For the second year, an arts fundraiser to benefit Providence Care and Providence Manor will be hosted for two afternoons in Kingston’s Martello Alley.
The fundraiser will display paintings that are created throughout the summer by the residents of Providence Care and Providence Manor alongside summer student volunteers, eventually being collected and displayed for sale on a couple of occasions.
Ibrahim Ahmad, a patient assistant coach and volunteer lead at Providence Care, says the arts sale portion is helpful for raising dedicated funds for residents at both locations, but the main benefit may be in the process of creating the art itself.
“What tends to happen is both at Care and the Manor, a lot of the patients, especially in the summer, tend to get really lonely because, you know, their family might be on vacation,” Ahmad said.
“They want to go outside, but they don’t get the chance. So having somewhere just to sit there, paint, talk, that’s kind of the entire idea… just getting the residents sort of active like that compared to just sitting down in their room, not really doing much.”
This year there will be two showcases happening in Martello Alley where patients’ creations will be made available – August 26th from 3:00-5:00 PM and August 28th from 2:30-4:30 PM – and each day will feature artwork specific to residents of each location.
Last year, in the first edition of this fundraiser, Ahmad says the event was kept fairly lowkey with attendees generally just consisting of staff and family of residents and volunteers, but this year they’re hopeful to bring more attention to the fundraiser and art being displayed – in hopes of generating more for Providence Care and Manor and getting more of the community involved.
Proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Providence Care Resident Comfort Fund and Providence Manor Residence Council Fund – both funds providing some kind of communal benefit to the institutions or helping specific residents with their needs.
Ahmad says the fundraiser is a great opportunity to both raise money and get residents engaged through the arts, but says really the biggest boost to residents is the presence of the volunteers themselves.
“All the residents, they’ve been living there for years and years, and a lot of them, they might not have family to come by and visit,” Ahmad said.
“So in the summer, having those like 20 young volunteers, they wear bright red t-shirts, they’re going around the home talking, that’s sort of what’s getting them really excited. It’s just having someone just come sit with them, just listen to them.”
The homes tend to get a boost through the summer with student volunteers getting involved in their spare time, but given the impact they have on residents, welcoming more volunteers to spend time with residents throughout the rest of the year is an ongoing goal.
Residents’ artwork will be for sale at a minimum donation price of $10 – though attendees of the fundraiser are welcome to spend more.
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