Hearth Place is a support centre in Oshawa offering cancer patients and their families peer support, information, a resource centre, wellness programs and an ongoing lecture and discussion series.

Article published on Hearth Place’s website and in the organization’s internal May/June newsletter for staff.

Coming This Summer!

The Great-West Life and London Life Healing Garden

Oshawa, March 9, 2009 – Hearth Place has received a significant contribution from Great-West Life and London Life to develop an outdoor space that will provide patients and their families with a place for rest and renewal.

The contribution toward The Great-West Life and London Life Healing Garden comes through The Key to Giving™ – the national corporate citizenship program of Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. Through the program, the companies contribute to non-profit, charitable and community organizations across the country to address health and wellness, education, social services, arts and culture and civic initiatives. The Key to Giving program also supports the volunteer involvement of staff and financial security advisors in their efforts to meet the needs of the communities in which they live and work.

London Life advisor Brian Callery of The Callery Group has been an enthusiastic volunteer and advocate of Hearth Place from its inception. Brian has spent hundreds of hours organizing and participating in our annual ski day event, sponsoring events, and acting as a goodwill ambassador of the Centre. Most recently, Brian and his wife JoAnne have also been involved in the planning and sponsoring of our Pink Opal Ball. With a deep commitment, the Callery family have been wonderful supporters of Hearth Place.

Dan Hostick, Regional Director of The Resource Centre for Great-West Life in Central Ontario, has also been an enthusiastic participant in our fundraising events, reflecting a community focus at the greater corporate level.

“As leading providers of life and health insurance and as caring members of the communities we serve, we take special interest in supporting innovative programs that address the health and wellness concerns of Canadians,” said Hostick. “We believe in building stronger communities together. Here in Oshawa, that’s taking place in the founding of a beautiful garden – a healing, meditative outdoor place for Hearth Place patients and their families.”

We are very grateful for this generous contribution from Great-West Life and London Life, and for the opportunity to provide our members with a healing space for quiet contemplation, relaxation and renewal.

We are also very grateful to Permacon Group, suppliers of Landscape products, who have donated the landscape stone and together with the assistance of Invision Landscaping and General Contractors, work will begin as soon as weather allows. With design input from Joe Verbancic and members of the Oshawa Garden Club and offers of help from Hardco, Bathe and McLellan, donations made in loving memory of Jo-anne Bird, Denise Shelley and Kimberly Taylor-Burke and donation of a water feature from Beth Kelly we are well on our way. We are very excited and grateful to everyone supporting this project.