helped the Gilbert and her daughter Rose.

Funding allocated for the Stollery will help family-centred programs at the institution.