NEWS RELEASE
WIIKWEMKOONG UNCEDED TERRITORY
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Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory of Manitoulin Island hosted a community event to launch their new fundraising campaign to support the development of the Wiikwemkoong Elders' Home, today.
Currently, the Wiikwemkoong Elders’ Home houses 59 beds, falling short of the community’s increasing needs and does not meet current provincial regulations. The facility license is set to expire June 30, 2025, and if a new Elders' home is not built, many Wiikwemkoong Elders, some of whom are residential school survivors, will be forced out of their community.
The fundraising campaign aims to address these needs of expansion and development in order to keep Elders within their home community. With the goal to raise a total of $15 million, funds will be used to build a new 96-bed Elder’s Home.
Two major donations of $750,000 contributed from TD Bank Group (TD) and $75,000 contributed from Hydro One, were unveiled at the launch of the campaign.
“TD is committed to doing our part in the journey towards Truth and Reconciliation. Community initiatives, like the work of Wiikwemkoong Elders’ Home, that promote a connection to the land and foster a sense of belonging, are incredibly important to that journey. This project will bring a new home for many elders from the Indigenous community, keeping them close to their family, friends, culture and the land they call home. Through the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform, we are so happy to be able to support this project with the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory of Manitoulin Island.”, said Doris Bear, VP, Indigenous Banking, TD Bank Group.
In addition to providing 96 much-needed beds, the new home will be located in the centre of the community, which will keep Elders close to their families, so that traditions and language can be passed down to Wiikwemkoong youth. The new state-of-the-art facility will be designed to accommodate important cultural practices, feasts and gatherings. Traditional foods will continue to be served at the new Elders’ home, and the interior design will incorporate a colour palette benefiting the people that live and work there.
“Donors to this campaign are ensuring the stewards of our language and culture are not forced to leave the community, and in this way, they are helping to preserve our culture,” said Walter Manitowabi, on behalf of the campaign. “To date, we have raised $1M in corporate and foundation donations and gifts, and $750,000 from fundraising activities such as raffles, golf tourneys, benefit concerts, and a community telethon.”
“I am very proud of our technical and fundraising teams who have been working hard on the plan to build a new long-term care home in our community. And in this, there are also the countless number of people who have given and continue to give, their time and financial contributions to the Elders Home capital campaign.
The collective synergies in this initiative have created a stronger pulse for our Elders to help bring them closer to a new home – a home that will allow them to stay here in their home community or close to home for those residents from other nearby communities. Today’s funding announcements are, without a doubt, getting us closer to where we need to be in funding to build the new home. Miigwech, Thank You to the corporations here today to help launch us forward, on the ground, in this powerful journey for our Elders.”, said Ogimaa Kwe Manitowabi.
Those who are able to donate to the campaign can do so online at honouringourelders.ca and will be issued a tax receipt.
Wiikwemkoong Elders’ Home is eligible for financing through the Ministry of Long-Term Care in the amount of $10,300,000 as well as a grant through the Ministry for $2,700,000. The balance is the Capital Campaign goal to raise $15,000,000 which will be sourced through corporate and individual donations and gifts ($6,000,000) and other Federal and Provincial government programs.
Located on the eastern peninsula of Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world, Wiikwemkoong is home to the people of the Three Fires Confederacy: an alliance of the Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi nations.