November 3rd, 2022
“A silver lining to the pandemic,” says Gerry Watts, President of Hastings and Prince Edward, District 19, Retired Teachers of Ontario (RTOERO). “Because of Covid lockdowns and restrictions, we find ourselves in the unusual situation of having a surplus at year-end. As a not-for-profit organization, our income and expenditures need to balance. How best to use that unexpected windfall became the question.”
The answer was an easy one. One of RTOERO’s strategic goals is to “improve the lives of members and seniors.” The six Community Care for Seniors organizations in Hastings and Prince Edward do a great job of helping seniors (including many of our 1000+ members) continue to live at home. They are only partially funded by the Ministry of Health and rely on donations, moderate client fees and fund-raising to carry out their work. They operate with small staffs and many volunteers, a number of whom are RTOERO members.
District 19 has decided, therefore, to donate a thousand dollars to each of the Community Care agencies for North Hastings, Centre Hastings, South Hastings, Prince Edward and Quinte West, and to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Home Support Program.
These organizations provide programs and services for older adults such as hot and frozen Meals on Wheels, foot care, grocery pick-up and delivery, escorted transportation for medical appointments, help with forms, telephone reassurance calls and social and recreational programs.
“This is wonderful news,” was the response from one agency to the news of the RTOERO donation. “The funding will go a long way to support programs for seniors in our community,” said another.
RTOERO, with more than 80, 000 members, is Canada’s largest membership organization for education workers and retirees. Its Vision is “a healthy, active future for every member of the education retiree community in Canada. District 19, Hastings and Prince Edward, has a membership of 1032 retired teachers, administrators and other education workers.
For more information about RTOERO contact Gerry Watts, President District 19 at president19@districts.rtoero.ca.
For more information about your local Community Care agency call: CARE North Hastings (613 332 4700); Community Care for Central Hastings (613 478 2224); Community Care for South Hastings; Prince Edward Community Care for Seniors (613 476 7493); Hastings (613 969 0130); VON Community Support Services – Quinte West (613 392 4181); Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Home Support Program (613 967 0122)
