Now that Spring has sprung, and summer fun is just around the corner, the Prostate Cancer Support Windsor/Essex Steering Committee (SC) would like to update you on our upcoming program and some of the initiatives that we are progressing with this year.
April Monthly Meeting – Our April meeting was excellent, thanks to a great presentation by Jenny McGregor from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation.
We were also very happy to be recognized as one of the top fundraising teams for the Foundation’s 2021 “Grow-On” fundraising campaign, which raised over $250,000 this year. Our thanks to Jim Fair and Guy Jolin, who organized our team’s participation, and thank-you again to all who donated!!!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 Support Group Meeting
Please join us as we meet again, in person, for our May meeting at the Hospice. We welcome our guest speaker Tim Brady, Pharmacist and Owner of Brady’s Drug Stores in Belle River, Essex and Tilbury, and currently the Chair of Board of Directors for the Ontario Pharmacists Association. Tim’s talk will cover topics such as the latest medicines related to Prostate Cancer, Incontinence, and Erectile Dysfunction. As well, he’ll comment on the government of Ontario’s proposal to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice to assess and treat minor ailments. Please be aware that COVID restrictions remain in place at the Hospice.
Saturday, June 18, 2022 Spring BBQ
This June we would like to try something different and special. Rather than a traditional Tuesday meeting at the Hospice, we are planning a BBQ get-together at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594, 5030 Howard Ave., Oldcastle, ON N9H 0M3 on Saturday, June 18th @ 5 p.m. This licenced venue turned out to be excellent for our Xmas party. The current plan calls for Burgers/Fries (approx. $15), Sausages/Fries (appox $12.50), and Hotdogs/Fries (appox $10). We want this event to include members, their families & friends of all ages, and special stakeholders such as our friends at Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH), Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, Hospice, etc. Please mark your calendars and let us know how many guests you plan to bring so that we can make sure the caterer is prepared. Please also let us know other special stakeholders who we should consider inviting.
Participation in Community Events
This year we participated again in the “Play for a Cure” fundraising event at the Vollmer Centre. This charity was able to raise over $400K in support of local cancer research; money raised from the event will go to the local Cancer Research Collaboration Fund. Thanks to Don B., Dennis E., Jim F., Jim L., Garry L., Murray M., Phil S., Noel W., and Wayne Z. for volunteering your time!!!
We also provided volunteer support to the Hospice “Dove Pin” Campaign; the Hospice is pleased to announce that over $35K was raised to help support Hospice patients and families! Thank-you to Jim & Mabsy Fair and Murray McLennan for devoting their time. We look forward to participating in other future related events and campaigns.
Awareness Presentations to Organizations – Garry recently presented awareness briefings to the WRH Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) and the local chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP). These were very well received and he will soon be presenting to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 594 and Canterbury College. If you are aware of other organizations that may want a presentation, please let us know.
Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps –
We are investigating ordering Golf Shirts and Baseball Caps with our new logo. If you are interested in buying shirts or caps, please let us know so we can judge how many to order.
Community Awareness Events Booth – It is our long-term plan to man an awareness booth at hockey games and other events. In preparation, we are planning to have a professionally made banner stand and other associated “marketing” material. Again, we would welcome any ideas; we also ask that you solicit potential donors to help fund these “marketing” aids. In the future, we will be asking for volunteers to man the booth at events.
Peer Facilitator Training – Several of our SC members will be taking Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Peer Facilitator training. This training will equip peer facilitators with essential information and best practices to achieve high quality and sustainable peer support groups.
Financial Manager – We are still looking for a financial manager to relieve some workload off current SC members. If you are interested, please let us know.
Webmaster – We are still looking for a webmaster to relieve some workload off current SC members. If you are interested, please let us know.Garry
Garry W. Loeper, CD, MScEng, PCIP, PMP, PEng
e-mail: gwloeper@gmail.com
cell: (613) 913-4799
