submitted by Jane Adams
WDMH Foundation Managing Director Kristen Casselman says the best part of her job is meeting with donors and hearing their stories. At the Foundation’s Annual General Meeting held on June 14th, she shared just a few of them.
“One day, a recent widower stopped by with tears in his eyes to give a donation in memory of his wife, to continue on with her tradition of supporting WDMH, and to thank the team for the compassionate care she received in her final days,” shared Kristen Casselman. “On another day, a lady told me about a very serious car accident she was in. She wasn’t expected to survive. She did, partly because of WDMH. Each one gave a generous donation. Young and older, affluent or not, all our donors have one similar trait – they really care. Every day, I get to meet them – and I get to see the good in our community. I am grateful for that opportunity.”
Board Vice Chair Bruce Millar echoed Kristen’s comments: “It is my honour to provide you with a quick snapshot of what our wonderful donors have done over the past year. They have worked closely with our amazing Foundation team and provided generous gifts to support health care close to home. In fact, the WDMH Foundation has written a cheque to Winchester District Memorial Hospital for $1,143,828.00 this year. This money has been used to purchase 222 new pieces of equipment to care for patients. Thank you to our supportive communities who tell us they are so grateful for Winchester District Memorial Hospital.”
Details on the WDMH Foundation’s work with Dundas Manor Long-Term Care Home were also shared at the meeting. Much work has centred around the plans to build a brand-new home for current and future residents of Dundas Manor. The Foundation team worked very closely with a volunteer campaign cabinet behind the scenes and launched the public phase of the Expanding the Circle of Compassionate Care campaign on the day of the AGM.
“The estimated cost of the new Dundas Manor is $63 million, and the government is providing about $45 million. That means that our campaign goal is $18 million. It may sound daunting, but I have good news. We are well on our way,” reported Bruce Millar. “To date, more than $11.1 million has been given by our generous community. And we know that they will continue to be behind us every step of the way as we ramp up the campaign today. We are so grateful for everyone’s support.”
At the end of the meeting, Tom Clapp and Dwayne Holmes both thanked the WDMH Foundation Board and fundraising team for all they do for the community and health care close to home.
