Jul 6, 2018
This spring, Gay Lea Foods announced a $5,000 donation from the Gay Lea Foundation to Shine Through the Rain Foundation’s Rural Rainy Day Grocery and Shelter Program, which provides financial aid to individuals who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
Shine Through the Rain Foundation assists individuals with programs and services not typically available elsewhere in Canada. The Rural Rainy Day Grocery and Shelter Program provides up to $1,000 per patient per year in grocery gift cards, past-due rent and-or past-due utilities payments to help ensure patients can recover in their own homes. This program focuses on Canadians living in rural communities, who experience additional costs to travel to medical appointments and hospital treatments, and who are often forced to choose between paying rent or groceries or paying for trips to receive medical care.
“My first reaction to receiving Rainy Day financial aid was elation,” said Wade, a colon cancer and pancreatitis patient from Nova Scotia. “Finally, someone understands my struggle. The illness has caused stress, worry and frustration. There have been many challenges like pain control. To remain mentally and emotionally healthy, our family uses humour and distraction like movies, music, puzzles, artwork, and walking.”
Shine Through the Rain Foundation works with hospitals to identify a patient’s most urgent needs to avoid eviction, hunger and-or utility shut-off. They share resources with the patients, families, hospitals, non-profits and the public to increase the knowledge of emergency financial assistance available to patients. After completing research in partnership with Trent-Fleming School of Nursing on the availability of financial assistance to Ontario patients with chronic illness, the foundation is creating a resource list to be distributed to hospital social workers, case workers, patients and participating organizations.
“Being diagnosed with chronic illness, such as cancer, is not only a physical and emotional burden but a financial one for individuals and their families,” says Rachel Caldara, Gay Lea Foundation Chair. “Shine Through the Rain’s Rural Rainy Day Grocery and Shelter Program helps to alleviate the stress of keeping up with household bills, so families can focus on healing.”
“We are so thrilled to have the generous support of the Gay Lea Foundation and its employees to assist many of our rural patients, like Wade, with the Rainy Day Grocery and Shelter Program,” says Shannon Kroon, Executive Director of Shine Through the Rain Foundation. “Diagnosed patients living in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to financial devastation because of the long distances they must travel to get to their medical appointments and numerous treatments. Thanks to your support, many more rural patients can recover in their own homes without worry of eviction having their basic utilities shut-off and purchase nutritious food for their families.”
About the Gay Lea Foundation
The Gay Lea Foundation is the official registered charity and collaborative forum for Gay Lea Foods and its members, directors and employees to support families and communities in need. Since receiving charitable status in 2014, the Foundation has provided more than $685,000 in funding support for education, poverty relief and community well-being projects in Canada and around the world. The primary source of funding for the Foundation is an annual $150,000 contribution from Gay Lea Foods, which is supplemented by personal contributions from across the Gay Lea Foods family. Funding applications are assessed twice a year by the Foundation’s Board of Directors, which is comprised of Gay Lea Foods Directors, delegates, dairy producer members and employees.
About Shine Through the Rain
Shine Through the Rain does many things but all in the service of one goal. That goal is to help those who are affected by life-threatening illnesses. Whether it’s through services or funds, they seek to provide guidance, support, and financial aid to those in need. They help adults, children, and families find the silver lining. When things seem gloomy and you’re being rained on, they’re here to help you shine through it.
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