Dec 7, 2022 | Community and Partnerships, Faces of HDGH
With December here, the Foundation team is getting ready to wrap up another year of giving and receiving. When I reflect back at all the wonderful people who supported the work we do at HDGH, it is with such gratitude. Donations are not made by faceless institutions, they are made by people. Even when a donation comes to us from a company, there is a person or group of individuals who put a great deal of careful consideration into which cause they wish to support.
Sometimes it is difficult to find a profound way to say thank you and to say it in such a way that the donor really understands our gratitude and the impact their gift has made. At the Foundation we try to convey thankfulness each and every day because we see firsthand that donations truly have the ability to change lives.
This year alone, gifts to HDGH made it possible for us to support the bed replacement project for the third year in a row, leant support to hospital employees with $10,000 in scholarships, purchased tangible items like an ice maker machine and with the support of our community assisted with the Breaking Free Online and various client activities within the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs. These are only a few examples of the impact donations make at HDGH.
Much like a good deed that is repaid to others, a donation can also start a ripple effect of kindness. The staff member who receives a scholarship feels valued and uses their learnings to improve the quality of their work; the patient receiving care benefits and the family member visiting sees that their loved one is being well taken care of and can sleep better at night. There is little opportunity for the patient to understand how a donation made their care better and brought their family ease, yet there are many intangible examples of this very thing throughout HDGH.
Most individuals know about the large events that are hosted to raise funds, but the HDGH Foundation has a full menu of ways we work to acquire donations. We hold the Heart Breaker Challenge, Bob Probert Ride, Big Night Gala and Charity Golf Classic. There are also individuals in our community who organize their own events and simply gift us with the money they raise. For example, we have been fortunate to have Rick’s Ride and Bridge to Bridge, two events that support our programs and services for the past two years.
Another way we raise money is through donor letters mailed out to our supporters telling them about a need the hospital has identified with a request to assist the Foundation to meet this need. The most well-known of these letters is the Tree of Lights campaign that was started 36 years ago at Grace Hospital. Since then the launch event has become part of the fabric of how HDGH kicks off the holiday season.
On our campus we have some wonderful gifts provided to us by caring community partners like an outdoor adult exercise space provided by LiUNA!625, a children’s greenhouse gifted to us by Windsor St. Clair Rotary, a healing garden provided by the Tregaskiss family and expanded by Transition to Betterness. We also have a cafeteria gifted to us by In Honour of the Ones We Love and there is still more that could be mentioned. Windsor is truly a caring and giving community.
There is a saying from Gordon B. Hinckley that “Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others”. With each donation to HDGH, our donors are doing this very thing, making a difference in the lives of others. Thank you to all of our donors, sponsors and to the community for all of your contributions this past year. I am lucky to be witness to this spirit of giving every day.
Barb Sebben is the Executive Director of the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Foundation and Academic and Volunteer Placements. She has been an employee for over 20 years, starting out as a coordinator in the Public Affairs department. Prior to joining HDGH she helped fundraise for the Children’s Safety Village and worked at Centres for Seniors Windsor (now Life After 50).