Radio Day raises $1.75 million, fully funding portable X-ray machines for Cape Breton Regional Hospital
Cape Breton has done it again.
The Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation’s 19th annual Radio Day took place yesterday and broke records for the fifth year in a row, raising an incredible $1.75 for health care in Cape Breton.
A portion of this year’s record-breaking total will fully fund two portable X-ray machines for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, bringing lifesaving imaging directly to the bedside of patients who are too sick, injured, or unstable to be transported to Diagnostic Imaging.
The 12-hour radiothon, presented in partnership with Hot 101.9 and New Country 103.5, brings together community fundraisers, donors, businesses, volunteers and health care champions for a day of giving to health care in Cape Breton.
This year’s Radio Day was held in loving memory of Ashley Hareguy, a former critical care nurse who became a patient herself after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor at just 34 years old. Ashley passed away in August 2025, after five and a half years of living with her diagnosis.
Ashley’s close friend and fellow critical care nurse, Sandra Johnson, shared Ashley’s story with the community this Radio Day, encouraging donors to give in her memory and help bring portable X-ray technology to patients at the hospital.
“Radio Day is one of those days that reminds us just how extraordinary this community is,” says Paula MacNeil, CEO of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation. “For five consecutive years, Cape Breton has come together and broken the Radio Day fundraising record. That is an incredible accomplishment, but what means even more is what these dollars will do for patients and families in our community.”
Radio Day’s Power Hour partners once again helped drive giving throughout the day. City Print +, Schwartz Furniture and Jim Sampson Motors each matched donations up to $12,500 during their respective Power Hours. C.S. Boudreau Holdings Ltd. also returned as the event’s Online Matching Partner, matching $10,000 in online donations.
Additionally, the J & W Murphy Foundation also helped amplify the impact of this year’s campaign, matching donations made through the Foundation’s Radio Day donor letter, up to $50,000, in memory of Ashley.
“We are so grateful to every donor, fundraiser, volunteer and community partner who showed up for health care today,” says MacNeil. “Whether someone made a gift, organized a fundraiser, answered a phone, shared their story, or simply encouraged someone else to give, every person played a part in this record-breaking day. Together, we are making sure our hospital has the equipment our health care teams need to care for our families, friends and neighbours, right here at home.”
Since its inception, Radio Day has raised more than $15.7 million for health care in Cape Breton, demonstrating the extraordinary impact that can happen when the community comes together with a shared purpose.
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Radio Day over the past 5 years:
- 2022 – $1 million with a portion dedicated to the Mom & Baby and Pediatrics TLC Funds.
- 2023 – $1.2 million with a portion dedicated to launching the Vital Patient Care Fund.
- 2024 – $1.3 million with a portion purchasing four portable ultrasound machines, which are in use.
- 2025 – $1.4 million with a portion purchasing two Prismax machines for the Intensive Care Unit, which have recently arrived.
- 2026 – $1.75 million with a portion funding two portable X-ray units.