Are you going to be able to say - I Joined the J - on Monday? They expect 4000 people to be able to do just that.

By Pepper Parr

September 30th, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Will it be a day to be remembered in the history of the city?

They are building a new addition to the hospital and upgrading all of the old hospital.

When the announcement was made a few years ago that our hospital was going to get a badly needed upgrade we also learned that we were going to have to cough up $120 million of the $300 plus million it was going to cost to get the job done.

The city learned created a special tax levy to raise $60 million and the hospital Foundation took on the task of raising an additional $60 million.

The hospital Foundation has raised fifty of the $60 million – all they have to do now id raise that last $10 million. The last part is always the hardest part.

The Paletta family came forward and said it would contribute up to $5 million on a dollar for dollar basis – that is for every dollar that citizens donate – the Paletta Family would donate a dollar up to a total of $5 million.

The hospital Foundation now has to dig out that last $5 million. Not an easy task.

When they do that – and they will – the citizens of Burlington will have paid their share of their new hospital. $120 million – all in the past four years. Brilliant!

It was not easy. The city had to add a new layer of taxes on citizens already burdened with annual tax increases that have been running in excess of 3% for the past five years.

The hospital Foundation had to make visit after visit asking people to contribute on the corporate side and from people who were in a position to write large cheques.

The last $10 million was going to be the hardest.

Anissa Hilborn, president of the hospital Foundation knew that when she took on the job. Being the superb fund raiser she is – she went looking for a really good idea – something that would involve the people of the city.

How to get the ordinary people to come up with that last $10 million.

When the Paletta family said they would contribute $5 million Ms Hilbourn then had to raise just $5 million. Just!

That sort of broke down to about $75 from each family in the city – not a lot of money but how do you get people to actually do that?

That is when Ms Hilborn got brilliant. She and her staff came up with the idea of holding an event that would involve as many people as possible in a single record breaking event.

How do you do that?

Go after a record – the kind of thing that goes into the Guinness Book of Records. The hospital Foundation did their research and learned how one goes about getting an event into the Guinness Book of Records – no small matter by the way.

The found a category they were certain they could create a new record in which was getting a large number of people in a space that was shaped like a letter of the alphabet.

Dell Computers held the record – 2165 people, which they set in Round Rock, Texas, on June 22, 2016 when they gathered people into the shape of an E.

The Foundation people felt they could beat that number. In their minds they set their target at 3500 but knew that all they needed was 2166 to claim the record.

Then the hospital Foundation learned that Queen’s University looking for a way to celebrate their 175th anniversary by filling a large Q with people and they set a new record – they achieved 3373 – which meant the Foundation had to come up with at least 3373 +1 to claim the record.

That record was becoming both a fast moving and a growing target.

Kevin Klein, Associate Director, Communications & Stewardship for the Foundation said they were always been looking at a target of 3500. When they saw the Queen’s University number they upped that to 4000.

So the game is in – Sunday October 2, the Foundation is asking people to gather at Spencer Smith Park and set a new record.

That 4000 is sort of the top number possible – there just wasn’t enough space in Spencer Smith Park, in the areas they were going to be able to use, for much more than that.

The Foundation chose the letter J – and the race was on to hold their event and beat the Queen’s University record – and hope that no one snuck in with a higher number before they set their record.

The count will take place on Sunday October 2, beginning at noon.

Parking is going to be a problem. There is no designated parking for this event.

Parking is free throughout Downtown Burlington, including the Parking Garage on Locust Street.

The Joseph Brant Hospital Parking Garage attached to the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre will also be free between 11 am and 4 pm.

Shuttles will be available at the following locations on a first come, first serve basis.

Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School – 5150 Upper Middle Road (Upper Middle and Appleby Line – Buses leave at 11:30 am.
Burlington Mall – 777 Guelph Line (Guelph Line and Fairview Street) – Buses leave from the former Target parking lot, light pole #1 at 11:30 am, 11:45 am and 12 pm

Getting to the event in the Park:

Use the entrance at the foot of Burlington Street. The rest of the Park area where the event is to take place will be fenced in

There will be markers on the ground in the Park creating the shape of the letter J.

People will be asked to enter Spencer Smith Park at the gate opposite the bottom of Burlington Street. The area will be fenced off – the only entrance will be at that Burlington Street gate.

As people enter the park they will be given an orange wrist band, an orange plastic poncho and have a rubber stamp mark placed on their hand – the kind of thing the teenagers get at dances.

There will be music, there will be speeches – blessedly short we are assured.

There will be one single registration entrance located in the centre of Spencer Smith Park (opposite Burlington Ave). This gate will open at 12 noon.

Upon entry to the park, all participants will receive an orange poncho, have their hand stamped and receive a commemorative orange bracelet.

In order to guarantee your participation in the Guinness Worlds Record title attempt, you must be one of the first 4,000 people through the registration gates. Your Eventbrite registration does not guarantee your participation.

There will be Halton Regional Police Service officers and security on site. Security reserves the right to search bags, etc. upon entering the event.

Large bags and backpacks, umbrellas are discouraged. This event is unfortunately not pet-friendly and other than service dogs we are not able to allow pets into the park.

At the appointed time everyone will be told to step inside the outline of that J. The official from the Guinness Book of Records will be hoisted up in a cherry picker to see the size of the crowd and that they are all within that huge outline of a J.

When the Guinness official is satisfied – he signs a certificate and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation will be the holders of the record – and hopefully, 4000 Burlingtonians will proudly wear their orange ponchos and show everyone their orange wrist band.

There will be food trucks on site which will be open after the “J” is formed.

There will also be complimentary McCafe coffee, light snacks and refreshments available while supplies last

A water bottle refill station will be available and we encourage participants to bring a reusable bottle.

Can we do it? Of course we can – you just have to show up. For those in the east end of the city – ride your bikes along New Street – the cycling enthusiasts need your support.

 

The hospital Foundation adds the following useful information:

An official Guinness World Records attempt requires that everyone be wearing one solid colour. We will be giving a FREE orange rain ponchos to the first 4,000 participants (one size fits all).

There will be controlled access into Spencer Smith Park to accurately track our participant numbers. There will be one official registration entry point for counting participants and receiving your poncho. Please only use the official entrance so we can verify numbers.

This event is rain or shine – we are wearing rain ponchos after all! The event will only be cancelled in the case of lightning, thunderstorms or unsafe weather.

Please dress for the weather. Bring along a hat, water bottle to help you stay cool and protected from the sun.

We are hoping to get everyone in formation and break the record as quickly as possible but there will not be seating in the park, so expect to stand for approximately an hour until we break that record! Please remember to wear comfortable shoes!

The “J” formation will be outlined in the grass. Please follow the volunteers instructions on where to go to ensure we get the right formation.

We will be capturing this event through photography and videography, etc. By participating, you automatically consent to appear in photos and videos.

In order to break the Guinness World Records Title, once we have are in the “J” formation, we need to hold it for 5 minutes! So of course we are going to make it a great five minutes with a countdown and music!

Baby strollers are not allowed in the “J” formation. All babies must be held to participate.

If we break the record, there will an official certificate presentation so we ask everyone to remain in the “J” formation for the presentation.