Let's put a bow on a bus for Beckley

By Penny Pitcher

Since 1981, the Beckley Farm Lodge Society has run a non-profit care facility that provides "complex" care to 65 residents, as well as offering Outreach Programmes to the community. Residents of James Bay have always been very supportive, but now the Society needs your help more than ever.

Day in and day out, the wheels of the bus go round and round BUT the 19 year old, 16 seat passenger bus is on its last legs - trips beyond the neighbourhood will have to come to a grinding halt because the transmission could go at any time.

Five days of the week, the little bus picks up passengers for the Adult Day Program from Fairfield, James Bay, and the Downtown core and brings them back to Beckley Farm Lodge on Simcoe Street where they can enjoy tea and coffee and make contact with friends, participate in physical exercises and mental aerobics, enjoy a hot lunch, and compete in a variety of games. The Lodge caters to a variety of clients, from the physically disabled to those with dementia, and ages run the gamut from 64 to 100 (and through one period, 59 to 107).

That's not all, however. Two days a week the Society offers up ASEL (Active Seniors Enjoying Life) programmes at New Horizons in James Bay that include aerobics and a hot lunch and three times a week, Beckley Manor on Dallas Road also offers a variety of activities and a hot dinner.

And then there's the Bath Programme and Overnight Respite Care...the list goes on and on.

Safe Reliable transportation for all of these Seniors is absolutely critical, BUT there is no funding available. The Society no longer has access to gaming funds, there are no paid personnel to fund raise, bequests are few and far between, and corporate donors are dealing with their own financial woes. The Society has applied for every grant imaginable, but the truth is, Seniors really ARE the orphan children in the funding family.

The "Let's put a bow on a bus for Beckley" campaign is the largest fund raising venture ever undertaken by the Society. Without a bus, very few transportation options are available and do not serve the client needs. A new bus, capable of not only carrying disabled passengers safely but also conveying wheelchairs and walkers securely, will cost between $80,000 (13 passengers only) and $100,000. It is a fact that 50% of the residents, and several of the day programme clients, are in wheelchairs while majority of the rest depend upon walkers. The existing bus can carry 16 people plus two wheelchairs only.

A dedicated group of six volunteers, in collaboration with the Society and Foundation Board, is supporting the monumental task of raising enough money for a new bus by hosting the Third Annual Golf Tournament at Prospect Lake Golf Course on September 7, 2014. These volunteers are eager to hear from prospective sponsors or anyone interested in donating products, services or gift certificates - and, of course, cash donations will be gratefully received. You can also help through using Thrifty Foods Smile Cards available through Dorothy Adam or Beckley Farm Lodge, as well as talking to anyone and everyone about the wonderful environment provided to our Seniors at Beckley Farm Lodge. The fact that many staff members have been working there for over 20 years, the Executive Director, 32 years, and even the Auxiliary Chair, 17 years, speaks volumes.

To all James Bay residents, please keep the wheels on the bus going round and round. No donation is too small - even $20 per household would make a big dent in the amount required for the bus. Contact Auxiliary Chair, Dorothy Adam, 250-386-9923 or Executive Director, Lorraine Gee, LPN, 250-381-4421 ext. 234, for further information on how you can help.