Efforts to fund a new long-term care facility in Delta got a boost last week as the inaugural "Supper at Sunset" event raised more than $75,000.
Over 230 took part in the long-table dinner held on the Tsawwassen First Nation boardwalk last Thursday evening (Aug. 22) in support of Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation's $18.25-million "Coming Home" capital campaign — the organization's largest-ever fundraising effort.
The event was created by Tsawwassen resident John Gross, founder and CEO of Richmond-based Peak Products, who along with his wife Rose has been a long-time supporter of health care across the region.
With Peak covering all of the event's costs, every dollar raised via ticket sales, auction items and raffles is going directly towards the construction of the new Beedie Long Term Care Centre, which will replace the aging Mountain View Manor and expand capacity at the site from 92 to 200 beds while also adding a 32-space adult day program for people living more independently and a stand-alone 49-space childcare facility.
“I want to thank the Tsawwassen First Nation for hosting us in a such a beautiful setting and a big thank you as well to everyone who came out to support such a worthwhile cause,” Gross said in a press release.
“For nearly two decades, Peak has been proud to generously support health-care facilities and foundations throughout the Lower Mainland. As a company that helps people create beautiful, comfortable and safe places to live, we’re proud to support this important project and the seniors that will live there.”
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Plans to replace the 46-year-old Mountain View Manor adjacent to Delta Hospital were announced on June 8, 2023, with the Ministry of Health committing $179.7 million towards the project’s capitol costs. Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation launched its capitol campaign that same day.
Since then, DHCHF has received a record $5-million donation from Ryan and Cindy Beedie, another $3 million from the Delta Hospital Auxiliary Society (a record amount for the auxiliary), and several more large gifts to help meet the foundation’s ambitious campaign goal.
As of late May, the Coming Home campaign had raised more than $14 million.
“On behalf of our board, staff and volunteers, I want to thank John, Rose and Peak Products for making such a significant contribution to the largest fundraising campaign in our Foundation’s 35-year history,” DHCHF board chair Pam Paton said in a press release. “I also want to thank the Tsawwassen First Nation for so graciously hosting us at this one-of-a-kind setting. We look forward to being back next year.”
TFN Chief sxʷamisaat (Laura Cassidy) said the nation was pleased to both host and attend the inaugural Supper at Sunset.
“Seniors and elders are the heart of communities across B.C., and as Peak has shown, we can all play an important role in supporting their health needs,” she said in a press release.
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The new long-term care facility — to be named in recognition of the Beedies’ financial contribution — will be built, owned and operated by Fraser Health on currently vacant land at the Delta Hospital campus.
The centre’s design focuses on small “households” accommodating 12 or 13 residents, each with their own single-bed room and bathroom. These units will also feature social and recreational spaces found in a typical home, such as a living room, dining room, activity space and access to the outdoors, according to a Ministry of Health press release.
There will also be community spaces and services for residents, families, visitors and staff, including art and activity rooms, a hair salon and a sacred space.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2027.
To donate to Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation’s Coming Home campaign, head to dhchfoundation.ca/capital-campaign.
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