The Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre, Winnipeg’s Jewish nursing home, marked Giving Tuesday recently with birthday parties for six of its oldest residents and a pitch to supporters to contribute to the institution’s campaign to raise $147,000 by the end of March for quality-of-life enhancements for its 199 residents.
“Ninety per cent of residents at the Simkin Centre suffer from a dementia-related illness, and many have barriers to mobility or communication,” said Laurel Hogan, the facility’s fundraising officer. “As a result of advances in health care, we have people coming to us with very com- plex health issues.
“While the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority [ WRHA] provides for our core funding needs, it doesn’t cover spiritual care, volunteer services, therapeutic recreation, end-of-life care, Shabbat and holiday services, along other programs like music therapy, special events, and our concert series.”
“The one-on-one music therapy program with iPads and iPods helps to stimulate people with cognitive disabilities and dementia to be able to interact better socially”
Hogan said the seniors residence has been offering music therapy for six years.
“We piloted the music program for iPods two years ago,” she said. “The one-on-one music therapy program with iPads and iPods helps to stimulate people with cog- nitive disabilities and dementia to be able to interact better socially.”
One of the goals of the current campaign is to raise $7,000 to purchase 10 more iPads and five more iPods, Hogan said.
She noted that $250 will buy one iPod plus accessories, $750 will buy one iPad plus accessories, and $60 pays for one art or music therapy session for a resident.
“We also hope to raise funds in support of art therapy sessions and regular massage therapy,” Hogan said. “We would require an additional $12,000 for massage therapy and $3,000 more for regular art therapy. The total cost [for massage, art and music therapy] would be about $75,000.”
The Simkin Centre has one major fundraiser a year – an annual fundraising walk in the spring that brought in $23,000 last year, Hogan said, adding that interest from several endowment funds under the auspices of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba will also help the cause.
“We’re sending letters out to members of the community [this month] asking for donations,” she said. “As of Nov. 30, we raised $103,000 in donations and grants.” “We are also working on building a new database to make fundraising more efficient, and we’re in the process of forming a new foundation.”
Giving Tuesday is a global day of charitable giving that happens each year after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s a time when Canadians, charities and businesses come together to celebrate giving and participate in activities that support charities and non-profits, Hogan said.