As Ottawa residents take a tour through the 2023 Minto Dream Home for CHEO, teams behind the scenes are already gearing up for next year.
“It’s kind of like finishing the playoffs,” jokes Brent Strachan, president, Minto Communities, Ontario. “Before you know it, you’ve already started the next season.”
While it takes a lot of planning and organizing to build a house worthy of the “dream home” title, together, the teams at CHEO and Minto have been accomplishing that feat for the last 23 years as part of the Dream of a Lifetime Lottery.
A partnership originally formed by Robert Greenberg as a means of supporting the local children’s hospital, Minto and CHEO have since built a relationship worth dreaming about.
“They’ve been an outstanding partner to us and everything that we’re trying to achieve,” says Steve Read, president and CEO of the CHEO Foundation. “I hope everybody at Minto feels very much part of the success of the lottery, and that they feel connected to the work that takes place at CHEO to treat the kids and youth in this region.”
The power of partnership
Since the initial dream home was built, the Minto team have been an integral part of creating the home each year, as well as helping CHEO promote the lottery and working with other local suppliers on the annual build.
“The dream home component is unique and absolutely plays to our strengths by allowing all of our staff to get engaged from the design, through to the construction, and everything in between,” says Strachan, adding that both teams rely on each other’s expertise to make the project a success.
It also allows Minto to push the envelope when it comes to design – bringing exciting new ideas and concepts to the table each year, such as the unique roofline and sustainable features in the 2023 home.
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Photos by Gordon King -
Photos by Gordon King -
Photos by Gordon King -
Photos by Gordon King -
Photos by Gordon King
“The legacy of this partnership has continued to evolve and grow into a relationship built on trust,” he adds. “We’re so passionate about this project every year, and we are honoured to be able to support CHEO because the work they do in our community is critical and we cannot take it for granted.”
The time to help CHEO is now
As the biggest fundraiser for CHEO, the importance of programs like the Dream Lottery to the hospital – and the community – cannot be understated, says Emily Jamieson, vice-president of corporate philanthropy and community engagement at the CHEO Foundation.
“The hospital absolutely needs community support and community leaders in order to help our patients,” she says. “Demand for care is rising, and we cannot meet that demand without help. We currently have 30,000 children and youth on waitlists for care. That is not okay.”
Although CHEO receives some funding through the government that covers areas such as operating costs, things like equipment, specialty services and programming for families and children are all funded through community support.
While money raised through the lottery is unrestricted revenue, which allows the hospital to distribute the funding to the areas that need it most, the demand for care at CHEO has increased significantly, lengthening wait times and putting pressure on an already fragile system.
“We’re trying to right-size pediatric healthcare not only for Ottawa, but all of the communities that we serve in the region,” says Read. “The long standing partnerships that we form with members of the community, like Minto, are integral to that goal.”
And, with a vibrant business community such as Ottawa’s, the opportunities for creative partnerships are endless.
“We’re just so appreciative of all the support that we get, because the community really does own this hospital,” says Jamieson. “So it’s really up to us as a community to create a hospital our children deserve.”
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