(L-R) Maureen Wade and Daisy Escoto from The Kidney Foundation and Tina Lumbis, kidney transplant recipient, at the BIG105 Chili Cook Off on Thursday at the Save on Foods parking lot. (rdnewsNOW/ Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Over $1,500 so far

Red Deer’s BIG 105 Chili Cook Off raises heat and funds for The Kidney Foundation

Jul 21, 2022 | 4:44 PM

Red Deerians turned up the heat for Westerner Days on Thursday at the annual BIG105 Chili Cook Off, raising funds for The Kidney Foundation.

On July 21 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., teams from various companies and organizations gathered at the Save on Foods North parking lot to cook up their favorite chili recipes alongside buns and pop.

“Even though we are based in Edmonton, we are here for the kidney transplant community in Red Deer,” said Daisy Escoto, Kidney Care Manager for the Foundation.

“We just want to make a presence and let them know that we have their back and ultimately just share awareness about kidney disease and what it means.”

Maureen Wade, Community Development Coordinator says there is a large dialysis unit in Alberta for those suffering from kidney disease as the Foundation serves from Red Deer-North all the way to the Northwest Territories.

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According to the foundation, dialysis is a treatment to clean the blood and remove excess fluids in replacement of what healthy kidneys do. The therapy is available at home but most patients have to go to a hospital or clinic.

One of those patients is local Red Deerian Tina Lumbis who was on dialysis for nearly 15 years before receiving her transplant five years ago.

“It was hard. You end up missing out on a lot of stuff because you were too sick to attend functions and everything. But now that I got the transplant, I’m happy it’s done and able to get back to doing what I like doing,” she said.

“We don’t have enough donors out there for organ transplants.”

Escoto says that wait times for kidney transplants could be between four to five years from a deceased individual and over a year from living donors.

The foundation offers a variety of programs to help Albertans with kidney disease including funding for daily errands like groceries and gas cards to get to dialysis treatment facilities, peer support programs, sending children with kidney disease to an accommodating summer camp and even a reimbursement program for donors whose surgeries are out of pocket.

The fundraising goal for the day was $3,000, and as of yet the charity has already reached over half.

For chili makers, the following prizes were awarded:

• Best Tasting Chili: Canem Systems
• Most Unique Ingredient: Mycor Insurance
• Best Team Booth: Michalsky farms
  Chili Cook Off on Thursday at the Save on Foods parking lot. (rdnewsNOW/ Alessia Proietti)

The charity will also be hosting a Kidney Walk on September 17 in Red Deer, with all proceeds going towards patients in the city.

According to the Foundation, 4,419 Canadians were on a waiting list for a transplant in 2019. Of those, 77 per cent were waiting for a kidney.

rdnewsNOW, radio stations BIG 105.5 and 106.7 REWIND, and Save on Foods are all owned by the Jim Pattison Group.