Submitted by Trace MacKay
For the month of December and into the New Year, the Golden Dawn invites you to join the “Shine Your Light on the Golden Dawn” seasonal campaign. All funds raised from this fundraiser will go towards redevelopment planning costs.
Here’s how it works: you make a donation to the Golden Dawn, your name will be written on a star that will be hung on Christmas trees at the Golden Dawn for our residents, their families and caregivers, and staff to see that they are all in our thoughts this holiday season.
You can donate on-line by scanning our Canada Helps QR code (see ad page 12) or going to https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/7700. Cash or cheque donations can be dropped off at the Golden Dawn or at local pop-up locations across the Peninsula throughout the holiday season. “We’d love to see all of our trees lit up with stars this month to brighten the spirits of our Golden Dawn family.”, says fundraising committee chair Christie Amyot.
Pop-ups will be happening weekly at Scott’s Home Hardware on Thursdays from 3PM to closing and at Hellyer’s Foodland on Fridays 3PM to 6PM and Saturdays until New Years. Watch for pop ups at the Wiarton Foodland in the new year.
Over the past 2 years, the Golden Dawn Board of Directors, Redevelopment Task Force and senior staff have been visioning and planning for redeveloping our current apartments and long-term care facility to explore options to continue to provide affordable housing and care primarily for seniors in our community.
“We are now at a stage where we have a preferred redevelopment vision for the Golden Dawn and we need to make an investment in professional advice and services from business planners and architects to help us turn that vision into an actual, do-able redevelopment plan.”, says Dr. Brian Taylor, President and Chair of the Golden Dawn Board of Directors. “We’re excited about the possibilities for doing more, for more people on the Northern Bruce Peninsula, and we need some costed options before we can put our plan into action.”
The Golden Dawn currently has an active request for proposals (RFP) seeking qualified and experienced business and building planning professionals to work with the Redevelopment Planning Committee to develop up to 3 different options that are the right fit for our uniquely situated community. The goal is to have the planning project completed by the end of summer 2023 so the Board of Directors has the information they need to make future plans for the Golden Dawn.
“The current long-term care funding model in Ontario doesn’t work for small, rural homes like ours to meet the mandate of the province to redevelop the existing facility or build a new facility by 2025”, says Gerry Myles, acting Administrator and son of Golden Dawn founders Rev. Sherman and Geneva Myles. “We need some creative solutions to keep licensed long-term care beds in Lion’s Head and, at the same time, explore doing more to provide care where and how people want it, and have affordable housing solutions for people needing care and those who provide it as well.”
The Golden Dawn is a non-profit, charitable organization founded in the late 1960s that has offered affordable seniors apartments and operated as a licensed long-term care home since 1981. It is the largest, year round employer on the Northern Bruce Peninsula. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term care home has been able to provide housing and nursing care to up to 37 residents, and has continued to provide affordable independent living in 21 apartments.
The Golden Dawn has faced many challenges in recent years including pandemic restrictions, a depleted caregiver workforce, and finding affordable housing for permanent staff, temporary workers, family members and personal caregivers of residents.
“Despite some recent challenges, we’re excited about exploring redevelopment options that are out of the box, and the right fit for the Northern Peninsula.”, says Dr. Taylor. “We are going to need a lot of support from the community in the next few years as we decide on a direction for the future.”
If you have questions about the “Shine Your Light on the Golden Dawn” fundraising campaign, would like to learn about other ways to support the Golden Dawn, or are interested in joining the fundraising committee, please contact Christie Amyot at christieamyot1@gmail.com.
