One last wish
MacDougall family sees $5,000 donation made to Pat and the Elephant in sister’s memory
Pat and the Elephant held a special place in Sharon MacDougall’s heart.
Before MacDougall died earlier this year, one of her last requests was that the accessible transportation service benefit from any money that might be left over from a Gofundme campaign raising money for her medical trips to Toronto. MacDougall was a frequent user of Pat and the Elephant. “Sharon was in line for double lung transplant, but she had been sick for quite a few years and just didn’t make it at the last of it,” said her brother, Bruce, who handed over a $5,000 donation to Pat and the Elephant on Monday.
“Her heart gave out, so the Gofundme project that we had going, there was money left in it and we wanted to make sure that Pat and the Elephant was looked after. So, we made a donation.” Halbert Pratt, manager of the service, said he was especially touched by the MacDougall family’s gift. Pratt and Sharon had been good friends since taking a class together in 1992.
“As her health deteriorated, she became more and more of a friend and a client,” Pratt said. “She told me about (the donation) two days before she passed away. She asked me to come to the hospital. She wanted to discuss something with me and this is what it was.”
Pratt said the money will come in very handy.
“It really helps us,” he said. “We’re in line for purchasing a new truck, so it’ll go a ways towards buying a new vehicle. But there’s also the daily overhead expenses in the organization that we’ve got to run with.” Bruce said there is also some money left from the Go Fund Me fundraiser that will go to other causes.
“She used Pat and the Elephant a lot. It was really important to her, and these people were really good to her. That was one of the last requests she made, to make sure if there was any money left to give it to Pat and the Elephant,” Bruce said. Pratt said Sharon was the type of person to try to boost anyone’s spirits, no matter how much she was struggling herself. She would often write poetry for people. “She was a positive influence on a lot of us in many different ways, and this is just a further extension, as far as I’m concerned,” Pratt said.
“She knows how much we can use this (money) and she’s making sure that it happened as best as she could.”