Our History
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Fundraising for the hospice began in 1999 when the four Rotary clubs of Burlington committed a pledge of $250,000 toward the development of the hospice. The capital campaign goal was one million to build the hospice and $600,000 for the first year's operation.
Burlington resident Len Carpenter donated $500,000 to the Rotary Community Hospice Project, earning him the right to choose the name for the new hospice. In the words of Mayor MacIsaac, Mr. Carpenter was "the champion we needed to ensure the hospice will be a reality." Admitting he has lived quietly and without recognition in Burlington for 47 years, the then 79-year-old Carpenter said that his experiences with a hospice in California convinced him of the importance of this end-of-life service. St. Stephen United Church generously offered to lease a piece of property adjacent to their parking lot for “one dollar and a rose” a year. The lease is for one hundred years with 96 years remaining! Other generous donations from the community included furnishings, equipment, building materials, professional skills and many needed types of expertise. An enormous variety of items were provided by local businesses. The Burlington Garden Committee donated landscaping to beautify the new development. Land development, design plans, legal representation, space planning and construction project management, to name just a few, were donated by the generous and skilled residents of Burlington. On May 25, 2002 The Carpenter Hospice officially opened its doors to our first resident. Since then over 550 people have come to live at the hospice. The Community Care Access Centre of Halton, a program of the Ontario Ministry of Health, has supported some of the costs of the nursing care and equipment needs at the hospice. In October of 2005 the Ontario Ministry of Health Long Term Care promised to support the cost of bedside care up to $580,000.00. This promise has stabilized the funding for the hospice however we are still very dependent on the generosity of our community. There is no charge for hospice care however there is an annual operating cost of 1.4 million dollars. Our message to our community is that “We Still Need You”! |
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