VON Sakura House Accepts Donation

Wednesday, 16 December 2015 16:14

$2,500 was donated to the hospice by Southwest Crematorium Limited

WOODSTOCK - The VON Sakura House has received a major financial donation.

Southwest Crematoriums Limited have donated $2,500 to the Woodstock based hospice. Funeral Director Bob Rivest represented McBeath-Dynes & Smith-Leroy Funeral Homes in Woodstock and Ingersoll they are Co-Partner of Southwest Crematoriums. Co-owner of Brock and Visser Funeral Home and Co-Partner of Southwest Crematoriums, John Brock, says he felt it important to give back to the local cause. "I think it is instrumental to give back to the community one cheque at a time. We are just trying to give back to the community like so many others in this area, and it is nice to see the money that we can produce and keep locally here to help families that we are going to see over the course of a year."

Manager of Fund Development with VON, Catherine Dorais-Plesko, talks about the services offered and where the money will go. "It's invaluable to the residents here that they can appreciate and enjoy the services of the hospice. Things that we provide for example would be an ice machine for the residents, we have had a new generator put in, and the volunteers here are incredible." The Hospice not only deals with patients on a regular basis but is also accommodating for families members as well.

The Crematorium owned by Funeral Homes joined together to present the cheque, and Manager of Southwest Crematorium, Karen Shortt, spoke to Heart FM on how this hits close to home for her. "Sakura House means something special for myself, I have had a family member here. SWC are all about supporting the families feel like this place sometimes gets forgotten, but we are supporting the families. I don't want them to change, I think they are doing everything wonderfully, I was talking to the girls and they don't need to change a thing." What was once a home now provides a residential hospice for as many as ten people at a time.