Together with my Board colleagues on both the Foundation and Hospice Care Avon Maitland – our operating Board - It is my honour and privilege to thank you, our valued donors, as we recognize the 5-year anniversary of our 2019 opening day.

What started as a community meeting attended by hundreds just over a decade ago, culminated in our beautiful, world-class Hospice, serving 375 residents to date. And we have you to thank for the incredible end-of-life experience we’ve been able to offer.

Those quick with math will note that our opening coincided very closely with the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic, and our road following our earliest days has been fraught with restrictions and operational challenges very familiar to anyone in the business of gathering to care for others. Despite these challenges, we have provided a home for living until the end for each resident and their families.

Now that pandemic restrictions are past us, Rotary Hospice offers common areas, space for families to play, rooms for quiet reflection, outdoor space designed to welcome hospital beds, stunning gardens tended by loyal volunteers, and an array of special extras like manicures, soaker tubs, and guided memory making that make our facility a place of joy despite its obvious realities.

I am excited to share a video (you can watch video on the home page) to give you a sense of how peaceful, beautiful, and human the facility is – no loudspeakers, medical equipment noise, or bustle of a typical care facility. Our Hospice is a place of reflection, respite, and rest, and we have you – our donors – to thank for it. I hope that you get a sense of the true home we offer at Rotary Hospice.

While the Ministry of Health covers the direct operational nursing and PSW costs, the aspects of Hospice that make so special require funds raised by those who understand the magic it provides. Fresh-baked cookies, meals made to order, quilts for every bed, video conferencing facilities in every room, pets welcome and encouraged – these are just some of the incredible differences our Hospice offers compared to a medical care facility. Each resident room is private, families are invited to spend the night on real beds, and large spaces with bright windows and nature views invite loved ones to gather, to linger, to remember, and to live life fully until the end.

These “home-style” touches require community fundraising of almost $1M dollars annually, and since our doors have opened, Stratford and Perth residents and businesses have not failed to respond. It is with excitement that - thanks to both initial capital campaign donors and all donors since - I share that our facility is now mortgage-free.

With the capital campaign behind us, our thoughts now turn to ensuring annual fundraising targets are met, as well as what we might one-day yet become. Anyone who has the privilege of experiencing the facility – as one of our 150 strong volunteers, as member of staff, as a donor on a tour, or as a resident or family living at hospice for absolutely no cost - shares a similar sentiment of gratitude that this caliber of facility exists in our community. And as one of our valued donors, if you have not yet had a chance to tour our facility, please reach out to a member of our staff or board and we’d be pleased to arrange a visit to our home.

With our sincere and heartfelt thanks, we reflect on what Rotary Hospice has come to mean for so many and where our visions for the future see us going. And if you leave with any message today, it is that of thanks for being not only our funders, but true friends of Hospice. Thank you for helping us share our story with anyone that is interested – we are always happy to speak to community members, service groups, and potential future funders about what we do and how proud we are to do it.