The Rotary Club of Tsawwassen through its Charitable Society will provide a total of $200,000 during a 10-year period to support the construction, furnishings and supplies for the Day Program for Older Adults to be located in the new KinVillage Independent Housing Development.
“We have been moving in this direction since 2020 when a former Rotarian gave a significant bequest in his will with the instructions that the funds were to benefit seniors and youth in our community,” said Charitable Society President Blake Cowan. “To get it right, we’ve consulted every seniors’ serving organization in South Delta, which helped us to establish guiding principles for our grant process.
“Last year we experienced success by providing two pianos to KinVillage, provided start-up costs for office set-up, which allowed Heron Hospice to open its doors for in-person counselling and provided mobile desks that Eldercollege needed to support its wide array of classes. This year, the most significant project on the horizon that aligns with almost every need identified in our own report is the Day Centre for Older Adults at KinVillage, so we wanted to come on board in a big way.”
According to KinVillage CEO Dan Levitt, Day Programs for Older Adults extends independence helping older adults to live at home or in the community as long as possible, by providing a supportive, professionally staffed environment, which attends to nutritional, daily living, and social needs of adults with functional limitations within a group setting during the day.
“The Day Program for Older Adults also plays a vital role in providing respite for unpaid or informal caregivers, usually the spouse or adult children, to focus on their own physical and mental health, as well as employment, other family, and household responsibilities,” he said.
The generous grant from Rotary will help anchor the $5 million capital campaign to raise awareness of the need in Tsawwassen for supporting older persons to live a full life in their own home to stay connected with their neighbourhood, family and friends.
“The campaign will engage business and community leaders, philanthropists, and individuals transforming the KinVillage campus to meet the housing, care and support needs of an ageing population,” added KinVillage board president Dennis DesLauriers.
-Submitted
