A huge surprise donation for the High River and District Health Care Foundation's Close To Home campaign.

The Cancer Centre at the hospital is about to undergo extensive renovations and Thursday night the Rotary Club's Ken Warner announced one person has stepped forward to anonymously donate $250,000.

"I've met with them over the course of the last year four or five times, they just wanted to make sure what Rotary was doing and the Foundation was doing was actually going to go ahead," he says. "They phoned this week and we met and they came forward with the donation. It brought tears to my eyes."

High River Rotary Club member Ken Warner talks about the $250,000 donation being made to the expansion of the Cancer Care Centre at the High River Hospital.

The expansion of the Cancer Care Centre started back in 2011 and has jumped up to a price tag of 2.4-million dollars.

In May of 2013, a month before a devastating flood hit the community, the Rotary club had pledged to raise a half a million dollars and they have continued their efforts despite that major natural disaster.

Warner says the commitment for the project has been top of mind since they made the pledge says the local centre is important because it means people going through chemotherapy treatments can do so without having to travel to the northwest part of Calgary at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

"It's great for the whole Foothills MD 31 area, everywhere, Warner says. "I think Cathy (Couey, the foundation's Fund Development Coordinator) can tell you that probably five years ago there were 40 people using that room, and now today upwards of 300 people a month use that room, so it's very well-used but needed an overhaul and that's what's going to happen."

For Couey the gift was caught her off guard.

"A huge surprise, you know we weren't aware of the specifics of what the announcement was going to be tonight, but to hear a $250,000 donation is just a significant gift of any day, but you know, it just shows the work and the commitment that Rotary has done and in particular the community," Couey says. "When I say the community I mean far-reaching. We had support from all boundaries from Claresholm to south Calgary and Vulcan to the east and Mossleigh and Bragg Creek and Millarville and so just a great way to cap off what's been an incredibly successful campaign."

Construction's expected to start in December or January.