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(Posted 8 a.m., July 15)
Golf tournament raises $25K for palliative health care
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 The host
of the OutCare Foundation Golf Classic, John Bradley, poses for a photo with executive director Gail Carroll. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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As health care foundations go
the OutCare Foundation may not be as well known as the CHEO Foundation or the Ottawa Hospital Foundation,
but its mission is no less important. In fact, in some ways it’s even more important, especially if
you have a loved one who’s in the final years of their life.
Formerly known as the Riverside Hospital
Foundation, the OutCare Foundation had to change its focus after the the region’s acute care hospitals were restructured in 1998.
Realizing there was a need to help fund palliative hopsice care in Eastern Ontario – and especially
organizations that didn’t have the means or resources to do their own fundraising, or at least not in a
substantive enough way – the foundation’s board of directors decided to shift their efforts and help
raise funds to meet the growing demand for palliative health care services in the region.
Their main fundraising event is the annual Celebration of Life gala which last year brought in $178,000.
After Navan businessman John Bradley joined the board of directors in 2002, he donated a portion of the
proceeds from the Navan Street Dance to the organization in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he dropped the Street
Dance concept in favour of an indoor event and donated the lion’s share of the proceeds to the foundation.
After reviving the Street Dance in 2005, Bradley took a well-deserved break last year.
Which brings us to 2007. In trying to come up with a fundraising event that could match the money raised
by the street dance without the logistical headaches, Bradley decided to organize the 1st annual OutCare Foundation Golf Classic which was held last Tuesday in Hammond.
When he decided to organize a golf tournament, he had no idea how much money it might raise. He was hoping
to generate at least $15,000. Once the final cheque is cashed and the last bill is paid, the proceeds are expected to top $25,000.
“I’m totally thrilled,” says Bradley. “When you organize these things you hope to do well, but there
are so many charity golf tournaments out there... you have no idea how many people are going to register
or whether or not you’re going to get enough sponsors, but fortunately everyone came through and our sponsors have been amazing.”
The money raised will go to help provide care at a number of hospices across Eastern Ontario including
Roger’s House, Friends of Hospice Ottawa, The Hospice at May Court and the Mission Hospice.
Besides raising lots of money, the golf tournament also helped raise the profile of the foundation
and the important role it plays within the community. A fair number of the people who took part in the tournament likely never heard of the organization before registering.
According to executive director Gail Carroll, raising awareness about the foundation and the increasing need
for palliative care is just as important as raising money.
“The two go hand in hand,” says Carroll. “With the word getting out and people understanding more
and more the need for the programs we fund it helps raise even more money,” says Carroll. “I think everyone
realizes that we are all going to face an end of life situation at some point and we want it to be as peaceful
and pain free as possible which is where the organizations we support come into play. The problem is that there aren’t enough of them.”
Bradley says he plans to continue to do his part by holding the 2nd Annual Outcare Foundation Golf Classic next year.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local
business partners.)
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