Mark your calendars! We have a number of exciting fundraising events coming up this year:
Stay tuned for more information as we will be looking for donations and volunteers. The money raised at these events helps seniors in the community and Momiji. Thank you so much for your support!
Cleaning out your closet? Starting February 6th, we will be collecting donations of clothing and accessories for our Tenant, Staff, and Volunteer Clothing and Accessory Sale. If you have any clothes or accessories (such as belts, hats, purses, shoes, etc.) that you no longer need, please drop them off in Momiji’s lobby before February 22nd. All proceeds will go towards Momiji’s Seniors Active Living Centre. Thank you for your support!
November 2018
To me, the Holiday Season is all about family, food and friends and it is also a time to reflect. While you may know me best as the Chair of the Board of Directors at Momiji Health Care Society, my father lives at Momiji, which also makes me a family member of one of the tenants as well. In this role, I see first hand what excellent care and respect he receives from the staff at Momiji. I am sure any of our tenants or their family members will tell you the same thing.
In the time that I have personally been involved with Momiji, I have seen so many changes. The biggest is the health of the seniors. Since few tenants move out of Momiji each year, our waiting list, currently over 750 individuals, continues to grow. By the time the seniors move into Momiji, they are on average much older. With age comes increasingly complex care needs, much more than a supportive housing organization can provide. The daily tasks for our 29 PSWs include safety checks, medication reminders, personal care, homemaking (i.e. shopping, light meal preparation), medical/non-medical escorting, health promotion/consultation, and joint services with outside providers of foot care, physiotherapy, and family physician clinics. Increasingly, our PSWs are required to do heavier personal care for many of our tenants. An incredible 55,170 days of personal care services were delivered in the past year alone, and the demand continues to rise. With demand, so do the costs.
While all of this happens inside the Momiji Residence, Momiji is also so much more than just a building. Momiji staff connect seniors in the community with services and programs they need to maintain their quality of life and independence. This includes providing nutritious Japanese meals at our Community Dining programs, friendly visits from Momiji-trained volunteers, personal care services and counselling and information referral services. As the seniors in the community age, their needs continue to grow. This too stretches our resources.
Thanks to our volunteers and donors like you, we have been able to accomplish a lot this past year, but there is still much to be done. As we enter our fifth decade, we know that we must continue to provide excellent care – both at Momiji and in the community. We also know that we must innovate in order to anticipate and accommodate the needs of a new generation of seniors while serving the needs of the current seniors.
Honouring our seniors by caring for them and preserving their dignity and independence is both a duty and a promise. We hope that we can count on your support during this season of giving to help us continue on with our important work. Please give generously so that helping our seniors today will enable them to do more tomorrow.
With best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Pam Waintraub
Chair, Board of Directors
Momiji is aiming to purchase a new wheelchair accessible vehicle. Please click here to read the appeal from the Chair of our Board.
Do you want to help make a difference in the lives of Japanese Canadian seniors? Preparations are already underway for Momiji’s 2016 Community Bazaar (Saturday, April 2), and here is how you can help! If your New Years resolution is to downsize, why not donate your gently used, previously loved treasures? We are always looking for items such as Japanese wares, housewares, books, china, Corningware and Pyrex tea pots and coffee pots, mid-century modern pieces, and vintage linens. But please no used clothing or furniture. We are also in need of plants so if you have a green thumb, why not start growing plants from slips now? And if you work for or own a company that sells product or offers a service, perhaps you can get your company to donate to our silent auction or make a donation to help offset our Bazaar costs. If volunteering is of interest and you have a bit of time, we always looking for individuals who can attend one of our famous bees: karinto, sushi, tsukemono and vegetable prep and pie-making.
Proceeds from the Bazaar, Momiji’s largest annual fundraising event, support Momiji’s programs and services for seniors, allowing us to purchase items and provide services that we would not be able to afford otherwise. For example, Bazaar funds have been used to help purchase the vehicles we use to provide transportation for seniors, and to provide tasty, culturally-appropriate Japanese meals to frail and isolated seniors all around the GTA. Altogether, hundreds and hundreds of seniors benefit each year from the funds this event generates.
For more information on donating items or volunteering, contact Jovel at 416-261-6683 x234 / Jovel@momiji.on.ca, or Sheri-Lynn at 416-261-6683 x259 / Sheri-Lynn@momiji.on.ca.
President Toshiaki Maruoka and Pamela Waintraub presentation of donation of $5,000
Momiji Health Care Society are grateful for their continued support for many years. Since 2010 we have received a total of $30,000. Without generous donors like Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd we would not be able to provide quality services and programs to Japanese Canadian Seniors.
Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd. is the wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., one of the world’s most diversified trading, investment and services enterprises. They have a long history of more than 50 years in Canada since the former Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd. was established in 1956. Their mission and values are in line with Momiji’s and we are proud to be associated with them.
Mitsui & Co.’s Mission: Strive to contribute to the creation of a future where the aspirations of the people can be fulfilled.
Mitsui & Co.’s Values:
• Build trust with fairness and humility.
• Aspire to set high standards and to contribute to society.
• Embrace the challenge of continuous innovation.
• Foster a culture of open-mindedness.
• Strive to develop others and oneself to achieve full potential.
