Meet Shari Deguara, the Trillium Health Partners (THP) staff member who recently won over $10, 000 through our 50/50 staff lottery.
“Good things certainly come to those who wait,” says Shari, a 21-year veteran of Trillium Health Partners.
She currently works as a Pharmacy Technician in the Pharma Centre at the Queensway Health Centre site. Since she began at THP over two decades ago, Shari has been actively contributing to the staff 50/50 lottery.
“I remember when I first started the volunteers would come around with a bucket and tickets for the lottery. Over time it transitioned to online payroll and suddenly the jackpot was no longer $300 dollars, it had gone up to $10,000 every two weeks.”
As the years went one, Shari contributed to the lottery, and oftentimes didn’t feel like winning was within her reach. Regardless, she found comfort knowing her bi-weekly contributions were benefitting health care in her community.
For Shari, THP was more than just a hospital. It was a community of compassionate and kind health care experts that provided exceptional cardiac care and treatment for her husband and later, a hip replacement. She felt the 50:50 lottery was a simple and efficient way to give back and show her appreciation for a hospital she worked in and accessed.
When Shari returned from lunch one day with a missed phone call, she and her colleagues joked about the potential that Shari could be the winner of the staff lottery. The laughing didn’t last long when she called the number back and heard the good news. After all these years, she had finally won.
“It rendered me speechless, which is very rare,” Shari remarked.
Shari used some of her winnings for a group Halloween costume with her fellow colleagues, each staff member of hers receiving a care bare as a momentum.
“I definitely told my colleagues that it was worth it to sign up for the 50/50 lottery. It’s such a benefit to the hospital and if you ever get lucky, it can be a real win-win for everyone!”