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Wellspring Open House and Community Night this Sunday

Wellspring Niagara, located across the street from the Meridian Community Centre in Fonthill, is offering a Community Night & Open House on Sunday, September 11, from 5:30 PM until 8:30 PM. Pre-registration is not required.
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Invited guests help cut the ribbon at Wellspring Niagara, on September 12, 2019. SUPPLIED PHOTO

Wellspring Niagara, located across the street from the Meridian Community Centre in Fonthill, is offering a Community Night & Open House on Sunday, September 11, from 5:30 PM until 8:30 PM. Pre-registration is not required. Tours of the centre will be available, along with opportunities to meet Wellspring Niagara staff and volunteers to discuss the free cancer support programs and services available.

“Visitors can enjoy a bite to eat from local food trucks on site, shop the Wellspring Market, and attend a live musical performance by local singing trio The Mantini Sisters and their band, starting at 6:30 PM. Don't forget to bring your lawn chair, and feel free to enjoy our outdoor gardens,” said Jacqueline Ireland, Community Engagement and Events Co-ordinator.

The event is both a thank-you to the community for supporting Wellspring, and an opportunity to educate the public about the centre and its services, said Ireland. Wellspring is not a hospice, but a facility that first opened its doors in June 2001 with a mission to provide free social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to Niagara individuals and their families living with cancer. It is a registered, non-profit, charitable organization that receives no government funding. All operations are funded entirely through donations.

“When Covid hit, we had to temporarily close the centre, or modify the hours, and were very limited in the number of people we could assist. We ended up taking everything online, while continuing to provide services, and registered over 13,000 program attendances during Covid, representing about 700 individuals from across Niagara,” said Ireland.

The centre fully re-opened on April 4, and has been integrating and expanding programs, some which are nearing capacity. Many patient referrals come from the Walker Family Cancer Centre, at the Niagara Health hospital in St. Catharines, as well as the Juravinski Cancer Centre, in Hamilton.

Executive Director Ann Mantini-Celima and her family have a very personal connection with the centre.

“My youngest brother, Aldo, died of the disease in 1999,” she told the Voice. “He was 31 years old. It was his dream to bring a cancer support centre to Niagara, so we affiliated with Wellspring, which already existed as a well-respected model. We are independent of Wellspring in Toronto, but we offer the same services. My sisters and I are very passionate about what we do. I'm the most involved in the centre, but my sisters volunteer at events and help out in many ways.”

Last year, the Mantinis had three more family members impacted by cancer.

“My oldest sister, Jane, was diagnosed, and she's coming through her cancer journey, using Wellspring’s services,” said Mantini-Celima. “Thankfully, she's doing well. I lost my sister Serena to cancer last September. Two months later, my mother was diagnosed, and we lost her within three weeks. My family views it as a healing process to be part of Wellspring, to be connected to those in need.”

Fundraising is an ongoing effort for Wellspring. One of its major fundraising events, A Starry Night Gala, has been in limbo due to the pandemic since 2020, but will be making a return on November 12 at White Oaks in Niagara on the Lake.

“We are proud recipient of the Tim Hortons Smart Cookie Campaign in Fonthill, running September 19 to 25,” said Ireland. “We also have our LightUp campaign at Christmas, and are proud to partner with local community groups, including the Fonthill Rotary and Kinsmen.”

All of the cancer patients at Wellspring are either actively receiving treatment like radiation and chemotherapy, or have completed treatment. No one is turned away.

“Patients go through an assessment process here, and have a program designed specifically for them, to help build their strength, balance, mobility, or whatever their main issues are, to assist in their recovery, and get them back into an active lifestyle,” said Mantini-Celima.

Further information on Wellspring and it programs is available by calling 905-684-7619, or online at www.wellspring.ca/niagara

   


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Don Rickers

About the Author: Don Rickers

A life-long Niagara resident, Don Rickers worked for 35 years in university and private school education. He segued into journalism in his retirement with the Voice of Pelham, and now PelhamToday
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