Care North Hastings awarded $3,400 at 100 Women Who Care event

By Chris Drost

Care North Hastings was the latest community organization walked away with $3,400 from the 100 Women Who Care meeting held on Sept. 14 at Joy Bible Camp.

The group typically meets three times each year where it receives presentations from three deserving local not-for-profit organizations who make a pitch for their respective organizations. This time, Jennifer Kauffeldt spoke on behalf of Care North Hastings, Virginia Plunkett for Hospice North Hastings and Steve Scally on behalf of the Bancroft Lions Club.

Before the presentations got underway, MC, Cheryl Easton, invited James Burbidge of North Hastings High School to step forward for a cheque presentation by Janice Sears, one of the 100 Women organizers. The cheque was for $3,900 and a delighted Burbidge explained that this generous amount will increase their total capital fund for scholarships by 5 per cent, “so it is very significant.”

The winning organization, Care North Hastings only receives about 30 per cent of its funding through the Ministry of Health, according to Kauffledt. During the past year they have distributed 22,320 meals through their Meals on Wheels program, gave 7,884 rides with volunteer drivers clocking in 364,202 kilometres, provided 2,218 foot care services, 7,837 home health care visits and made 5,573 reassurance calls.

Kauffeldt explained that many more people are using their services. While they are not supposed to, they ran a deficit of$57K last year to keep those services in place.

During her presentation on behalf of Hospice North Hastings, Plunkett announced that the popular Gala will be coming back. The organization has gone through major restructuring and is now collaborating with the Bancroft Community Family Health Team sharing staff for providing palliative care services. Since March, they started receiving funding for two beds from the government. Had they been the winner that evening, they had hoped to purchase blankets and air conditioning/heating for their new room as well as additional equipment for community loan. Plunkett explained that palliative care costs $400 per day compared to $2,000 per day in the hospital.

Scally gave a brief history of the Lions Club which was first founded in Chicago in 1917. The first club in Canada was formed in 1920 in Windsor. In Bancroft, the Lions Club has been operating for 77 years. Its primary goal is vision care – cataracts and glasses worldwide. It is also a one-third partner in the North Hastings Community Centre. The Lions Club has contributed to Camp Trillium youth cancer camp, Cedar Ridge Camp, Food for Learning, the Hospital Auxiliary ($27K over the past two years) and Camp Dorset where 36 people per day on dialysis can attend and bring family members with them.

The next meeting of the 100 Women Who Care will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023 at a new location, the Bancroft Village Playhouse. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. New members are always welcome to join.

The three presenting organizations in January will be Cedar Ridge Camp, Food for Leaning and the North Hastings District Hospital Auxiliary.