Perley Health Foundation reaches $10M goal to transform elder care

Last night, Perley Health Foundation, with its community leaders at its side, proudly uttered the two words it had been waiting years to say, that summed up their collective efforts and shared goals: Mission accomplished.

They had reached the $10-million goal of their Answering the Call campaign, a campaign created to revolutionize the care of Canada’s aging population, both at Perley Health and at long-term care facilities across Canada, through applied research and innovation, education, knowledge sharing and exceptional care. 

The foundation had set an ambitious fundraising target when one considers it had to campaign during the pandemic and against other major fundraising drives.

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It got a helping hand in 2021 with the historic donation of $2 million from Commissionaires Ottawa, represented last night by CEO Michel Charron and CFO Glenn La Rusic, the latter of whom is also on the board of Perley Health Foundation. The audience expressed its gratitude for their gift with a standing ovation during the celebration, held at Beechwood National Memorial Centre and sponsored by Mark Motors Group.

The campaign leadership decided months ago that Answering the Call should wrap up before the start of the holiday rush. They nailed down a late-November date to bring everyone together to mark the occasion.

“To tell you the truth, when we sent the invitation we were not quite there, yet,” Perley Health Foundation executive director Delphine Haslé told the audience last night.

But they were close. As of last Wednesday, the $10-million campaign had just under $60,000 to go. It was the final gift made by Lockheed Martin Canada that brought it over the finish line. Lorraine Ben, CEO of the global security and aerospace company, was in attendance.

The Answering the Call campaign was led by John Jarvis, retired COO of ADGA Group, and Micheal Burch, former long-time managing partner of Welch LLP, with the support of a campaign cabinet of community leaders, including Lt-Gen. (retired) Guy Thibault, a former vice-chief of defence staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, Kammal Tannis from Tannis 21 Foundation, Mariette MacIsaac from Trinity Development Foundation, and BMO regional president Rick Campagna, who’s also on the foundation board. 

Perley Health, located on Russell Road, is home to more than 600 seniors. It operates a long-term care facility and independent living apartments. Funds raised from the campaign are helping Perley’s Health Centre of Excellence in Frailty-Informed Care to expand its research and to develop evidence-based best practices that will improve the quality of life for seniors and veterans.

Attendees included Perley Health CEO Akos Hoffer and board chair Margaret Tansey; Perley Health Foundation board members, including chair Louise Mercier; Perley’s chief medical officer, Dr. Benoît Robert; and community champion Sam Laprade, host of An Hour to Give on Rogers TV.

While Jarvis placed crucial calls during the campaign to Commissionaires Ottawa, Lockheed Martin Canada and others, he told this listeners of the most important call that he answered, that led to him accepting his leadership role on the campaign, back when it was still set at $6 million. 

“It’s a touching call because the person who made it is no longer with us, and he was the one who was responsible for getting me here,” said Jarvis, whose voice wavered with emotion as he spoke about his good friend, the late Marc Jolicoeur, a well-known lawyer and community leader.

Jolicoeur, as part of his persuasive pitch, got Jarvis to join him on a tour of Perley in January 2019. At some point, Jolicoeur raised the subject of the fundraising campaign and said to Jarvis: “This would be perfect for you. It’s a $6-million goal; you can do this.”

Jarvis was so impressed with the facility, describing it as Ottawa’s “best-kept secret”, that he told his friend: “Of course I’m going to do it”.

Sadly, Jolicoeur was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer about two years into the campaign and passed away in early 2022. “Marc was a special guy in our community. He was so involved in so many different charitable organizations,” said Jarvis. “I sat on a couple of boards with him. Even in his latter days when, you know, he was struggling, he was bedridden, he would always say, ‘John, how’s that campaign going?’ 

“I always said to him, with a big smile: ‘Marc, mark my words, this campaign doesn’t end until we get to the ten-million dollars; you can guarantee. You put me up to this and I will finish it on behalf of you’.”

That night, with Jolicoeur’s wife, Kathleen Faulkner in the audience, Jarvis could feel proud knowing that he had answered Jolicoeur’s call.

Jarvis credited the “phenomenal” team members that helped the campaign reach the finish line, praising Haslé and her director of development, Courtney Rock. “She literally rocks,” joked Jarvis.

He also gave a special shout-out to experienced fundraiser Melanie Adams, founder of Epiphany Consulting. 

“This campaign was very successful because so many people, so many great leaders in the community, so many businesses answered the call,” said Jarvis. “We couldn’t be more proud to have served, Micheal and I, and our cabinet, in achieving that goal.

“On behalf of cabinet, thank you very much, and we look forward to the incredible work that’s now going to be done by the Centre of Excellence.”