Maunula Family Donates $750,000 to Our Hearts at Home
Published Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Pictured: (L-R Back) Norah, Carly and Paul Desaulniers; Landon and Drew Maunula; (L-R Front) Wayne and Kelly Maunula, and Henry Desaulniers.
Generous Gift One of Many over the Years to Improve Local Healthcare
by Graham Strong
Wayne and Kelly Maunula along with their family gave the Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign a $750,000 dollar boost. This latest and extremely generous gift comes just months before the groundbreaking of the new Cardiovascular Surgery Program.
It's not the Maunula family's first donation to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation – in all, the family has given over $1 million over the years. It likely won't be their last donation either, Wayne said.
"Good healthcare is especially important in Thunder Bay," Wayne said. "We are a remote, regional hospital serving a large area, so we need to bring as many healthcare services here as we can."
Wayne and Kelly made their first donations to the Health Sciences Foundation during the Exceptional Cancer Care Campaign many years ago. He saw the impact of that fundraising campaign firsthand.
"The community really came together for that one, including many of our local leaders," he said. "Because of that, today we have a great cancer program right here in Thunder Bay.
That may have been the family's first donations to the Foundation, but Wayne is no stranger to philanthropy. Giving back to the community comes naturally. Over the years, most of the family's charitable donations were through his companies including Central Canada Industries and Auto Parts Central. From the beginning, he built a culture of giving within all 17 branches from here to Moose Jaw.
"We always gave to the local chapters of the United Way through our companies and encouraged our employees to do the same through matching gifts," Wayne said. He added that he likes to support smaller charities too such as Roots to Harvest. His companies also hosted fundraisers including golf tournaments.
But Wayne took his commitment to a new level for the Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign. Not only did the family make generous donations, he sits on the Foundation's campaign cabinet. Actively helping the fundraising campaign gives him a unique perspective.
"You realize that there's no way we could bring the Cardiovascular Surgery Program to Thunder Bay without community support," Wayne said. "The plans they've developed, the partnership with UHN (the University Health Network in Toronto) – it's all very exciting, and all very expensive. The government provides a portion of those funds, but we need donors to put us over the top."
For Wayne, closer-to-home cardiovascular care is personal. Both his father and father-in-law had to leave the city to get the bypass surgeries they required, and several of his father's siblings have had heart issues. Now that he's retired – Wayne sold his businesses last year – heart disease is a concern creeping up in his mind as well.
"I joke with Glenn (Craig, Foundation President) that I hope the Cardiovascular Surgery Program is up and running by the time I need it. The CVS Program is such a big advancement. Being able to have more heart procedures done here in Thunder Bay will make things easier for so many patients and their families."
Community support will always be needed to keep up with healthcare advances, Wayne said.
"The need will never end because technology keeps getting better. Just like we need to replace our laptops every few years, the Hospital needs to keep upgrading its equipment. Without donations to the Foundation, we wouldn't be able to get those upgrades as quickly, or at all."
"Great donors like Wayne and Kelly Maunula have made possible many of the advancements at the Health Sciences Centre," said Paul Fitzpatrick, Cabinet Chair of the Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign. "Their continued generosity enables us to continually improve and provide the highest standard of care right here in Thunder Bay."