September 26, 2017
This year, DRAR’s Charity of Choice is Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre.
Hearth Place was established in 1996 to provide community support for those diagnosed with cancer - and their families - by offering a variety of services including individual and group support, information, caregiver and grief support, practical assistance, wellness programs and support services for children and teens.
Through funds raised in 2017, DRAR will be sponsoring a cancer support room at Hearth Place where services such as life-transition and end-of-life planning will take place. One example is legacy videos where people will have the opportunity to videotape bedtime stories to their children or grandchildren before they pass.
Hearth Place Executive Director Andrea Shaw explains that the new room provides the centre with additional space for a variety of support groups.
“The other more pressing need for the additional space is for end-of-life transitioning,” says Shaw. “The concept is to guide or help people with legacy making and vigil planning for the last weeks of their life.
“Too many people are afraid to have those conversations,” she explains. “But there is something very empowering when people have a say in how they want to spend their last days.”
Whether it is letter writing, finishing or creating a piece of art or producing a video to leave as a legacy to loved ones, Hearth Place will assist with helping to make those cherished last wishes come true.
The expansion project, estimated to cost a minimum of $750,000, will include two stories (1,200 square feet each).
The centre has purchased the property adjacent to the facility located on Colborne Street in Oshawa. Demolition of the structure on the property and construction is expected to begin next year. The centre’s last renovation and expansion project took place in 2005.
Roger Bouma, President of the Durham Region Association of REALTORS®, says DRAR is pleased to support Hearth Place as its Charity of Choice.
"My own family, so many of our families, friends and colleagues have been touched by cancer," says Bouma. "Hearth Place is an integral part of our community that offers help and hope to those going through one of the most difficult times of their lives."
“I am incredibly grateful to the Durham Region Association of REALTORS® who have been staunch supporters of Hearth Place over the years,” says Shaw, explaining that the centre does not receive any government funding and relies solely on its own fundraising efforts and the generosity of donations.
Shaw took on the role as executive director of Hearth Place when it was first established. She feels “incredibly lucky” to have been chosen to be part of the centre and feels that it was her calling.
“I do this in honour of my father who passed away from cancer.”
Currently, Hearth Place has approximately 2300 members who rely on the centre’s services and programs; and it has also serviced “thousands and thousands” of individuals over the years through phone calls, walk-ins and those seeking information.
She says the need for the centre is growing.
“There is a tsunami of age-related illness thanks to the Baby Boomer generation,” she says. “There’s no question our services will increase in demand over the next 10 years.”
“My biggest hope for the future is that cancer would be eradicated and that no one has to go through this journey.”
But in the meantime, she is glad that Hearth Place is here to help people transition through that journey and to know that they are not alone.
Debbie Dawson, Fundraising and Community Engagement at Hearth Place, is a former REALTOR® and past-president of DRAR.
Her real estate brokerage took on Hearth Place as a charity of choice and soon after she sold her share of the company and came to Hearth Place as a staff.
“I was looking for something to make a difference in this world,” she explains, adding that meeting Andrea Shaw inspired her to make the move to Hearth Place. “Andrea is not just the executive director – she is the heart and soul of this centre.”
Over the years, DRAR charities have received $158,400.00 from our Members’ fundraising efforts. This includes matching grants received from the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.
Hearth Place is located at 86 Colborne Street West, Oshawa.
(905) 723-8184
(905) 723-7531
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