Sask. community leaders take on rescue challenges to fundraise for STARS 

WATCH: Sask. community leaders were airlifted to a secret location where they took on medical and aviation challenges to raise money for STARS air ambulance.

Five Saskatchewan community leaders were airlifted to a secret location where they took on medical and aviation challenges to raise money for STARS air ambulance.

Participants in the 10th annual Rescue on the Prairies fundraiser were flown from the STARS base in Saskatoon, unaware they were headed to Black Fox Farm and Distillery.

Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, said the helicopter ride was both exciting and scary, but she was grateful for the opportunity.

“So very meaningful that I was going to spend the day raising money for something that would make a big difference in our province,” she said.

Ramaswamy and the four other participants practised dispatching calls, creating SOS signals and responding to emergency rescue scenarios.

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Dr. John Froh, president and CEO of STARS, said the event gives community leaders a first-hand look at the organization’s critical care operations.

“We have leaders from the community come out and really spend a day in the life of the air medical crew, doing the challenges to better understand what our work is like in the field,” Froh said.

He added that fundraising is essential to supporting STARS’ services.

“We fundraise half our operating budget every year, so events like Rescue on the Prairies are what keep us in the air,” he said.

Each person must raise $50,000 to secure their “rescue” and earn a flight home.

Although they tackled various tasks throughout the day, Tim Hammond said fundraising itself came easily.

“STARS has impacted so many lives in Saskatchewan, and it’s really not a tough sell because everybody has seen the benefits,” Hammond said.

The fundraising goal for this year’s event is $400,000.