Main photo: Celebrating the launch of the sixth annual Paddle for Fairvern are (from left) Marlene Muller, Dana Murdy (Fairvern board chair), Sarah Robertson Smith, Tracy Badger (Fairvern administrator), Mary Edmonstone (Paddle for Fairvern chair), Tracey Kuusk, Rob Laver, and Rob Barnetson.
It’s a lofty goal, acknowledges Fairvern’s board chair, Dana Murdy, but with a new building on the horizon and the need to raise more than $1.5 million dollars for furniture, fixtures and equipment, it’s more important than ever.
At the launch for the sixth annual Paddle for Fairvern today, she said that this year’s goal is to raise $75,000. The event has thus far raised $156,000 in its five-year history. All of the funds raised will go toward the not-for-profit long-term care home’s redevelopment fund.
“We are thinking maybe it’s time to rev things up a little bit,” she said. “This is a really lovely old building and it’s been here (seventy) years as the hospital first and as Fairvern second. Maybe it’s time for some new digs. It’s done a lot for a lot of people, but moving on will be really good.”
Fairvern recently received word from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) that it had been given the green light to go ahead with its redevelopment plans, including the addition of 20 beds to the long-term care home’s existing 76 beds.
Outgoing board chair, Rob Laver, said that construction financing is “fairly well nailed down between the District and the Town of Huntsville and the Ministry of Health. The wildcard is furniture and fixtures and equipment, things like kitchens and drapery and beds and mattresses. That number is probably north of $1.5 million.”
Laver encouraged local residents to register for the paddle as participants or volunteers, and he urged people to pledge for the paddlers and local businesses to sponsor the event. (You can do all of those things at paddleforfairvern.ca.)
Paddle for Fairvern, which will be held this year on August 11, is a 15-kilometre paddle from Hutcheson Beach to Hidden Valley Beach. Paddlers meet with their canoes, kayaks or SUPs at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area (HVHSA) and take a bus to Hutcheson Beach. At the end of the paddle, they can enjoy a barbecue sponsored by Bullock’s Independent and live music at the chalet at HVHSA.
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- The paddle down the Muskoka River is a peaceful one
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- Denice Spykerman arrives at the end of the route
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- Fairvern residents cheered and rang bells to encourage the paddlers as they made their way down the Muskoka River
See more photos from last year’s Paddle for Fairvern here.
“It’s a great event for families and for people who like to paddle,” said Mary Edmonstone, Paddle for Fairvern’s chair. She encourages people to extend an invitation to their friends and family to join in. And even if you’re not an experienced paddler comfortable with the distance, you could participate as a volunteer.
Marlene Muller, a personal support worker at Fairvern, gets emotional when she talks about the event and what it will do for the home. Muller has been the top staff fundraiser at the event for the past five years, and the top overall fundraiser for the past two. “It’s a great day, it’s fun, and—I’m going to cry now—Fairvern needs the support and the residents who live here are worthy of it. We need more paddlers, and more pledges.”
Follow Paddle for Fairvern and Fairvern Nursing Home on Facebook for updates on the event and the redevelopment. Fairvern will be reaching out to the community for further support for the redevelopment. Donations can be made online at paddleforfairvern.ca or at the home’s administrative office at 14 Mill Street.
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