A gift to Hearth Place Centre, from the heart

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

In a classic example of paying it forward, a local centre which provides support to local cancer patients was given a significant boost of its own.

The Tory Day Fund presented Hearth Place with a cheque for $50,000 recently

The fund, which was established by the family of Tory Butler to honour her memory after she died of breast cancer in 2017.

The organization has raised over $200,000 for programs to improve the comfort of cancer patients.

The donation will go towards Hearth Place’s children’s programming, as well as the pediatric cancer family support program for children and teens with cancer and their siblings.

The program currently includes a monthly family support group, art and music therapy, and individual emotional support.

Hearth Place is a drop-in support centre for cancer patients and their families.

It relies solely on private donations, as it does not receive government funding.

Janette Berthelot, the executive director at Hearth Place, says the organization is thankful for the support from the Tory Fund and Lakeridge Health.

“[Getting the cheque is] amazing, so we’re thankful to Lakeridge Health for working with us and helping to make this happen, and it’s fantastic to be able to support children’s programming – such a huge need in our community.”

Yves Gadler, the CEO of Lakeridge Health, said the organization seeks partnerships where it makes sense, and Hearth Place is one such partnership.

“We’re very cognizant of all the great stuff that’s going on in the community,” he said.

For more information regarding Hearth Place, visit https://hearthplace.org/, and to learn more about the Tory Day Fund, visit http://www.toryday.org/