Happy New Year! I am sure you will join me in saying a fond farewell to 2020, what a year it was! But, it came with some great learnings, and allowed this community to come together in unprecedented ways, and to make an unprecedented difference. 2020 saw the arrival and surge of COVID-19, not once, but twice, and this community stepped up to protect each other, and our frontline. The world is a different place courtesy of COVID-19, but what better place to be than here, in Dufferin County and Caledon, with the vista’s of the Hills of Headwaters to enjoy each day, the fresh air, the community, and the benefit of excellent healthcare close to home at Headwaters Health Care Centre. We truly have a lot to be thankful for.
The Foundation Board wishes to extend our heartfelt thanks for a job well done, under unimaginable circumstances, to our entire Foundation Staff Team. Thank you for balancing the challenges of working from home, and managing the office, and continuing to facilitate the support from our amazing community. Additionally, we at Headwaters Foundation are thankful to you, our donors and volunteers, for your continued support of, and commitment to, ensuring health care is available here, when we, our colleagues or our loved ones need it the most. We can’t do what we do without each and every one of you.
Thanks to the Morningview Foundation for stepping up and matching every gift (to a maximum of $200,000) made between November 1 and December 31st, to support a new mammography machine with tomosynthesis (3D imaging) for our Diagnostic Imaging Department and to support our breast cancer patients. As of December 31st over $400,000 (cumulatively) was contributed towards this urgently needed piece of equipment. The Headwaters Diagnostic Imaging Team, and of course our patients, will reap the reward of your generosity. What a way to close out 2020!
2021 is NOT a return to business as usual however. Our popular Innovators program has been put on hold for another year, and the SOLD-OUT Gala (held each May) has now been cancelled as well. Work on the 2022 Gala will begin in the Fall, but the loss of these two programs for this fiscal year leaves another big hole to fill in terms of revenue and engagement.
2021 will still see a tremendous level of activity though. February will see the launch of our first-ever, community-wide 50/50 draw (details on our website on February 1st), as well as a community-effort termed “Have a Heart for Headwaters” to raise funds for cardiac care at our Hospital. Many local businesses are involved in this effort, and we encourage you to get involved as well. April will see the registration open for our 2021 Tour de Headwaters taking place on September 18th, our annual golf tournament (June 14th) is almost sold out, and we are launching a Diagnostic Imaging Campaign to raise $3.5M for state-of-the-art diagnostic Imaging equipment to better serve our community. In addition to the Mammography machine mentioned above, this effort will include the purchase of 4 new Ultrasounds, a completely upgraded X-Ray room and a Bone Density machine amongst other urgent needs, the Holiday success has us well on our way.
As we head into this new year, one filled with so much hope and promise thanks to the arrival of vaccines, I want to encourage you to continue to think about our Hospital. The challenges we and other healthcare institutions are facing right now are the worst we have seen in this pandemic, and as I write this, case numbers and unfortunately hospitalizations and deaths are still too high. We at Headwaters still need you now more than ever, and we thank you for your continued commitment to One Community, Caring Together.
Yours truly,
Tim Peters, Chair, Foundation Board of Directors