WMRC breaks ground on respite home!

Montreal, Quebec, June 23, 2010 — West Montreal Readaptation Centre (WMRC) today hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new specialized children’s respite home in Beaconsfield, for which corporate donors, WMRC, its foundation and the community have raised close to $1 million.

The facility will provide much-needed respite to parents of children with an intellectual disability, pervasive developmental disorder and/or severe behavioural disorder. It will be able to accommodate up to six children at once, including those with physical disabilities, and will provide those children with a wide variety of fun activities tailored to their interests and needs.

 “Appropriate resources for severe special needs children are so rare that many WMRC parents rarely get a break from looking after their children full-time,” said Gary Whittaker, chairman of the fundraising committee and the WMRC Board of Directors.

“This new home will help parents to recharge and enjoy time with other family members.

“On behalf of those parents, WMRC and the Taylor-Birks Foundation, a huge thank you to our many donors who have made this first concrete step possible.”

The Taylor-Birks Foundation, a long-time partner of WMRC, spearheaded the Building Hope campaign that has raised more than $800,000 over the past two years, with $1 million as its goal. This respite home represents the most significant project in the foundation’s history. Taylor-Birks is still seeking monetary and material donations to furnish and operate the specialized home.

The facility will be named the Eleanor Côté House in recognition of the campaign’s principal donor, the Eleanor Côté Foundation. Mrs. Eleanor Côté has been a tireless volunteer and community organizer for the West Island, and for people with an intellectual disability, for over five decades.

Another major donor is the Rotary Club of Westmount, which helped to launch the campaign in 2008 with a first major donation.

The respite home is scheduled to open in fall 2010.

West Montreal Readaptation Centre

West Montreal Readaptation Centre (WMRC)is a rehabilitation centre for people with an intellectual disability or pervasive developmental disorder.

The centre provides habilitation, rehabilitation, residential and socio-professional services in English and French to some 600 children and close to 1,000 adults. 

With its head office in Lachine, WMRC also operates a specialized children’s facility in Beaconsfield and a great number of specialized resources across Montreal’s West Island and elsewhere. It employs over 400 people.

 

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.

One of those projects is the Building Hope Campaign to raise $1 million to build a respite home on WMRC property.