Wellspring is a network of cancer support centres. They are warm, comfortable, supportive places offering a wide variety of cancer support programs and services at no charge to meet the emotional, social, psychological and informational needs for people living with cancer and those who care for them.

There are six Wellspring centres operating in Ontario, one in Calgary and another opening soon in Halifax. In addition, Wellspring is developing partnerships with other agencies where some of their programs are offered.

Matthews House will be one of these partnerships. One of the reasons we are so excited by this new development is that we were chosen to be one of four Ontario hospices to work with Wellspring and the Hospice Association on this pilot project.

The best way to examine and appreciate the depth and breadth of programs available at Wellspring centres is to visit their website at www.wellspring.ca.  From the menu select  “Alphabetical Program List”.

Wellspring programs and services will be offered in addition to those already available at Matthews House. In reviewing the Alpha Program List, as suggested above, you will have noticed that Matthews House already offers some programs similar to those found at Wellspring centres. Matthews House will benefit from also offering Wellspring programs as the project is a part of Wellspring’s Centre of Innovation which focuses on developing and evaluating new models, programs, resources and trainings.

What Wellspring programs and services will be offered at Matthews House?

We are about to begin a series of consultations with our healthcare partners in our service area.  The Wellspring programs and services to be offered will emerge from these discussions augmenting and complementing what is already available.

We hope to have one program start in June and continue through the summer followed by one, possibly two others to start in September.

Wellspring was founded in Toronto in 1992 by Anne Armstrong Gibson. With help and encouragement from some of the leading experts in the field of oncology as well as her family and friends, the first centre, the Coach House opened on Wellesley Street to be followed in 1999 by a second centre on the grounds of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Anne had been diagnosed with a cancer in 1989 and had experienced the anxiety related with treatment, survival and what would happen to her family. She also felt an “overwhelming sense of isolation,” and knew that others must be having similar feelings. Anne’s vision for Wellspring was to create a Canada-wide network of community based centres that would provide people with the tools they required to cope with cancer.  Her vision is being realized.

The Wellspring website offers much more detail on the agency and its programs. As we get closer to launch date, more detail will be available in this space. For more information, call Matthews House at 435-7218 or pat@matthewshousehospice.ca or call Antonia Berlingeri at Wellspring, 1-877-499-9904 or  antonia@wellspring.ca

You can still participate in the fifth annual Hike For Hospice on Sun., May 4, 2008 by:

•Registering as a team, a family group, a bunch of friends, a club or group you belong to, fellow employees, etc who might form a hiking team and collect pledges.

•Registering as an individual hiker... would people from the contacts above sponsor you to hike?

•Sponsoring and encouraging your friends to sponsor someone already registered as a hiker.

To participate, download a pledge form from our website or pick up a pledge sheet at Matthews House. Collect pledges; bring pledge sheets and money collected to the Hike this Sun., May 4.

This year you can register yourself or your team online. You can also sponsor someone else who is hiking online by visiting www.matthewshousehospice.ca or www.hikeforhospice.com  Again this year there are two and five kilometre hikes in town starting at Town Square any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.