Nick Fearns from Niagara This Week wrote a news article about NC’s Recreation Therapy program coordinator Christine Wilkinson and her children who spearheaded a fundraising initiative to provide all 33 long-term-care homes in Niagara with dementia-friendly colouring books.
The story notes that Wilkinson came up with the idea after hearing from NC graduates currently working in long-term-care homes who spoke about the challenges they, and the residents, were facing once group programs were discontinued due to COVID-19.
The act of kindness inspired Wilkinson’s friends and their children, former NC students, and other community members to get involved by helping to raise money for the initiative and even sparked the interest of St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, who was present for a special drop-off at Heidehof in St. Catharines.
In the story, Wilkinson says: “One of the bonuses for me is that Niagara College Recreation Therapy grads work at each of these LTC homes, and I had the pleasure of handing off these books to many of my former students”.
In total, more than 300 colouring books were purchased and delivered to Niagara’s long-term-care homes.
