Concerned Friends Receives Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant

L-R: Lois Dent, Phyllis Hymmen, Peter Harris

May 2010- We are delighted to announce that Concerned Friends has been awarded a capacity-building grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The two-year grant of $77,980 will enable us to further build our infrastructure and strengthen our organizational capacity to better fulfill our mandate.

Concerned Friends will implement a communication strategy to increase access to our services for people in all areas of the province. We will be developing an interactive website where Ontarians can find independent and up-to-date information about the long-term care system and the performance of long-term care homes. We will be expanding both the content and the distribution of our unique newsletter. We will also be working to raise our public profile across the province as well as increase our effectiveness and sustainability as we continue to work for improved quality of care for residents of long-term care homes in Ontario .

Concerned Friends will be hiring a part-time Resource Development Planner and a part-time Project Coordinator to work with our Board and volunteers to achieve these objectives. Job postings will be posted on this website.

We invite you to become a member of Concerned Friends. Your membership will greatly enhance our capacity to fulfill our mission. As a member you will:

•  Receive insightful comments and information, through our newsletter, about current issues facing long-term care homes and individual citizens.

•  Have the opportunity to inform us of issues you encounter, and give us feedback on general issues.

•  Support the advocacy work of the volunteer directors as they meet with government officials and with other organizations and agencies.

If you are already a member, please tell others about us so they may also support our important work and benefit from information about the long-term care homes system and issues.

This is the second OTF grant we have received. The first, in 1998, made it possible for us to begin the development of the current Family Councils' Program. This program now assists family councils and family council networks across the province in their effort to improve the quality of life and care for their loved ones. We are still involved in the operation of the Program, which is now is funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Board of Directors