Donateurs comme bénéficiaires ont ressenti la joie le 22 décembre lorsque le Foyer St-Paul de Bury, représenté ici par Austin Bailey, entre autres, a fait un don important à la Fondation des CLSC et CHSLD, avec Gilles Denis recevant le chèque symbolique en son nom. Photo: Scott Stevenson.

Over 50 years’ worth of Christmas teas and pancake breakfasts in part made Saint Paul’s Rest Home in Bury the coveted place that it was. A devoted community kept it going with the money and the people to provide quality care. It closed in 2021, not for lack of money and community commitment, but rather for lack of qualified staff.

The community gave to it, and it gave back to the community. Now, four years after closing, it is giving back again.

Just before Christmas, Saint Paul’s remaining board members—Austin Bailey, Randi Heatherington, Laurie Nadeau, and Thérèse Thibodeau—presented a $200,000 cheque to the Fondation des CLSC et CHSLD du Haut-Saint-François at a ceremony in East Angus.

Thanks to all the community fundraisers in Saint Paul’s history, as well as significant past donations from organizations like the Sherbrooke Hospital Foundation and the estate of Dorothy and Howard Kennedy, the Rest Home had accumulated investments of over $2 million.

Now that the Home is closed, the money is being given to important similar causes in the region, such as the Fondation Maison La Cinquième Saison, the Maison Aube Lumière, the Dixville Foundation, Grace Village, and the Wales Home.

“The money was raised here; the money stays here,” said Randi Heatherington at the East Angus presentation.

Once very much an institution of the English-speaking community, Saint-Paul’s is also ensuring its donations help provide health and seniors’ care in both French and English. Half of its donation to the Fondation des CLSC et CHSLD is “to support activities that must include and be accessible to English-speaking seniors at both the East Angus and Weedon locations,” according to a Saint Paul’s list of recipients. The other $100,000 will be used to purchase equipment for the residences or for loans to the community.

The money is not to replace existing government funding, said Gilles Denis, spokesman for the Fondation des CLSC et CHSLD.

“That’s by far the biggest donation we ever had,” said Claude Charbonneau, member of the board of directors of the Fondation.

Gilles Denis and many others expressed their gratitude for the donation in speeches made at the official presentation. Mr. Denis was particularly appreciative of a donation from one non-profit organization to another. “Thank you for the precedent,” he said.

The Fondation des CLSC et CHSLD du Haut-Saint-François works to improve the quality of life of health-care clients in the region by helping purchase equipment and carry out specific well-being projects. It supports long-term care homes in East Angus and Weedon, as well as other health-care services.

The donation carries on a trend of historically English-speaking institutions, such as the Sherbrooke Hospital, closing and passing the monies raised throughout their history to institutions serving the larger community, including health-care foundations such as the Fondation Haut-Saint-François.