August 21, 2006

TURLOCK - It takes villages to raise an Emergency Department.

Turlock is among the 21 northern central California "villages" represented by the more than 250 Legacy Circle volunteers working toward raising $6.5 million for the new $30 million Emanuel Critical Care Center in Turlock.

Terri Field is among the approximately 134 Turlock residents participating in the six-week campaign. This year's theme is: making a "Profound Impact" on the quality of life in our community.

"Legacy Circle is a wonderful opportunity to get involved in the community," said Field.  "It's just so exciting to see what you can do when you volunteer."

The facility's current emergency department, which was designed to serve 15,000 patients annually, last year, handled more than 56,000 individuals from throughout northern central California.

Legacy Circle kicks off its sixth annual campaign August 24 with the goal of fundraising $1.2 million - $840,000 by community members and $360,000 by hospital employees. The new, state-of-art Emergency Department, which broke ground on August 12, 2004, will be completed before Christmas.

Legacy Circle volunteers, who have raised $2.89 million in the past three campaigns for the emergency department, are divided into 17 community and 12 employee teams.  They invite family, friends, neighbors and businesses to participate by pledging support through annual donations.