Almost Home Fall 2009 Newsletter

www.almos thom e.on.ca
118 William St ., K ingston ON, K7L 5J 9
Fall 2009
Almost Home News
He’s Healthy, He’s Home and He’s Perfect!
Nancy Daugulis
That’s Carrie Black’s description of her
6-month old son Jacob Lloyd.
Born at 27 weeks gestation on February
23rd, weighing 2 lbs. 12 oz., Jacob was
finally releas ed from the Neonat al Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Kingston General Hospital on May 11th. During those
was very closely monitored and Taylor
was induced and delivered at 35 weeks by
C-section.
Everything seemed to be proceeding well
with Carrie’s third pregnancy until she
contract ed a nasty flu in February. She
went to Belleville General Hospital on
Home on February 26th, prepared for a
long stay. Carrie and Rob had been told
by NICU staff not to expect Jacob to be
releas ed before his due date of May 20th,
so according to Carrie the May 11th release was “ a bonus”. Carrie says she
doesn’t know what they would have done
without Almost Home. Her eyesight has
been severely affected by diabetic retinopathy so she cannot drive and Rob,
who also has diabetes, has had episodes
of low blood sugar that resulted in a temporary suspension of his driver’s licence.
It would have been impossible for them
to commute to Kingston from Belleville.
Adjusting to Almost Home was a bit of a
challenge for Taylor. She was used to the
structure of attending daycare, which she
loves, 3 days a week and to having her
own bed in her own room. Getting her to
sleep in a room shared with her parents
was sometimes tough. Carrie is grateful
that Almost Home is so welcoming for
children and laughs about staff and volunteers responding repeatedly and patiently
Continued on Page 2
All smiles! Rob, Carrie, Taylor and Jacob.
11 long weeks, Carrie lived at Almost
Home with Jacob’s dad, Rob Lloyd, and
their 3 year old daughter Taylor. In fact,
Almost Home was already a familiar
place as Carrie and Rob had stayed at the
house for just over two weeks in the
spring of 2006, when Taylor was born.
Carrie has Type I, insulin-dependent diabetes and therefore her pregnancies are
considered high-risk. Sadly, in 2003 Carrie and Rob had a still-born son, Isaac,
born at 35 weeks gestation. Because of
this history, Carrie’s second pregnancy
February 21st , afraid that she was dehydrated, and was admitted to the obstetrical ward where tests determined that she
was in fact having mild contractions.
Efforts to stop her early labour were unsuccess ful and Carrie was trans ferred to
KGH by ambulance on February 22nd.
On the morning of the 23rd, while waiting
for an ultrasound, it becam e clear that the
baby was on its way and Jacob was born
at about 7 am. He was immediately
whisked to the NICU.
Carrie, Rob and Taylor arrived at Almost
In This Issue…
A Family Story
Wish List
Volunteer Profile
Occupational Health Project
Recent Fundraisers
Relief Manager Profile
Kimmy Fund Update
Farewell but not Good-Bye
Generations of Generosity
Did You Know?
Pg 1
Pg 2
Pg 3
Pg 3
Pg 4
Pg 5
Pg 5
Pg 6
Pg 7
Pg 8
A lmost H ome
Page 2
Fall 2009
FALL 2009 WISH LIST
Lik e any home, “Almost Home” is alway s in need of household supplies.
Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!
Office Supplies
• White copy paper (8½” x 1 ”)
• Sharpie markers, thick & thin
• Blue & black pe ns
Pantry/Kitche n Supplies
• Sugar
• Flour
• Measuri ng cups
Li nens
• Towels & facecloths (white)
• Twin bedsheets, fitted &
flat (white or yellow)
House hold Supplies
• Laundry soap/fabric sheets
• Li quid dishwasher soap
• Regular dish soap
• Small white garbage bags
• Large black garbage bags
• Toilet tissue
• Kleene x
• Febreeze
• Swiffer Wet-Jet cloths
• Cleani ng supplies
Gifts For Childre n & Families
• Gift cards for area grocery &
discount stores
• Taxi vouchers/bus tickets
• Pre-paid long distance phone
cards
Other Items
• Wii games for the house
• Sewi ng mac hine with zig-zag
stitch capability (preferably
with manual)
To all those who hav e donated wish list items in the past,
Thank-you!
Jacob’s Story
Continued from Page 1
to Taylor’s trademark question, “ What doing?” and the invariable follow-up, “Why?”. Still, Rob occasionally took Taylor
home for a few days of familiar routine in familiar surroundings
and one-on-one attention.
Carrie and Rob made the most of their stay at Almost Home.
They celebrated Easter with an Easter Egg hunt and a turkey
dinner for themselves, Carrie’s mom, and another family staying
at the house. Preparing a big meal at Almost Home was a pleasure, says Carrie, becaus e “ the kitchen is huge and always nice
and tidy.” Rob contributed in a big way to the upkeep of the
house by repairing the ceiling in the front foyer which had sustained some water dam age. They shared meals and child care
with other families at the house and appreci ated the mutual support of “ knowing other families who were going through the
NICU experience”. They were able to attend Almost Home’s
annual ‘Bid of Entertainment’ fundraiser, where Carrie publicly
thanked some of the donors whos e generosity had been so helpful to her family. Rob, who is very artistic, presented a lovely
woodcut of Taylor to the house as a memento. They also celebrated Taylor’s 3rd birthday during their stay, although according to Carrie, “ Chuck E Cheese did most of the work for that”.
Woodcut of Taylor
For Jacob, there will be more
visits to Kingston and Almost
Home as doctors continue to
monitor his hearing, heart and
respiratory system. Carrie also
hopes to continue the connection by promoting Almost
Home in the Belleville area.
For staff and volunteers at
Almost Home, it will be rewarding to keep in touch with
Carrie, Rob, Taylor and little
Jacob as they enjoy what Carrie calls their “ awesome happy
ending”.
Page 3
H elping F amilies wit h Sick Children
Fall 2009
Volunteer Profile
Liz Tennent
Sharon Beveridge
"Have you seen the beautiful gardens at 118 William Street?"
"Look at those primroses... what a treat after such a long winter!"
"Almost Home must have its own gardener... the garden always
looks spectacular!”
Gardens need tender loving care,
time and knowledge. That's where
Liz Tennent comes in. She is a
Mast er Gardener with three
courses of Horticultural Management under her belt, and she will
soon have a certificate in Landscape Design from Guelph University. She also has her own small
garden maintenance and design
business (613-546-4977). Liz got
her love of gardening not only
from her parents (who kept a veggie garden and composted on site)
but also from her neighbours in
Scotland who were willing to
teach her. The "seed" was planted and Liz took the vocation with
her into adulthood.
Liz in the garden
Thirteen years ago, she saw an ad in the window of Trug's Florist
on Brock Street requesting a volunteer who could tackle the work
of creating and maintaining a garden at Almost Home. Liz took
on the challenge. At that time there were a few trees, some
bushes, day lilies and some hostas in the garden. Liz realized that
some changes needed to be made and over the years she has
made them happen.
Under Liz’s care, the gardens at Almost Home began to flourish.
Each year she has brought more and more varieties of plants for
all to enjoy. In the spring, the garden is a riot of colour with
primroses, daffodils, tulips, violets, columbine and iris giving
their spring best. Now with summer upon us, the garden shows
beautiful airy cosmos filling up the space left by the spring
show... snake root is coming into its own along with morning
glories on the trellis, brown-eyed susans and a host of others
plants.
Frequently when I do a shift at the "house" Liz can be seen with
her gardening togs, gloves and clippers. Keeping such a large
garden under control and looking beautiful takes time and skill,
and Liz provides both.
Not only does Liz devote her time and talent to Almost Home,
but she is also the gardener who has encouraged the young people to become involved in the worthwhile life experience of gardening at Central Public School here in the city.
She encourages the students to take pride in their surroundings.
For fourteen years under her gentle care and tutelage, Liz and the
children have developed grounds of which all the pupils can be
proud. The girls and boys compost all their vegetable waste in
three huge compost bins at the front of the school. They can then
see the magic that occurs when their banana skins, carrots etc. are
turned into "black gold", which goes back into the soil.
Liz and the boys and girls have done all the planting at the
School... trees, bulbs, bushes, vegetables and flowers. They are
learning how to garden because of their exposure to Liz and they
are rightly proud of what they have accomplished. Even the staff
of the school is now coming on board in the efforts.
Liz's contribution is volunteerism at its best and the result is what
you see at Almost Home and at Central Public School.
Thank you Liz ...volunteer extraordinaire!
Occupational Health Project
Cherrilyn Yalin
A series of three
books, the covers
of which
are
shown, was developed by Kirsten
Di ns dal e
and
Marla Ferguson, as
part of the requirements for their Master of Occupational Therapy degrees at
Queen’s University in Kingston. A grant was received from Community Service Learning in support of this project.
The authors hope that these books will provide families with an
enjoyable activity to take part in while they are away from home.
They also hope that families staying at Almost Home will be able
to use them with their children to help in discussing issues concerning their stay in hospital or the treatment they are receiving.
Marla was born in Brockville, Ontario and completed her Bachelor
of Kinesiology Degree at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. She is currently looking forward to beginning a rewarding
career as an Occupational Therapist, wherever that may be.
Kirsten comes from Manitoba. She completed her undergraduate
degree in music and post baccalaureate degree in collaborative
piano at the University of Manitoba. She is completing her Occupational Therapy degree at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and hopes to find a job as an occupational therapist. She thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity she received to collaboratively
write three children’s stories with Marla for Almost Home as part
of her occupational therapy degree.
Almost Home would like to thank Kirsten and Marla for their
original and valuable contribution.
A lmost H ome
Page 4
Fall 2009
2009 Bid of Entertainment
Susan Reynolds, Committee Chair
This year’s Bid of Entertainment was held at the Holiday Inn
Waterfront on May 7, 2009. With the economic challenges that
we faced this past spring, we were understandably concerned
that the event would be negatively impacted – both by our ability to get donations and to turn those donations into a success ful
evening.
However, our fears were unfounded – Kingston and the surrounding communities stepped up with over $40,000.00 in donated goods and services.
Kingston & area come out in force to
support the 2009 Bid of Entertainment
The evening unfolded smoothly with Alicia Gordon capably
running the live auction and Gerald McCaffrey as ‘GMagic’
entertaining the crowd.
I was unable to be present because of a conflict with a very important family function, but I know that the Committee did an
excellent job of setting up and running the event. On behalf of
Almost Home I would like to thank Empire Life, our event
sponsor, and our remarkabl e group of volunteers for the hours
they spent planning, soliciting and gathering donations - and
organizing the evening itself. Norine, Martha, Judi, Julia,
Maxine, Robin, Trisha and Jennifer all did an amazing job to
make this year’s Bid the success that it was. In all we raised
over $31,000.00.
We look forward to next year’s event (on May 6, 2010)!
Almost Home Golf Tournament
Lori Flynn
The 18th Annual Almost Home Investors Group Gol f Tournament was a huge success, raising over $26,000.00. The bad
weather managed to hold off for the AM Group, but the PM
Group didn't have the same luck. Despite the weather, we had a
fantastic day at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona!
committee to ensure another success ful gol f tournament pleas e
contact Lori Flynn at < lflynn2@cogeco.ca >.
Until next year - Fore!
A big thank you to Investors Group who support our event
through title sponsorship as well as providing the event with a
large number of volunteers.
Next year's golf tournament will be on Friday, May 28th at
Rivendell Golf Club. If you are interested in working with our
A little rain didn’t dampen the
spirits of these hardy golfers!
A tt e nt io n S er v ic e C lu b s a n d C o m m u n it y G r o u p s
If you would lik e to learn more about Almost Home and how this organization contributes to our community , please
contact us! We can come to your location, or you may wish to v isit us for a tour of our ‘home’.
Tel: (613) 548-8255
E-mail: housemanager@almosthome.on.ca
Page 5
H elping F amilies wit h Sick Children
Fall 2009
Relief Manager Profile
Arlene Healey
Cherrilyn Yalin
Arl ene Heal ey has l ived i n Ki ngs ton all her li fe. S he has
worked at NCIC Cl ini cal Tri als Group, Queen's Univers ity as a Hum an R es ources Admi ni st rator for the pas t
ei ght een years.
Until now Arl ene hadn’ t been i nvol ved wi th volunt eer
work but was a guardi an/ care giver for t wo very young
children for five years aft er t hei r m other pas s ed away
from cancer. They now l ive down S outh with t hei r fat her. B efore s he t ook res ponsi bil ity for t he t wo children,
Arl ene had been l ooki ng for a pl ace to volunt eer. She
was unsure of exact ly what she want ed to do but knew
s he was greatly i nt erest ed in working wi th chi ldren or i n
m oti vati onal su pport for s eni ors.
When Arl ene was ready t o s t art t hinki ng about vol unt eeri ng agai n, s he happened t o be t al king t o AJ Gould who
us ed to be a pl acem ent st udent of hers from S t. Lawrence
C oll ege and then becam e a co-worker for a coupl e of
years. He i s a volunt eer at Alm os t Hom e and what he
des cribed s ounded very i nt eresti ng to her. He gave Arl ene Nancy Irwin' s cont act i nform ati on and t hey m et
s hortly thereaft er.
m oral s upport or just a good ear for l ist ening i s needed
and appreci at ed.
Worki ng in Hum an R esources invol ves deali ng with
m any di fferent peo pl e and som etim es very di ffi cult sit uat ions s o Arl ene feels t hat her career choi ce com pl em ents
t he s kill s requi red at Almost Home to be an invol ved volunt eer and hel ps to open u p comm uni cation wit h fam ili es
s t ayi ng at the hom e.
Arl ene i s not som eone who needs t o be recogni zed for
cont ri butions s he m ay m ake i n di fferent areas of her li fe.
If s he can m ake som eone smi l e when s he knows they' re
havi ng a bad/ st res s ful day, s he fi nds that m eaningful and
rewardi ng. She has t hes e ki nds of ex peri ences at Al mos t
Home and to her they are pri cel es s.
Arl ene didn’t know about Al most Hom e before AJ tol d
her about it. S he now s peaks hi ghly of it when t al king t o
peopl e about her volunt eer work and is proud t o be part
of Almost Hom e. She will defi nit el y recomm end Al mos t
Home to others who m ay be looki ng for som ewhere t o
vol unteer.
Arl ene was i nt ri gued wi th t he ki nd of su pport t hat Alm ost Home provides t o fam ili es in need and felt that
what she had t o offer and what Alm ost Hom e was l ooki ng for was a good fit. Aft er a cou pl e of t raini ng s ess ions, Arl ene was ready to st art and is now a vol unt eer
R el i ef M anager on M onday ni ght s and alt ernate S at urday
m orni ngs.
S he l oves the work she does at Al most Home and fi nds
being abl e to cont ri but e her ti m e, ins ight and s upport
very personall y ful fill ing. S he l oves t he cont act with the
fam i li es, es peci all y the ki ds when t hey are s t ayi ng at the
hous e. She enj oys worki ng i n an envi ronm ent where
The Kimmy Fund ‘Love Life Bash’
Nancy Irwin
On J uly 11t h, fri ends and famil y of Kim Taylor organi zed t he ‘ Love Li fe Bash’ - a ni ght of m em ori es and m us i c at the Al e Hous e. The m usi c feat ured Litt l e B ett y
wit h s peci al gues ts B auder R oad and Odess a.
All proceeds from thi s event su pport the Alm os t Hom e
"Kimm y Fund". Over $3,200. 00 was rai s ed!
S peci al guests at t he event were Corey and Angel Tayl or
(Kim' s brother and si st er-in-law) from T ai wan. It was a
great night; a s peci al thank you to Tri ci a Evans for all of
her work t o m ake the eveni ng such a succes s.
Page 6
A lmost H ome
Fall 2009
Farewell, but not Good-Bye
Cherrilyn Yalin
Nancy Irwin, House Manager, left Almost Home at the end
of August. She came to Almost Home in May of 2001.
Under her leadership, Almost Home has changed in various
ways: our occupancy rate has grown, two new rooms have
been created in order to cope with the increased numbers of
families staying, and we have a wider group of referral
sources. As a result of Nancy’s efforts, the services of students in the Queen’s Work Study program are available to us
and we have received several grants to enable us to hire summer students to cover staff vacations.
Over the years Nancy has undertaken various tasks which
fell outside her regular duties. She organized three or four
annual meetings, she has done some painting of rooms when
there wasn’t time to hire a contractor, she has hosted parties
at Almost Home for groups of volunteers, she organized a
perform ance by Splash ‘n Boots in Belleville, and she led a
team of volunteers to run the concessions (as a fundrais er for
Almost Home) at the K-Rock Centre for the first Frontenacs
game and the first Tragically Hip concert held there.
But most importantly Nancy has always understood and
taken very s eriously the mission of Almost Home to provide
a home away from home for families whose children are
being treated at Kingston hospitals. She has supported all
the families who have stayed at Almost Home in an exemplary fashion. You have only to read the cards and letters
that families have sent to Almost Home to realize how much
they appreciate Nancy’s warmth, caring, and empathy. And
most volunteers know that when a family returns to Almost
Home for a follow-up visit, invariably their first words are:
“Where’s Nancy”?
Nancy is looking forward to spending more time with her
family than she has been able to these past several years. On
behal f of the Board, volunteers, and in particular the families
in whose lives she has played such an important part as they
have gone through di fficult times, we wish her all the very
best.
A Message From Nancy to the Almost Home Families...
As I move forward to the next
chapter in my life, I take with
me many memories. I would like
to thank the families who allowed
me to share in their tears,
cheers, laughter and joy.
Parenting is one of the toughest
jobs and I have learned to
treasure every day; life has no
guarantees.
Almost Home will always have a
special place in my heart. Keep
those updates coming into the
Almost Home Facebook site, I
would love to hear how you are
doing.
Best wishes to you all!
Nancy
H elping F amilies wit h Sick Children
Page 7
Fall 2009
Welcome Bev!
Cherrilyn Yalin
The B oard asked B everl ey Anderson t o s erve as Int eri m
Hous e M anager until a perm anent appoi ntm ent is m ade
and B ev accept ed the offer.
B ev has worked as a profess ional fundrais er for m any
years - wit h t he Heart & St roke F oundation, Angli can
Hous es in
Toront o, and C AR E C anada in Ot t awa. S he
has also worked o n a cont ract basi s wi th a cou pl e of
agenci es affi li at ed wit h t he Unit ed Nati ons and working
i n Afri ca.
B ev is now reti red and pl ans to work wit h non-profits i n
any capacit y she can (not rest ri ct ed to fund-rais ing) on a
s hort-t erm bas is whi l e they find them s el ves i n sit uati ons
s uch as AH i s i n at t he moment.
B ev helped out at our m os t recent garage s al e and so s he
al ready knows J en (Admi ni st rati ve Assi st ant ) and J ohn
(Night Manager) and s everal of t he vol unt eers.
A warm welcome to Interim House
Manager Beverley Anderson!
In her fi rst two weeks at Almost Hom e B ev has been very
grateful for t he assi st ance and su pport she has received
from the st aff and from t he volunt eers.
Help Us Help Families
Donations to Almost Home help in the overall operation of the house.
You can acknowledge a lov ed one by mak ing a donation to Almost Home on their behalf.
Donations can be made by cash, cheque, Mastercard, Visa, or online at CanadaHelps.org.
Official receipts will be issued for donations of $10.00 or more.
I would lik e to mak e a
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Page 8
B oard of Directors
Scott Miller - P resident
Lori Flynn - 2nd Vice-P resident
Virginia (Ginny) Belmore - Treasurer
Cherrilyn Yalin - Secretary
Susan Reynolds - P ast P resident
Maxine Clarke, Cindy Goodwin,
Kent Labbett, Lori Schnare,
Mike Schneider, David Sibany,
Mavis Walton
118 William Street
P .O. Box 2204
Kingston, ON K7L 5J9
A lmost H ome
Fall 2009
Almost Home sends out approximately 3,000
Newsletters twice a year. Each one costs $1 (for
printing and postage) – so the budget line for
Newsletters is $6,000.
Almost Home Main Office
P hone: (613) 548-8255
Fax: (613) 547-6948
E-mail: housemanager@almosthome.on.ca
If half the recipients of the Newsletter were to
receive their copies electronically, the budget of
Almost Home would be reduced by $3,000.
Administration Off ice
P hone: (613) 548-3987
Fax: (613) 547-6948
Jennifer Varga, Administrative Asst
jenniferv@almosthome.on.ca
If you are willing to receive your Newsletter
electronically, please send an e-mail to:
Newsletter Contributors
Sharon Beveridge, Nancy Daugulis,
Lori Flynn, Nancy Irwin, Susan
Reynolds, Jennifer Varga,
Cherrilyn Yalin
Newsletter Layout & Design
Julia Vamos
118 William Street
P .O. Box 2204
Kingston, ON
K7L 5J9
P hone: (613) 548-8255
Fax: (613) 547-6948
www.almosthome.on.ca
jenniferv@almosthome.on.ca