New co-chairs of Bethell Hospice Foundation board aim to take non-profit to new heights

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Bethell Hospice Foundation has new leadership.

Adrian Horwood and Bonnie Klaassen, who have each served on the Foundation's Board of Directors for several years, recently stepped into their new role as co-chairs of the board.

The Bethell Hospice Foundation (BHF) is the fundraising arm of Bethell Hospice, a not-for-profit hospice care home in Inglewood that provides hospice and palliative care services for free. It also provides free community programs, such as bereavement support programs.

Klaassen first found out about Bethell Hospice when she was looking to get more involved in the Caledon community.

“Everyone I spoke to mentioned how special the hospice is and what an incredible resource it is to have in our community,” said Klaassen. “I thought it was a really good fit, to be able to get to know people and give back.”

Horwood became involved with Bethell Hospice after receiving bereavement support services from Bethell Hospice's community programs. He lost his wife a few years ago.

“The support I got from Bethell… made a huge difference to me,” said Horwood. “I learned the program I was going through was free, and I was really grateful. I wanted to give back beyond just giving a monetary donation.”

Horwood said being on the BHF's board of directors has been a wonderful experience and he's met many amazing people because of it.

Horwood and Klaassen are taking over the Chair position from John Sanderson, who they dubbed “Mr. Brampton”. Horwood joked that it would take two people to fill Sanderson's shoes, because he amazing in the position. Horwood and Klaassen became Co-Chairs because they both have busy personal lives and wanted to be sure a Chair would always be free to help with board matters.

Klaassen said the BHF has some ambitious fundraising targets to meet in the coming years. She said the community has always been a huge supporter of Bethell Hospice and the BHF is looking to expand and reach out to more community members.

Horwood said community support is going to be essential to support the growth of Bethell Hospice. He said across Canada, more people are becoming engaged with and donating to non-profits. However, because of economic pressures, average donation amounts are down. That's one of the reasons he said it is so important to reach new people.

Horwood said hospice care is an important part of the healthcare system. He said end-of-life care in a hospice costs one third of what it does in a hospital, and that the quality of care is better too.

Klaassen said as Caledon grows, Bethell Hospice wants to be able to grow its community programs to match.