Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation

The rainy June weather finally changed to sunshine just in time to welcome our guests for the 14th Annual BC Wine and Oyster Fest on Friday, June 13th. This year's event was another huge success thanks to all the sponsors, suppliers and ticket purchasers.

Guests we were treated to an astounding variety of BC's finest wines and ales. There were 40 wineries sampling 135 delicious wines. We also had 4 breweries sampling13 ales and some very popular vodka spritzers and cider too. The knowledgeable representatives shared a great deal about the beverages they were sampling and many notes were made by our guests about their favourites. The Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel and Marina have been our presenting sponsors since inception and are always terrific hosts of this event.

Maureen Washington and the Daniel Cook Trio entertained our guests with their incredible musical talent. We are also grateful to Neptune Food Service, Albion Fisheries, Portofino European Bakery and B&C Food who supported this event by providing a variety of tasty treats and all those oysters. The talented chefs from the Blue Crab Bar & Grill did a terrific job preparing the food with flair. Our volunteer shuckers did a great job shucking close to 4,000 delicious oysters. It was no surprise that the Bernard Callebaut chocolate fountain was a big hit again this year. The party supplies provided by Pedersen's Rentals were, again, integral to our success as were the tents from Island Displays and the fencing provided by TFR Tempory Fence Rental. Art Department Design did a wonderful job with the poster and program and our media partners, CHEK News, Times Colonist and 100.3 the Q! FM did a great job helping us get the word out. We were also fortunate to have the support of Oak Bay Village Wines, Cook St. Village Wines and Metro Liquor Tuscany Village as ticket sales outlets.

It has been a tradition to ask our guests each year to pick their favourite wine and beer for the People's Choice Awards. It must have been quite a challenge this year with so many terrific products to sample. In fact, there were so many wines and ales to try, I think we must have overwhelmed our guests because there were just not enough ballots returned at the end of the night to determine overall winners. So, this year we hereby declare all our wineries and breweries winners because, by participating, they were supporting the fundraising efforts of the Eldercare Foundation while at the same time introducing their wonderful products to our guests. We also had a 50/50 raffle. Lucky guest Malcolm had the winning purple ticket #0644033 and he walked away with $320.00!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this very important fundraising event. Proceeds will be used to enhance the care, comfort, dignity and independence of elderly people living in our community.

We're almost there!

Our Comfort Care Campaign has reached 90% of its fundraising goal to raise $700,000.00, and the results are beginning to show up in each of the sites.

Providing the comforts of home to elderly long-term care residents is especially important during this final stage of life. Our Comfort Care Campaign is raising funds to improve the private visiting areas, enhance the therapeutic gardens, upgrade the bathing rooms and build palliative care rooms for end of life care at the Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie, Glengarry and Priory/Heritage Woods care facilities. In addition to these 4 focus areas, our wish list includes staples like specialized equipment, including beds, wheelchairs, mattresses. It also includes support for valuable programs like music therapy, entertainment and outings.

Thanks to our generous donors, we are already making improvements to enhance the care and comfort of the elderly residents who call one of the facilities we support 'home'. We've just ordered the new tubs and lifts to finalize the bathing room projects at both Priory and Mt. Tolmie. We've upgraded visiting areas at Aberdeen. We've just received 120 mattresses to replace old worn out mattresses. Specialty mattresses and wheelchairs have also been received by all facilities thanks to the success of the Comfort Care Campaign and the generosity of our donors.

The Bathtub Open Golf Tournament held in May 2007 and hosted by Scotia Private Client Group and First Memorial Funeral Services raised just over $10,000 towards the purchase of a new bathtub for Aberdeen.

At the Bathtub Open Golf Tourney, A-Channel's Steve Olafson and Jen Wong could
not decide on one rubber ducky...so they bought the whole selection.

The RBC Foundation presented us with a $5,000 cheque in May 2007 to support our Music Therapy Program.

Music Therapist Alan Slade sings with Aberdeen Residents at
RBC Foundation cheque presentation celebration.

We have also received major gift donations totalling over $425,000 from a number of individuals, service clubs and businesses. Major gifts received or pledged in support of the Comfort Care Campaign include: BMO Bank of Montreal $50,000, Thrifty Foods $10,000, Juan de Fuca Hospitals Auxiliary $20,000 and The Victoria Foundation $20,800.

We still need to raise the remaining 10% in order to complete bathing room projects at Glengarry and Aberdeen; to build palliative care rooms at Mt. Tolmie and Glengarry; and to improve the therapeutic gardens at Priory and Aberdeen. With the continued and generous support of our community - individual donors, service clubs and businesses - we know will reach our current campaign goal. Thank you for helping us provide the 'comforts of home'.

GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS JOY

When we think of Christmas, visions of children opening gifts while parents look on pop into our heads. At long-term care facilities, people who were once children and parents themselves often find they are now alone; at this late age, many residents have outlived their spouses, siblings and even their children, and Christmas can be a lonely time. Thanks to our donors, the Eldercare Foundation made sure that the residents at Glengarry, Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie and Priory weren’t forgotten this Christmas. Poinsettias were delivered to each nursing unit to brighten the dining tables; funds were distributed for “Christmas treats”; special gift bags were distributed to residents who, otherwise, would not have received a gift to open on Christmas morning. The Eldercare Foundation would like to thank our generous donors and all the wonderful caring staff who helped bring smiles and joy to the residents this Christmas.

Annual General Meeting Update
2006/2007

The Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation held its' Annual General Meeting on October 25, 2007 to recap the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. The following outlines the highlights of the year as well as grants the Foundation made in support of care for the elderly.

The Foundation marked its' 25th anniversary in 2007. The common theme that presents itself when looking back over the past quarter century, is that we have all dared to dream big. We've had a lot of help from people who have given generously of their time, talent and treasure. With their help, we have been able to provide over $5 million to enhance the care and comfort of the elderly. This is a testament to the fact that dreams sometimes do come true.

Long-time Members will recall when, in 2001, we expanded our vision from funding equipment, renovations and furnishings for the former Juan de Fuca Hospitals into helping the elderly in our community as well. This move was taken with great hope, but also some trepidation. Since then, we have been rewarded with many great successes and a new confidence when looking to the future.

This spring we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the new Hillside Seniors Health Centre. After only one year, the centre has established itself as a vital community resource for seniors and their families. This is evidenced by the glowing testimonials received from people who have attended the Yakimovich Wellness Centre or stayed at the Piercy Respite Hotel.

In March 2007 Eldercare's "Embrace Aging Month" initiative enjoyed its' second successful year. The workshops and support groups held at the Yakimovich Wellness Centre were well attended. The Senior Celebration Festival drew people from all over Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and even the lower mainland. The Reminiscence Theatre Festival boasted a youth troupe from Kassel Germany as well as presenters from London and Newcastle in the UK. Embrace Aging Month served to raise awareness and connect seniors and their families to valuable community resources to assist them in navigating the journey of aging.

After almost a year of consideration, in September 2007 the Eldercare Board voted unanimously to add Oak Bay Lodge to our family of care facilities and, at the Annual General Meeting the Membership voted in favour of this addition and amended the Constitution and ByLaws accordingly.

We have grown a great deal and realized many dreams since our inception in 1982. But, as we grow, we will never loose site of the importance of the continued support we are dedicated to provide to enhance the care and comfort offered at the Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie, Glengarry and Priory care facilities. These sites represent the beginning of our existence and will always be a high priority for the Eldercare Foundation. Click on DONATIONS - Use of Donations for details of the 2006/07 grants to these facilities along with the support we've provided for community programmes, our staff and volunteers.

Your support has helped the Eldercare Foundation enhance the care, comfort and dignity of elderly persons.

Foundation's Current Newsletter August 2007 Download pdf		The rainy June weather finally changed to sunshine just in time to welcome our guests for the 14th Annual BC Wine and Oyster Fest on Friday, June 13th. This year's event was another huge success thanks to all the sponsors, suppliers and ticket purchasers. Guests we were treated to an astounding variety of BC's finest wines and ales. There were 40 wineries sampling 135 delicious wines. We also had 4 breweries sampling13 ales and some very popular vodka spritzers and cider too. The knowledgeable representatives shared a great deal about the beverages they were sampling and many notes were made by our guests about their favourites. The Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel and Marina have been our presenting sponsors since inception and are always terrific hosts of this event. Maureen Washington and the Daniel Cook Trio entertained our guests with their incredible musical talent. We are also grateful to Neptune Food Service, Albion Fisheries, Portofino European Bakery and B&C Food who supported this event by providing a variety of tasty treats and all those oysters. The talented chefs from the Blue Crab Bar & Grill did a terrific job preparing the food with flair. Our volunteer shuckers did a great job shucking close to 4,000 delicious oysters. It was no surprise that the Bernard Callebaut chocolate fountain was a big hit again this year. The party supplies provided by Pedersen's Rentals were, again, integral to our success as were the tents from Island Displays and the fencing provided by TFR Tempory Fence Rental. Art Department Design did a wonderful job with the poster and program and our media partners, CHEK News, Times Colonist and 100.3 the Q! FM did a great job helping us get the word out. We were also fortunate to have the support of Oak Bay Village Wines, Cook St. Village Wines and Metro Liquor Tuscany Village as ticket sales outlets. It has been a tradition to ask our guests each year to pick their favourite wine and beer for the People's Choice Awards. It must have been quite a challenge this year with so many terrific products to sample. In fact, there were so many wines and ales to try, I think we must have overwhelmed our guests because there were just not enough ballots returned at the end of the night to determine overall winners. So, this year we hereby declare all our wineries and breweries winners because, by participating, they were supporting the fundraising efforts of the Eldercare Foundation while at the same time introducing their wonderful products to our guests. We also had a 50/50 raffle. Lucky guest Malcolm had the winning purple ticket #0644033 and he walked away with $320.00! Thanks to everyone who participated in this very important fundraising event. Proceeds will be used to enhance the care, comfort, dignity and independence of elderly people living in our community. We're almost there! Our Comfort Care Campaign has reached 90% of its fundraising goal to raise $700,000.00, and the results are beginning to show up in each of the sites. Providing the comforts of home to elderly long-term care residents is especially important during this final stage of life. Our Comfort Care Campaign is raising funds to improve the private visiting areas, enhance the therapeutic gardens, upgrade the bathing rooms and build palliative care rooms for end of life care at the Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie, Glengarry and Priory/Heritage Woods care facilities. In addition to these 4 focus areas, our wish list includes staples like specialized equipment, including beds, wheelchairs, mattresses. It also includes support for valuable programs like music therapy, entertainment and outings. Thanks to our generous donors, we are already making improvements to enhance the care and comfort of the elderly residents who call one of the facilities we support 'home'. We've just ordered the new tubs and lifts to finalize the bathing room projects at both Priory and Mt. Tolmie. We've upgraded visiting areas at Aberdeen. We've just received 120 mattresses to replace old worn out mattresses. Specialty mattresses and wheelchairs have also been received by all facilities thanks to the success of the Comfort Care Campaign and the generosity of our donors. The Bathtub Open Golf Tournament held in May 2007 and hosted by Scotia Private Client Group and First Memorial Funeral Services raised just over $10,000 towards the purchase of a new bathtub for Aberdeen. At the Bathtub Open Golf Tourney, A-Channel's Steve Olafson and Jen Wong could not decide on one rubber ducky...so they bought the whole selection. The RBC Foundation presented us with a $5,000 cheque in May 2007 to support our Music Therapy Program. Music Therapist Alan Slade sings with Aberdeen Residents at RBC Foundation cheque presentation celebration. We have also received major gift donations totalling over $425,000 from a number of individuals, service clubs and businesses. Major gifts received or pledged in support of the Comfort Care Campaign include: BMO Bank of Montreal $50,000, Thrifty Foods $10,000, Juan de Fuca Hospitals Auxiliary $20,000 and The Victoria Foundation $20,800. We still need to raise the remaining 10% in order to complete bathing room projects at Glengarry and Aberdeen; to build palliative care rooms at Mt. Tolmie and Glengarry; and to improve the therapeutic gardens at Priory and Aberdeen. With the continued and generous support of our community - individual donors, service clubs and businesses - we know will reach our current campaign goal. Thank you for helping us provide the 'comforts of home'. GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS JOY When we think of Christmas, visions of children opening gifts while parents look on pop into our heads. At long-term care facilities, people who were once children and parents themselves often find they are now alone; at this late age, many residents have outlived their spouses, siblings and even their children, and Christmas can be a lonely time. Thanks to our donors, the Eldercare Foundation made sure that the residents at Glengarry, Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie and Priory weren’t forgotten this Christmas. Poinsettias were delivered to each nursing unit to brighten the dining tables; funds were distributed for “Christmas treats”; special gift bags were distributed to residents who, otherwise, would not have received a gift to open on Christmas morning. The Eldercare Foundation would like to thank our generous donors and all the wonderful caring staff who helped bring smiles and joy to the residents this Christmas. Annual General Meeting Update 2006/2007 The Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation held its' Annual General Meeting on October 25, 2007 to recap the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. The following outlines the highlights of the year as well as grants the Foundation made in support of care for the elderly. The Foundation marked its' 25th anniversary in 2007. The common theme that presents itself when looking back over the past quarter century, is that we have all dared to dream big. We've had a lot of help from people who have given generously of their time, talent and treasure. With their help, we have been able to provide over $5 million to enhance the care and comfort of the elderly. This is a testament to the fact that dreams sometimes do come true. Long-time Members will recall when, in 2001, we expanded our vision from funding equipment, renovations and furnishings for the former Juan de Fuca Hospitals into helping the elderly in our community as well. This move was taken with great hope, but also some trepidation. Since then, we have been rewarded with many great successes and a new confidence when looking to the future. This spring we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the new Hillside Seniors Health Centre. After only one year, the centre has established itself as a vital community resource for seniors and their families. This is evidenced by the glowing testimonials received from people who have attended the Yakimovich Wellness Centre or stayed at the Piercy Respite Hotel. In March 2007 Eldercare's "Embrace Aging Month" initiative enjoyed its' second successful year. The workshops and support groups held at the Yakimovich Wellness Centre were well attended. The Senior Celebration Festival drew people from all over Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and even the lower mainland. The Reminiscence Theatre Festival boasted a youth troupe from Kassel Germany as well as presenters from London and Newcastle in the UK. Embrace Aging Month served to raise awareness and connect seniors and their families to valuable community resources to assist them in navigating the journey of aging. After almost a year of consideration, in September 2007 the Eldercare Board voted unanimously to add Oak Bay Lodge to our family of care facilities and, at the Annual General Meeting the Membership voted in favour of this addition and amended the Constitution and ByLaws accordingly. We have grown a great deal and realized many dreams since our inception in 1982. But, as we grow, we will never loose site of the importance of the continued support we are dedicated to provide to enhance the care and comfort offered at the Aberdeen, Mt. Tolmie, Glengarry and Priory care facilities. These sites represent the beginning of our existence and will always be a high priority for the Eldercare Foundation. Click on DONATIONS - Use of Donations for details of the 2006/07 grants to these facilities along with the support we've provided for community programmes, our staff and volunteers. Your support has helped the Eldercare Foundation enhance the care, comfort and dignity of elderly persons.
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