Campus of Care Partners & City of Abbotsford Make Lease of Land Official

On August 12th, 2010 Campus of Care partners Abbotsford Hospice Society, Matthew's House, and Canuck Place Children's Hospice joined Deputy Mayor Patricia Ross to officially sign the 99 year lease for City of Abbotsford owned land located at 32766 Marshall Road.

"We are so grateful to Mayor Peary and his Council colleagues for recognizing the value of this project and supporting us in such a meaningful way," remarked Filomena Nalewajek, CEO, Canuck Place Children's Hospice. "On behalf of the many children and families throughout the province that will benefit from the Campus of Care, I offer our heartfelt thanks."

Three facilities will be constructed on the 2 acre city owned property:  Abbotsford Hospice Society will build an adult hospice and support centre; Matthew's House will build a long term respite home for children with severe chronic conditions; and Canuck Place will build a children's hospice.

"The City is pleased to be able to partner with the Abbotsford Hospice Society, Matthew's House, and Canuck Place Children's Hospice in this initiative that will bring important health and support services to our residents," said Mayor George W. Peary. "This kind of service is greatly needed and appreciated by children and families facing significant challenges and providing this very important health initiative is something that I am personally extremely proud to stand behind."

For more information visit www.canuckplace.org/abbotsford.

Variety – The Children's Charity Provides Wonderful Gift of Support

This year Canuck Place Children’s Hospice celebrates its 15th anniversary of providing care and support to children with life threatening illnesses and their families from across BC.  Before we were even able to open our doors to our first family, we needed support and funds from the community to make a children’s hospice a reality and Variety was one of the first organizations to come forward and make an investment in Canuck Place.  Over the years Variety has helped Canuck Place renovate our medical care floor, given us a Sunshine Coach to transport our kids and most recently has provided funds to support our Grief Counselling and provide therapeutic support for children and families.

"Their generous contributions over the years have greatly enhanced the level and quality of services provided to Canuck Place children and their families,” remarked Filomena Nalewajek, CEO, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.  “The support they offer to children’s charities and children in need is highly valued and truly makes a difference in the lives of so many kids.”

“As a founding donor of Canuck Place, Variety – The Children’s Charity is extremely pleased to support Canuck Place with this $100,000 gift for therapeutic counseling and grief support for children and families,” said Barbie Hislop, Executive Director, Variety - The Children's Charity.  “At Variety, our mandate is to help children who have special needs, something Canuck Place does every single day. From the first diagnosis, through to end of life, families with children who have life threatening illnesses will receive the counseling and support they need from Canuck Place.”

Variety has made an enormous contribution to the hospice since we first opened our doors and on behalf of our Board of Directors, volunteers, staff and most importantly our children and families, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank you RMHC – We Love our new Snoezelen Room Equipment!

Lauren Kano-McGregor, Community Relations Representative, McDonald’s Canada presents a plaque to commemorate support from Ronald Macdonald House Charities to Maria Dinney, Canuck Place Recreational Therapist.

At Canuck Place, children and teens are able to experience one of the few Snoezelen Rooms in Canada. This special place contains multi-sensory equipment that through a blend of sights, sounds and textures helps to relax and calm, or gently stimulate and energize children. The therapeutic benefits include helping children who are non-verbal to express themselves.

After many years of daily use, Canuck Place received a wonderful present from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada. A gift of $23,000 helped purchase brand new equipment to refurbish our Snoezelen Room.  Kid-friendly toys like musical hopscotch, beanbag chairs, a soothing, bubbling water panel, a colour wheel, spotlight and massage slippers now add to the room’s uniqueness.   

“Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Canada is proud to support the Snoezelen Room at Canuck Place,” said Lauren Kano-McGregor, Community Relations Representative, McDonald’s Canada.  “Through our charity, RMHC Canada, McDonald’s takes great pride in giving back to the communities we serve.   We know that the Snoezelen Room at Canuck Place will help bring smiles to many kids faces as it enables special needs kids to express themselves in a recreational and therapeutic environment.”

Snoezelen comes from the Dutch word “snufflen,” meaning “to seek out or explore,” and “doezelen,” which means “to relax.” For the children and teens, with sensory, cognitive and physical disabilities, the benefits of time spent in the Snozelen Room have included improved eye-hand coordination, better concentration and tension reduction.  As well, it serves as a comforting and relaxing place to go for siblings and parents.

Thank you RMHC for brightening the lives of children at Canuck Place with this special gift.

Sponsor an Adventure Challenge Participant

Over 200 participants will be challenging themselves on Saturday September, 11th in the Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Challenge. Individuals will be kayaking, mountain biking and trail running to raise funds for Canuck Place.

Taking part in the race are a group of individuals with a special connection to Canuck Place. Racing on behalf of a family member or friend that has received care at Canuck Place, these competitors are helping give back by challenging themselves. Please consider helping support these exceptional individuals by following the links below to make a donation:

Cherie Cox racing for her 1 year old daughter diagnosed with a terminal genetic illness at 6 months of age.

Stel Ghioda racing in memory of his son Sebastian.

Team Finn-tastic & Kids Teams Finn 1 and Finn 2 racing in memory of their son, brother and brave little boy Finn.

Also taking part in the race is a group Canuck Place Staff and volunteers competing to raise money for the children and families they care and support.

Team Were Not On-Call including CP Medical Director, Dr. Hal Siden, and CP Nurse Jan Moreau.

Poppy's Team including staff Michele Cadario, Rec Therapist Laura Fielding, Laurie Shopland and CP Therapy Dog Poppy.

CP Express including CP Volunteers Gordon Arai and Denise Walker.

Fitness Town Freakettes including CP Volunteers Dianna Christopoulos and Esther Peverley.

CP Volunteer Malcolm Chrystal racing in his 5th Adventure Challenge.

14 year old son of CP Staff member Jason Samaridis challenging himself to complete the short course.

Help them reach their goal of raising over $300,000 for Canuck Place by making a donation in their name.

Visit www.adventurechallenge.ca to view a full list of participants or to donate directly to the event.

Thank you for your support!

Charity Golf Tournaments Fore Canuck Place

Taking advantage of the amazing weather this summer golfers from around British Columbia took to the links to support Canuck Place Children's Hospice. Thank you to the organizers and participants of the following events, your support is greatly appreciated:

APEGBC Professional Engineers Golf Tournament

Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association Charity Golf Tournament

LMS Reinforcing Steel Group Annual Golf Tournament

RBC Dominion Securities Charity Golf Classic in Abbotsford

Sutton Place Charity Golf Tournament

For more information on holding a golf tournament to support Canuck Place please visit http://www.canuckplace.org/events.

Sponsor a Ferry Trip for a Family

Through the generous support of our donors, Canuck Place is able to make our services and programs available to BC families at no cost.

However, we have limited funds to provide transportation to all those in need of assistance. These include families who must travel by ferry to access the programs offered at Canuck Place. 

You can help these families access our important services by purchasing a round trip ferry ride.

Visit www.preciousgifts.ca to purchase this gift or view other items on our wish list.