This is an extraordinary time.
For most of us it’s a wartime experience and the enemy we’re battling is COVID – 19, a virus that could be almost anywhere. And, as opposed to other wars where people came together to offer each other support in tough times, for this fight we have to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbours by remaining separate and apart.
And yet there are people who every day do just the opposite. They come together to care for those of us who’ve been exposed and are ill with COVID-19.
These are our St. Joe’s health care providers, the warriors on the frontlines of this fight.
They come to St. Joe’s to work in our emergency department, COVID-19 assessment centre, in our intensive care units and throughout our hospital looking after the hundreds of people needing care every day.
I think these people are heroes and champions, they are our
St. Joe’s West-End Heroes.
And so many of you want to do something to show your support for these brave care providers. It’s wonderful to see how we’re pulling together in this incredibly tough time and how strong the west end is in terms of lending a hand.
Here’s how you can help our St. Joe’s West-End Heroes in the fight against COVID-19.
Say Thank You
Messages are appearing everywhere to thank our teams and people are taking safely to the streets to clap for our St. Joe’s West End Heroes every night. You can join them by sharing your messages on Facebook and Instagram and tagging us @StJoesPromise, using the hashtags #StJoesPromise and #ThankYouStJoes. We’re making sure that our care providers see how much you value all they are doing.
Make a Gift
Many have already made a donation to help us respond to the many urgent needs created by this crisis. Thank you. As the situation continues to change around us, we are doing whatever we can to meet the health-care needs of our west-end community. This is our Promise. If you haven’t made a donation and are considering helping in this way, your gift is needed now more than ever. Your special donation will support our St. Joe’s West End Heroes so they have the resources they need on the frontlines to take care of you, your family and neighbours. To donate click on this link.
Donate Personal Protective Equipment
West-end neighbours and local businesses are helping by donating personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitizer. Every mask, glove and supply of sanitizer
is being used right now to help keep each other healthy and safe. If you have a supply of PPE that you’d like to donate to help our St. Joe’s West-End Heroes , please email PPE.donations@unityhealth.to. All donations are very much appreciated!
St. Joe’s West End Heroes Town Hall Series
Our Foundation is holding a series of St. Joe’s West End Heroes Town Hall Meetings.
Join Maria Dyck, President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation as she discusses how St. Joe’s is responding to COVID-19 with our health experts. Together, they answer questions submitted by participants from our community.
Watch our social media feeds for registration details or sign-up to receive them.
Did you miss our latest or any of our previous West End Heroes Town Hall meeting? Don’t fear, we recorded them! Listen to our recordings here.
Brighten the Day of Our Frontline Teams
Some of our partners have donated items to help brighten the day of our St. Joe’s frontline care providers. These gifts are appreciated too. If you want to help and would like to speak with someone directly, just call us at 416-530-6704 or send an email to foundation@stjoestoronto.ca.
Thank you West Toronto!! We are fighting this battle together to help take care of each other. Please join us.
Here are some of the businesses and individuals who are supporting us with their donations of personal protective equipment, sanitizer and other donations for our staff:
3R’s School House
89th Girl Guides of Canada
Stephen Albanese IBI Group
Ardene
Atkins Protein Bars
Aviation Gin
Bad Dad Tea Inc.
Joan Barr
Bayer Pharmaceutical
Berco & DeLuca Orthodontics in Bloor West Village
Cheese Boutique
Ed Chen
Church and Dwight
CINCO Mexican Restaurant
John Cinelli CPM Realty Corporation
Gord Cook
Corby Distilleries/ Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd.
COSTCO
Albert Crimi, McDonald’s Restaurants
Lauren Den Boer
Carla DeSantis
Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers
Natalie Fawcett
FedEx Canada Ltd.
Janie Fischbacher
Flow Water
Germ Solutions Inc
Godiva Chocolates
Heretic Distillers
Honest Weight
Humber Valley Hockey Association
Shahad Jarjis
Laderach Chocolatier Suisse
Barbara Lamb
LifeAid Canada
Marilynn Lightstone
Alix Macaulay
Dr. Gorica Milojevic
Mattamy Homes (Peter Gilgan)
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE)
Milestone’s Grill and Bar
Mobilizing Masks for Health Care Providers
Jennifer Moles
Dr. Bohdan Olearcyzk
Paradigm
Lucina Pinto
Pizza Pizza
Pollocks Home Hardware
Pony Up Hair Ties
Pusateri’s Fine Foods
Roncesvalles Animal Hospital
Roncesvalles Apple Specialist
Samplits Inc.
Second Cup
Dr. Joe Simardone Family Dental Care
Sobey’s Queensway
Spirit of York Distillery Co.
Gary Steinhart
Tawse Winery
Dr. Sandy Tecimer and Prince Edward Medical
Tim Hortons
Top Shelf Distillers
Sharon Walden DDS
The Slaight Family Foundation
Vibrant Marketing
Fred Wang
Welcome Guardian Roncesvalles
The West Toronto Dental Society
Jane Yang
Thanks to them and all of you who are lending a hand.
There are many people and organizations lending a hand, these are just some of them. The list of community supporters is growing all the time. If we’ve missed you or your organization’s name we’re sorry for the oversight, thank you for your support.