Fairvern Nursing Home staff, board members and supporters gathered on June 7 to officially launch fundraising for the 2017 Paddle for Fairvern, which will take place on Saturday, August 12.<\/p>\n
As the fifth annual paddle takes place in Fairvern’s 35th year and also during Canada’s sesquicentennial, organizers have set a goal to bring the event’s five-year fundraising total to $150,000 this year. It has raised more than $120,000 to date.<\/p>\n
“We need paddlers, we need volunteers, and we need people to come sponsor our paddlers,” said Fairvern’s board chair Rob Laver. “One hundred per cent of what we raise at the paddle goes to our redevelopment fund.”<\/p>\n
Fairvern is a not-for-profit long-term care home with 76 residents. “It\u2019s important for them to have the quality of home and care they need,” said Laver. Money raised at Paddle for Fairvern and other fundraisers will all support the building of a new facility on lands near Huntsville’s hospital.<\/p>\n
“The Town has been generous in helping us financially,” said Laver. “The District is behind us to the tune of $10.5 million as of last December. That ticks a whole lot of boxes for us. We are looking to expand the size of the home by at least 20 beds and that\u2019s the part we are working on right now to get us to the next step and go ahead with the build.”<\/p>\n
With the costs of construction covered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the District of Muskoka, additional funds raised will be used for other costs like furnishings, designs, architects fees, and site assessments, said Laver. “All that sort of thing that needs to be done before we can even start.”<\/p>\n
Fairvern board member Bev MacWilliams added, “We want community members to see we are really close to the finish line. We are waiting on final approval. We are very optimistic that it is just around the corner and the future looks promising\u2026 It\u2019s the additional beds that we want to add to the 76 we have now to make the new Fairvern financially sustainable. If we get to 96-plus, that puts us in a healthy financial situation for maintaining and sustaining Fairvern for the future.”<\/p>\n\n\t\t