A pledge driven “Lifting for Life” fundraiser recently raised more than $32,000 for local hospice care.

Combining a memorial celebration with fundraising and fitness for all abilities, the volunteer-led event was once again held at Performance 360 in Chatham and organized by Rick Paxton and Heather Myers.

Lifting for Life is a fun-filled event where participants bench press to raise funds needed to support the end-of-life care provided to local families in Chatham-Kent. Everyone is welcome to participate regardless of age, gender or skill. Participants simply bench press a pre-determined weight based on their preference as many times as possible while earning pledged dollars for each repetition.

This year’s fundraiser saw ten different participants step up to the bench press from the ages of 8 to 79, each of whom were honouring their loved ones and supporting future Hospice families.

“Community-led fundraisers are vital to our hospice and our fundraising goals,” said Brock McGregor, Executive Director of Chatham-Kent Hospice Foundation. “They extend our reach, deepen community connection, and directly support compassionate end-of-life care. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who steps up to organize and participate. Rick and his team have continually gone above and beyond to support the Chatham-Kent Hospice.”

Since 2023, Lifting for Life has raised a combined total of more than $74,000 for Chatham-Kent Hospice.

“We are thrilled to have been part of such an awesome event,” said Warren Potter of Performance 360. “Thank you to all who contributed to such an amazing donation to Hospice!”

The 2026 Lifting for Life fundraiser is in honour of Rob Pomajba, Dave Craeymeersch, Kerry Stone, Calvin Carrothers, Nelly Kasper and Mary Louise Rosseel.