Marianne Meed Ward
The Burlington Lions Club presented Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation with the final payment towards their $75,000 donation for the hospital’s redevelopment at the inaugural Chat n Chew in Ward 2 community BBQ.
More than 300 residents came out to Lions Club Park June 9 to enjoy free food and drinks provided by local members of the Burlington Downtown Business Association – The Coop, Coffee Culture Cafe and Eatery, Mollycake & Bodhi Bar – as well as Mill Street Brewery and Jackson-Triggs winery. Pat Party Rentals assisted us with tents and the Burlington Sound of Music Festival assisted in securing beverage donations.
The event was coordinated with the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation’s Join the J Campaign raising awareness and bringing the community together to support the hospital redevelopment.
The new seven-storey patient tower is set to open August 21 and the renovations to the existing hospital will begin following completion of the tower, providing updated equipment and facilities. This will transform healthcare in our community for generations to come.
More than $52 million toward the $60 million goal has been raised in the community for the redevelopment; the city committed an additional $60 million to complete the community share of the project.
Thanks to the generosity of those who attended, more than $550 was raised at the Chat n Chew towards a new patient bed.
The event also provided an opportunity for residents to pick up pieces of wood and saplings from the Spencer Smith Park willow trees that came down last year due to rot. There are still some larger pieces of flat, milled wood available that will be distributed via a process to be announced shortly. Watch for further details.
The BBQ also featured information tables from Heritage Burlington, Burlington Seniors Community, Burlington Downtown Business Association, the Burlington Humane Society, Healthy Kids, Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit, Burlington Sustainable Development Committee, Burlington Waterfront Committee, Museums of Burlington, Arts & Culture Council of Burlington, Burlington Lions Club and Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
The imagination playground was a huge hit with kids, as were the pony rides, bouncy castle, face painting, fire truck and police car.
My Take: I want to thank all the residents, volunteers and community groups and businesses who made this event a success. Everyone I spoke to had a great time and residents have asked us to do it again. So we will! Watch for details early next Spring.
This was a great event; thanks for planning it. I still can’t believe how quickly it came together – I’m not sure how you and your staff and volunteers pulled it off and managed to include so many different things in such a short time-frame! Look forward to attending again next year.