A pair of local nursing homes participated in this year’s edition of the Grand Parade, a family-friendly fundraising walk that helps support charities that provide essential care and services to older Canadians. Residents, volunteers and supporters of the Ontario Finland Rest Home, as well as the FJ Davey Home, each walked as part of the Grand Parade’s national mission to support long-term care facilities and their programming. The Finnish Rest Home had over 60 walkers, 30 volunteers and 14 teams take part in their first Grand Parade walk, raising over $50,000 – doubling the original goal set earlier in the summer. Tarja Loewen, the president of the foundation and a volunteer at the Finnish Rest Home, is amazed by the amount of support they have received through this charitable effort. “We have a lot of supporters,” he says. “The residents, their families, the volunteers – it was just outstanding. Our sponsors also came out in force, it was just amazing.” One of the groups that participated today, called “Funky Fingers,” finished as one of Canada’s top fundraising groups. Led by Heidi Schell and Carol Whitfield, their team raised over $9,000 to help support the Finnish foundation Rest Home. Meanwhile, eight groups at the FJ Davey Home have raised more than $15,000 toward its foundation, according to the Grand Parade website After the opening ceremony, participants enjoyed a 2.5km walk and many said they were already looking forward to taking part in the Grand Parade again next year.
