Slaight Family Foundation commits $1 million to new ‘Wellness on Wheels’ program at SPRINT Senior Care
With a generous $1 million donation, the Slaight Family Foundation’s Mental Health Initiative has established the Wellness on Wheels program at SPRINT Senior Care, bringing wellness supports directly to socially isolated seniors in Toronto.
The $1 million gift from the Slaight Family Foundation is the single largest donation in SPRINT Senior Care’s 38-year history.
“I personally want to thank the Slaight Family Foundation for this remarkable gift, which will greatly increase our ability to support isolated seniors to be healthy and safe and engage in vital social activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” says Stacy Landau, CEO of SPRINT Senior Care.
Over the next four years, SPRINT Senior Care’s Wellness on Wheels initiative will bring health and wellness supports to isolated seniors where they need it most — right to their doorstep.
This program will add a new mobile element to the organization’s program offerings. Two large vehicles will bring essential programs and services directly to seniors, including vaccine clinics, primary care supports, foot care, hair care, tablet technology classes, mobile famers’ markets, music programs, art therapy, and more.
This program will offer opportunities for participation, engagement, and socialization for isolated seniors. This is particularly important today, as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated social isolation, with seniors facing increased depression and loneliness as they isolate at home.
“Thanks to the Slaight Family Foundation’s incredible generosity, we can now bring wellness supports directly to the most isolated seniors,” Landau says. “These are individuals who would normally stay at home instead of attending our programs due to a variety of barriers they are experiencing.”
This tremendous gift is one of 19 awarded to a variety of organizations and hospitals across Canada from the Slaight Family Foundation’s $30 million Mental Health Initiative, announced today. This 4-year initiative is supporting these organizations in providing new and enhanced mental health support services for vulnerable populations, including seniors.
“We know COVID-19 has exacerbated mental health issues across the country putting huge stress on our hospitals and organizations providing services,” said Gary Slaight, President & CEO, The Slaight Family Foundation. “We hope this support will help alleviate some of these stresses, reduce hospital visits, provide additional services for those in need of mental health support and develop new models of care and service for others to emulate.”
Read today’s coverage in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail