ORANGEVILLE, ON – David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, today announced $6 600 in federal support to Hospice Dufferin under the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program, which encourages seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership, and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

This project is funded under the Community Participation and Leadership component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program. It is one of 797 projects that were approved through the 2010–2011 Community Participation and Leadership call for proposals, providing over $15.9 million in funding [TBC].

“The Government of Canada is committed to improving the lives of seniors and is proud to support local organizations with the same goal,” said Mr. Tilson. “This project brings new opportunities for seniors to contribute their skills, knowledge, and experience for the benefit of the entire community.”

“Every person that Hospice Dufferin serves is a unique individual with a lifetime of experiences, relationships, and gifts to share,” said Maureen Riedler, Executive Director Hospice Dufferin. “This grant will ensure that families won't lose these stories over generations. But more importantly for the person with a life threatening illness, legacy writing will regain some sense of control by reclaiming milestones, help with depression and maintain self esteem. We are very pleased that the funding for New Horizons for Seniors Program will assist us in providing this service.”

Through Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth, the Government invested an additional $5 million per year in the Program, bringing this year’s funding to $40 million. This additional funding will support projects that encourage seniors to volunteer and mentor other generations, as well as initiatives that aim to increase awareness of financial abuse.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program helps to ensure that seniors are able to benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their communities through their social participation and active living. Since its beginning, the Program has funded over 7,000 projects in hundreds of communities across Canada. Last year alone, more than 100,000 seniors in over 500 communities throughout the country were involved in projects funded by the Program.



Backgrounder

New Horizons for Seniors Program

Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program helps ensure that seniors are able to actively contribute to and benefit from the quality of life in their communities.

The Program offers three types of funding to organizations:

1. Community Participation and Leadership funding (up to $25,000 in funding per project). This funding supports community-based projects across Canada. The projects encourage seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership, and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.
2. Capital Assistance funding (up to $25,000 in funding per project). This funding helps non profit organizations that need to upgrade facilities or equipment used for existing seniors’ programs and activities. It enables seniors to continue to lead active lives by participating in existing programs and activities in their communities.
3. Elder Abuse Awareness funding (up to $250,000 in funding per project annually, over a maximum of three years). This funding helps non-profit organizations and coalitions raise awareness of the abuse of seniors at a national or regional level. Through this funding, new educational and awareness resources about elder abuse will be available to improve the quality of life, safety and security of seniors.