President Laura and Neil Aitchison thank guest speaker Andrea Binkle, the Executive Director of Lisaard House and Innisfree House.
Chuck Thompson and Jerome Freiburger share a laugh with Dave Decker.
Meeting minutes
January 15, 2020
Birthdays:
Jim Evans, January 14th
Wedding Anniversaries
none
Club Anniversaries
Ray Millard, 23 years
Business:
State of the Region, Region Chair Karen Redman, January 28th, Doubletree by Hilton (former Holiday Inn) Kitchener – some tickets still available.
Soup Sisters – Jan. 28th, contact Brad Enns – still a few tickets available.
Chris Wilk reported that he and Marc Engel and Kelly Strome would be participating in a curling bonspiel this coming weekend.
Other news:
Andrew Williams reported that he has spoken to Ian Robertson, who is in good spirits while undergoing his treatment. Andrew indicated that Ian would likely welcome a call or email (at home).
Speaker:
Andrea Binkle spoke passionately about her work as the new Executive Director at Lisaard House (Cambridge) and Innisfree House (Kitchener), both palliative care residence for individuals requiring end-of-life care. Combined, the residences have 16 beds where over 400 clients are cared for annually.
Andrea related the story of Mike and Pat to demonstrate how important the services offered by Lisaard House and Innisfree House are to the individuals and families they serve.
Both programs offer service not only to the client, but also to the client’s family – before, during and after the client has passed away. The programs are provided by 65 paid staff and 250 volunteers.
The $350 per day cost per bed is funded partially by the provincial government, but roughly one third of this cost must be funded by Lisaard House and Innisfreee House. They do this through regular donation and fundraising through an annual gala and Ride for Hospice.
Andrea was graciously thanked by Neil Aitchison, who’s own mother received care from a hospice in Toronto, and who was very thankful for the wonderful care his mother received.
Request for Billets
The Ontario Youth Parliament (OYP) is a nonprofit organization and registered charity focused on providing youth a platform to discuss politics, faith and friendship.
The primary activity of OYP is their annual four-day model parliament for youth aged 14 to 21. OYP sessions are held in a different city across Ontario each year. In February 2020, the parliamentary session will be held in Kitchener at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. In order to make this weekend possible, a team of around 30 dedicated youth form what is called ‘Cabinet,’ who work hard all year to plan the session.
The organization has heavily relied on the kindness and generosity of families across Ontario to billet delegates in the past. They are looking for people in KW to billet at least two delegates for three nights during the weekend of Friday, February 14th to Monday, February 17th, with billeting on the nights of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The host billet would have the responsibility of picking up the delegates at the church where the meeting will be taking place at 10pm, provide a bed for the night, breakfast in the morning, and a ride back to the church in the morning for 8:30am. OYP can also offer transportation assistance.
