Sudbury Regional Hospital is warning Sudbury residents to beware of an Alberta-based company calling itself Healing Hands Busy Book.
The company is currently approaching small businesses in the city for charitable donations in exchange for books they will send to children receiving care at Sudbury Regional Hospital.
The company claims to be operating on behalf of the Sudbury Regional Hospital Foundation as well as the children at the hospital.
"Healing Hands Busy Book is in no way associated with the hospital," said hospital foundation chair Joe Drago in a news release. "This is a company preying on your emotions by saying they are helping kids."
The executive director of the hospital foundation, Mike Singbush, said this isn't the first time this company has solicited similar donations in Sudbury.
"They've (Healing Hands) collected $80,000 in the United States and they were fined about half a million dollars for doing the exact same thing they're doing now."
Singbush said the hospital was alerted to the scam when a former foundation board member received a fax at work from Helping Hands Busy Book asking for donations.
Drago is hoping the public won't send any money to the Alberta scammers.
"If you want to help children in the hospital, please make a donation to the foundation so that we can buy medical equipment to help save lives," said Drago. "If you really think that activity books are necessary, bring them yourself."
Legitimate donations can be made to the hospital through the foundations Internet site, www.srhf.ca.
