Couples took the dance floor at the Spruceholme Inn in Fort Coulonge on Saturday evening to music the likes of Frank Sinatra and Perry Como performed by Montreal-based crooner-style singer Sylvain Beauchamp.

The dinner and dance event was the latest of the CLSC Pontiac Foundation’s efforts to raise money to purchase two specialty beds and two specialty mattresses for the Manoir Sacré-Coeur long-term care home in Mansfield.

Anne Amyotte, president of the foundation, explained the Manoir-Sacré Coeur needs two wide beds and two mattresses designed to prevent bed sores.

She said the wide beds cost over $16,000 each, and that the total cost of all four items of the home’s wishlist is almost $40,000.

“They’ve been asking for beds for a few years, and they’re never permitted to buy them,” Amyotte said.

She explained Manoir Sacré-Coeur president Léon Lance has been requesting funding from the province’s health ministry for new beds, but has never been given the budget to do so, so the only option was to fundraise the money needed.

Amyotte said wide beds would serve a special purpose at the long-term care facility.

“We have residents that are obese that need a larger bed,” Amyotte said. “We have couples that move into the Manoir that have been living together for 50 or 60 years, and once they get there, they’re asked to sleep in separate beds.”

Amyotte said prior to Saturday’s fundraiser, the foundation had raised enough money for one bed.

“So far, just in donations, we’ve raised over $20,000 and we have more coming in,” Amyotte said. “We’re hoping to add to our donations to cover everything we’re fundraising for.”

Amyotte said that 162 tickets were sold for Saturday’s event, but she doesn’t yet how much of the proceeds will be left over for the cause once the expenses are paid. They also raised over $700 from a silent auction that featured donated artwork and woodworking by local artisans.

The CLSC Foundation will continue to collect donations until the end of April.