A dozen restaurants and cafés in Caledon and Dufferin County are donating a portion of their sales this month to the Bethell Hospice Foundation as part of the third-annual Bon Appetit fundraiser.
The initiative is one of several fundraisers the foundation holds every year to raise the more than $1.7 million needed to keep the doors of the 10-bed Bethell Hospice open and enable it to provide programs and services at no cost to residents, clients and their families.
The hospice also receives government funding and grants but relies on fundraisers to reach its target.
Shirley Horsley, the foundation’s fundraising and community engagement co-ordinator said she’s “pleased with the support received” from community partners.
“There are 12 different dining establishments to visit in Alton, Bolton, Cheltenham, Erin, Inglewood, Mono, Palgrave, and Orangeville, so drop by your favourite coffee shop or try a new café and in turn, you will be supporting Bethell Hospice,” she said in a news release.
Bethel Hospice, located in Inglewood, is the only hospice residence serving Caledon, Brampton and Dufferin County. In 2023, it cared for 161 residents with the average stay being 14 days.
Foundation spokesperson Kelly Stronach said the month-long Bon Appetit initiative hopes to raise $5,000. “We’re very thankful and appreciative of the restaurants that have supported us this year,” she said in an interview.
Last year, the hospice had 4,056 community client interactions and provided support to 39 children and youth.
“We do put a strong emphasis on the community programming as well. That would include things like grief and bereavement workshops. We have art therapy,” Stronach said. “We also do youth support, and those programs all need assistance as well.”
Stronach said some in the community may not be aware of the services and programs the hospice offers and she wants to change that.
“It’s key to impress upon people that we are here for them and we do offer those services,” she said. “It’s all free as well, so it’s a matter of people finding out when they’re offered.”
Visit foundation.bethellhospice.org for more information and for details on which restaurants are taking part in the Bon Appetit fundraiser.
