GUELPH – Hospice Wellington has set its sights on a fundraising goal of $45,000 to celebrate its 45th anniversary.
The charitable organization was established in 1980 to provide the Wellington-Guelph area with emotional support, care and practical assistance to community members with life-threatening illnesses.
“A few ladies sat around a table 45 years ago and … they decided that people really needed help in the community with end-of-life care,” executive director Pat Stuart told the Advertiser.
The organization’s 10-bed residence facility, located at 795 Scottsdale Drive in Guelph, came 30 years later in 2010.
Hospice Wellington executive director Pat Stuart. Submitted photo
“It’s 45 years for the community and 15 years for our hospice,” she added.
“We’re very proud and very thankful to our community because without our community we wouldn’t be here.”
Stuart has been a hospice employee for 13 years and a nurse for 47.
“It’s such an honour to do this kind of work,” she said.
“We help people live their best life here right to the end. It’s all about comfort, care and compassion.”
The hospice is funded 45 per cent by the government, meaning “everything else we have to work for,” Stuart said.
The 45 Days of Giving fundraiser began on Sept. 17 and runs till Oct. 31.
“We have someone that is matching $10,000,” she said.
“You can give whatever amount you want and honestly we appreciate anything at all.”
As of Oct. 8, just over 50% of the goal ($23,500) had been raised.
“We make sure every cent is spent properly,” Stuart said.
Most of the funds go towards operational costs, with a large portion funding hospice programs such as:
- grief and bereavement group;
- music therapy;
- art therapy;
- public workshops; and
- palliative support.
Stuart noted the fundraiser isn’t just a celebration of the past, but a way to plant the seed for 45 more years.
“It’s about our future and this need for compassionate care and support,” she said.
“It doesn’t fade with time, it only grows.”
To donate visit hospicewellington.org.
