Three generous donations, two lovely stars

Montreal, Quebec, September 29, 2010 — The Eleanor Côté Foundation, a Montreal-based charity that has helped numerous causes over the last 30 years, today bestowed a major and final donation on three establishments devoted to individuals with an intellectual disability (ID) or autism.

“Our Board chose to devote all of the Eleanor Côté Foundation’s remaining assets to those we have helped before and who are so often ignored by philanthropists, those with disabilities,” said Victor P. Elbert, the donating foundation’s vice-president.

“With this, our final donation, we hope to make a difference in their lives.”

The anticipation of those donations has already made a huge difference. In 2009, Fondation Yvon Lamarre opened Maison Eleanor Côté in Rosemont, a residence for teenagers and young adults receiving services from CRLD. In June of 2010, the Taylor-Birks Foundation broke ground on its own Eleanor Côté House, a specialized respite home in Beaconsfield for young WMRC clients with severe special needs. This followed the two-year Building Hope fundraising campaign that owes its success to donors like the Rotary Club of Westmount and this latest donation, which put the campaign over the top.

The CRDITED MCQ intends to offer a clinical internship bearing Eleanor Côté’s name to undergraduate students in psychoeducation who wish to specialize in early intervention, as part of a pilot project to promote the integration of children with an ID or autism into conventional daycares across Quebec. This project will be directed by Carmen Dionne, professor/researcher at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada Research Chair in early intervention and scientific director of the university institute. It will be a collaboration with the Centre d’aide et de soutien aux intervenants et organismes en petite enfance (CASIOPE).

“On behalf of our three establishments, our clients and their families, we give sincere thanks to the Eleanor Côté Foundation,” said Yvon Lamarre, chairman of the Yvon Lamarre Foundation.

“It is because of community donors like the Eleanor Côté Foundation that our foundations exist, thrive and continue to support people with disabilities, whose needs are so great,” said Gary Whittaker, chairman of the Taylor-Birks Foundation’s Building Hope fundraising campaign.

“Different studies have shown the benefits of including children in regular daycares, and we are grateful to the Eleanor Côté Foundation for helping us to realize this project,” said Sylvie Dupras, director general, CRDITED MCQ.

Eleanor Côté (also pictured from this morning’s event) has been a tireless volunteer and community organizer for people with an intellectual disability, for over five decades, in Montreal and in the greater Montreal metropolitan regions.

Mrs. Côté’s distinguished efforts have earned her Citizen of the Year 1988 by the Town of Mount Royal a commemorative medal from the Governor General of Canada in 1992. Amazingly, she still volunteers at the age of 89.

Founded in 1982, the Eleanor Côté Foundation initially provided training and work placements to individuals with an intellectual disability. It has now decided to spend its entire capital towards making an impact on a sector largely ignored by philanthropists.

Contact
Victor P. Elbert
Eleanor Côté Foundation
514 592-1215

Fondation Yvon Lamarre is the largest non-profit organization in Quebec offering residential services to people with intellectual disabilities.

Established in 1985, the foundation now operates 39 adapted residences on the Island of Montreal, housing some 210 people with an intellectual disability or pervasive developmental disorder. Another 100 clients receive respite or emergency services from the foundation, which also provides certain clients with infant stimulation services and support for autonomous living.

Contact
Catherine Labrèche
Centre de réadaptation Lisette-Dupras
514 364-2282, ext. 2282
clabreche.crld@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

A longstanding partner of West Montreal Readaptation Centre (WMRC), the Taylor-Birks Foundation aims to strengthen the network of family members and caregivers supporting people with an intellectual disability or pervasive developmental disorder.

As a registered charitable foundation, it financially supports projects that improve quality of life for WMRC users and their families, but that lie outside government mandates.The Building Hope Campaign has been the foundation’s most significant project to date. For more information and how to donate, please visit www.crom-wmrc.ca

Contact
Jennifer Scrimger
West Montreal Readaptation Centre
514 363-3025, ext. 2208
jscrimger.crom@ssss.gouv.qc.ca 

 

The mission of the Centre de réadaptation en déficience intellectuelle et en troubles envahissants du développement de la Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec Institut universitaire (CRDITED MCQ Institut universitaire) is to provide upon referral specialized habilitation, rehabilitation and social integration services, as well as support services to families, while contributing through its university designation to the development of knowledge and practice, the transfer and dissemination of knowledge and the evaluation of services.