More warm meals on the table and better access to primary health care for Peterborough’s seniors are two needs that have received a boost, courtesy of funding from the Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation (GPHSF).
On Thursday (November 14), GPHSF announced the inaugural recipients of its senior care micro grant program. Community Care Peterborough’s food insecurity programming and the Peterborough Family Health Team’s unattached patient clinics have each received $5,000.
Earlier this year, the foundation announced it was launching the program that provides grants of up to $5,000 to support senior care projects and healthy aging initiatives in the Peterborough area.
“In offering these grants, our objective is to do something that can positively impact the quality of life for seniors in our community,” GPHSF executive director Vince Bierworth told kawarthaNOW.
“Both projects selected address barriers to access that seniors may encounter, whether that’s access to nutritious food or access to medical care. Our hope in offering funding such as this is to help make the daily lives of seniors in our community just a bit easier.”
GPHSF announced the program this summer and the deadline to apply was September 30. Applications were open to community and not-for-profit organizations, including medical organizations, that run programming and services or were proposing to run programming and services within the city or county of Peterborough and Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
GPHSF said ideal projects were those that were general in scope and included and served as many seniors as possible.
Choosing the recipients was not an easy task and required a lot of thoughtful consideration, the foundation noted in a media release.
“It was a difficult process to narrow down the applications,” Bierworth said. “Trust me when I say that if we had more grants available this year, we would have funded every project that was submitted.”
“Our committee, which was made up of healthcare professionals and community members, were very impressed with the quality and variety of projects submitted. After much deliberation, they settled upon two projects that will have both an immediate and lasting impact for seniors in our community.”
Community Care Peterborough applied for funding to address food insecurity within the community’s population of seniors through its Meals on Wheels program, along with grocery shopping and delivery support.
“This support from GPHSF strengthens our commitment to ensuring that no senior in our community goes without the nourishment and support they deserve,” said Community Care Peterborough CEO Danielle Belair.
“Access to healthy meals and essential services like grocery delivery can be life-changing, helping our clients live with dignity and independence. We’re grateful for this partnership and what it means for those we serve.”
Meanwhile, the Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) applied for funding towards equipment aimed at increasing ease and access to care for seniors who do not have a family doctor and are using one of the two PFHT’s unattached patient clinics.
“These new exam beds will improve accessibility for seniors at the PFHT health clinic,” said PFHT CEO Duff Sprague. “We’re addressing the need for primary health care among our Peterborough residents who are without a family doctor or nurse practitioner. This need is more urgent for those with health conditions and older adults with multiple health issues.”
“Since our funding doesn’t mandate care for those without a family doctor, we are doing what we can and relying on community partnerships to support these services,” Sprague added. “We’re thrilled to receive this contribution to help support those without a primary care team.”
GPHSF was originally established in 1999 as the St. Joseph’s Care Foundation with its primary focus to fund senior care projects and healthy aging initiatives within the Peterborough community. Over the years the foundation has grown, taken on new partnerships, and expanded its focus. While it also took on the name GPHSF, Your Family Health Team Foundation, senior care has remained a primary and important focus for funding.
The senior care micro grants have been made possible by the June Towle Trust. Before she passed away in 2023, June Towle established a trust fund that would see money from her estate be donated to GPHSF.
GPHSF noted the senior care micro grant program will be an annual program, with the next request for applications opening again in August 2025.
