It was literally a sa国际传媒榗ausesa国际传媒� for celebration this past June at the second annual Sandra Schmirler Foundation Golf Tournament.

Not only was a staggering $47,000 raised to support the acute care of premature infants at Kelowna General Hospital, it was also Sandrasa国际传媒檚 birthday.

The atmosphere was festive as Schmirlersa国际传媒檚 former curling teammates took to the links with 150 friends and supporters to raise money for a very important cause.

The goal was to raise enough to purchase seven new cribs for the neonatal intensive care (NICU) unit at KGH.

sa国际传媒淎ll of our NICU cribs are nearing the end of their service life and need to be replaced,sa国际传媒� noted Bobbi McGrath, manager of womensa国际传媒檚 and childrensa国际传媒檚 health services at KGH.

sa国际传媒淭his is an incredible gift. The new state-of-the-art cribs will allow us to assure the highest quality of care for our very vulnerable little newborns.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲e are thrilled!sa国际传媒� said event chair Sasha Carter about achieving their goal.

sa国际传媒淲e are so grateful to have had Sandrasa国际传媒檚 Olympic Gold Medallist teammates sa国际传媒� Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, Marcia Gudereit and Lindsay Sparkes sa国际传媒� join us all the way from Saskatchewan.

sa国际传媒淚t was such a great day, and a wonderful way to honour an amazing lady.sa国际传媒�

Schmirler rose to international fame as the charismatic skip of the Canadian Olympic team that won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first year womensa国际传媒檚 curling was a medal sport.

Schmirler passed away in 2000 at age 36, but her legacy for leadership and compassion live on through the foundation that bears her name.

Funds, donated to the KGH Foundation, will go directly towards the purchase of the NICU cribs.

The upgraded NICU is part of the overall expansion of the perinatal unit at KGH, which opened last March and now occupies the 4th floor of the new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre.

sa国际传媒淭his group is just so much fun,sa国际传媒� said Doug Rankmore, CEO of the KGH Foundation, who also golfed in the tournament.

sa国际传媒淲e are incredibly grateful to be the beneficiary of their generosity for the second year in a row.sa国际传媒�

Through the Giving Giggles campaign, the KGH Foundation continues its commitment to raising $3 million to support the purchase of advanced medical equipment and patient care items for the newly expanded perinatal unit at KGH.