STARS receives funding from Saskatchewan Crown Corporations
Canadian non-profit air ambulance service STARS gets financial windfall worth C$10 million from a group of five Saskatchewan-based Crown Corporations
It will receive the money in the form of five annual payments of $2 million per year.
The funding is being donated by SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) and the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) of Saskatchewan, to commemorate ten years of operation by STARS in the province.
Since 2012, STARS has carried out 9,200 missions in over 500 locations across Saskatchewan, from its two bases in Regina and Saskatoon. It operates 24 hours per day, all week.
‘Integral’ to Saskatchewan’s healthcare system
The provincial government renewed a 10-year contract with STARS to continue funding 50 per cent of the charity’s operations in the province in January 2021. The government also committed $13 million to its Keep the Fight in Flight capital fundraising campaign to purchase a new helicopter – STARS completed its organization-wide fleet renewal in June.
“When seconds count, STARS is honored to give those in need a second chance, and we are proud to have become an integral part of Saskatchewan’s healthcare system in the last 10 years, working alongside our local partners in the chain of survival,” said STARS President and CEO Andrea Robertson. “The ongoing funding from our provincial government, along with the incredible support of our Crown corporations, is the very lifeblood behind our life-saving operations.”