February is the month of love! To show off our love for this community, the Hamlets at Deer Park residents and staff support local campaigns whenever possible. This was a busy month! We are proud to have hosted the latest Spread the Love campaign, and we also supported the Red Deer Coldest Night of the Year event.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank not just our residents but also our wonderful staff, who found the time to contribute—while also running one of Red Deer’s top-rated retirement homes. For that, they earn a round of applause themselves. Together, our residents and staff make the Deer Park difference.

This year’s Spread the Love campaign ran during the first two weeks of February. The goal of the campaign is to encourage shoppers to buy locally by offering a prize of nearly a thousand dollars in gift certificates contributed by local businesses. Shopping local has always been a worthy cause, but especially with the pandemic this year, our support can be pivotal for local business owners. Spread the Love also contributes to the Red Deer Food Bank because entries for the contest could only be “purchased” with a donation of four non-perishable food items.

The Coldest Night of the Year is a walk-a-thon event designed to raise awareness and funds for homelessness, hurt, and hunger. It is hosted by The Mustard Seed, a registered charity that focuses on empathy and compassion in the face of homelessness. This year’s event was reformatted to allow for social distancing (walkers were allowed to complete any route at any time). Between the 262 participants spread over 67 teams, the red Deer event raised nearly $80,000 for charity.

With such generous residents and staff at its core, it’s easy to see what we mean when we invite people to see “the Deer Park difference.”