Burlington comes together for Carpenter Hospice

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the correct the amount of the grant provided by the Resilient Communities Fund. BurlingtonToday regrets any inconvenience caused by the error.

Ryan Montreuil’s mother Judy passed away on May 4 after a 16-year battle with several different types of cancers. 

Over the weekend, Montreuil, along with several dozen friends and family members, met outside of Carpenter Hospice in Burlington to participate in the 21st Hike for Carpenter Hospice, a 5k or 10k walk around the neighbourhood with teams raising money for the centre that has supported their loved ones. 

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and MP Karina Gould were on site for the event, along with Burlington MPP and Trillium Foundation volunteer Natalie Pierre, who announced a Resilient Communities Fund grant of $46,700 for the hospice centre. 

“Carpenter Hospice is a pillar in our community, providing comfort, dignity and support to individuals and families, ensuring people can spend their final days in peace surrounded by the people that they love,” Pierre told the crowd. 

Only about one-third of the funding for Carpenter Hospice comes from the government, and relies on donations and fundraising for the rest. 

Initiatives like the hike are meant to fill in the remaining funds, while getting the community involved and aware of what the hospice provides. 

“It’s an awful thing when you have to come to a place like this, in the sense that it’s the end,” Montreuil says. “But Carpenter has been amazing with not only my mother, but my father, myself and my brother. The amount of support and outreach is unmatched.”

Montreuil registered himself and his group of about 40 friends in the hike as Judy’s Team. At the time of writing, Judy’s Team has raised $6,270, far surpassing their initial goal of $3,000. There are a total of 25 teams registered, and there are still six days to donate. 

“It has been wonderful to see this organization help so many families for so many years,” Meed Ward said. “Today’s fundraiser, bringing together staff, sponsors, and volunteers, is so important. And of course all the participants because they are the ones raising money to ensure future families and our community can benefit from their work.”

In total, approximately 30 teams and 125 people showed up for the event on Saturday, with more than 600 individual donations having been made online. Carpenter Hospice aims to raise $100,000 each year during the hike fundraiser, and recently passed the halfway point to that goal.

Although hospice care is typically associated with caring for someone at the end of their life, Carpenter does provide additional services both for patients and their families. 

“You don’t have to be affiliated with Carpenter to sign up,” John Gilbert, manager of fund development at Carpenter Hospice says. “We’re supporting a lot of people both with life limiting illnesses, people who use our programs for grief and bereavement, as well as palliative diagnoses who aren’t at that end stage quite yet.”

Donations for the hike remain open until June 12 and can be made on the Carpenter Hospice website.