A real boost for the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
Thanks to the generosity of Caesars Windsor Cares, the hospice will receive funding from the Concerts for a Cure campaign this year.
Officials say proceeds from October and November ticket sales will support the hospice, as Caesars Windsor recognizes the importance of supporting their mission of putting the needs of their clients at the center of every interaction.
In particular, the funds will support programming related to a new greenhouse that has been installed at the Hospice's Windsor Campus.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Hospice executive director Nancy Brockenshire says they're honoured to partner with Caesars Windsor on this initiative.
"They have a fantastic lineup of concerts in the next couple of months, and part of the tickets sales will go towards our project here that we have going on. So we have a greenhouse that just got built on our premise, and now with these funds, we'll be able to support some of the programs related to this greenhouse," she said.
The programming offered will include a variety of options like a year-round grief and bereavement support through gardening, planting, wreath-making and more.
Some of the items planted will remain in the greenhouse as part of these programs, and others will go home with participants as keepsakes or legacy items.
Any herbs and/or produce grown in the greenhouse will be used in the Hospice Residence Kitchen, to nourish patients and families spending time at hospice.
Brockenshire says the greenhouse started through the donation of an herb garden last year.
"Then it kind of grew to where we actually ended up with a small greenhouse on a cement pad that we already had established here, but then that's all we did," she continued. "So the greenhouse was put up about a month and a half ago, it was completed, and then we were fortunate enough now to have this fantastic partnership with Caesars Windsor so they're going to help sponsor the greenhouse projects that will be coming in."
Brockenshire says at hospice they're really experts in palliative care, but the wraparound services they provide are incredibly important as well for their clients.
"We are very good on the clinical side, but the other side is really important as well. The spiritual, the wraparound, the memories, the soft side of it is really important to come here and not feel purely clinical. We want people to come do Hospice Windsor and feel like it's home, as well as Hospice Erie Shores. It is a home like environment, and we also take care of a lot of people in their own homes so they're welcome to come here to our greenhouse," she said.
The Concert for A Cure Series 2023 includes: Dirty Dancing in Concert (October 13), Nick Offerman (October 19), The Vampire Circus (October 26), Derek Hough (October 27), Tiffany Haddish (November 2), Howie Mandel (November 4), John Mulaney and Pete Davidson (November 10), Penn & Teller (November 16), Brett Young (November 18), and Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland (November 29 & November 30).
Tickets can be purchased at the Caesars Windsor Box Office or online.
- with files from AM800's The Shift