{"id":21412,"date":"2018-08-22T19:21:04","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T23:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=21412"},"modified":"2018-08-22T19:21:04","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T23:21:04","slug":"an-artist-who-no-longer-creates-is-just-an-artist-in-suspended-animation-waiting-to-become-irrelevant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/an-artist-who-no-longer-creates-is-just-an-artist-in-suspended-animation-waiting-to-become-irrelevant\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAn artist who no longer creates is just an artist in suspended animation waiting to become irrelevant\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over a dozen kids spent seven days last month out in the wilderness reconnecting with nature \u2013 and themselves.
\nThey went back to basics as part of a \u201cGrief Busters\u201d program, an initiative of Hope House \u2013 formerly Hospice King Aurora Richmond Hill \u2013 to support youngsters who are dealing with the death of a parent, grandparent or sibling.
\nThe kids set out with three facilitators and four teen buddies for the formative experience, which Heidi Bonner, Executive Director of Hope House Hospice says is a phenomenal experience all around.
\n\u201cWe just finished our summer program and it is an amazing camp,\u201d she says. \u201cThe way kids support each other is just really amazing and inspiring.\u201d
\nPrograms like these, as essential as they are, however, can only happen through the generosity of the community.
\nAs such, Hope House is gearing up once again for their Jitterbug Ball, Hope House\u2019s largest fundraiser, which is held every two years.
\nSet to take place Friday, October 12, at Hazelton Manor in Vaughan, the Jitterbug Ball got a welcome financial shot in the arm by RBC last week, presented by local bank manager Paola Luchenski.
\n\u201cThe Jitterbug Ball supports our events over two years and all of our programs are available at no cost to our clients,\u201d says Ms. Bonner. \u201cThe Ball is very important for raising funds to cover the cost of programs. Hope House has been in operation for 35 years and we now serve the communities of King Township, Aurora and Richmond Hill, so this event is really important in terms of raising funds to support us \u2013 and it is a fun event too!\u201d
\nBringing the fun to the dance floor this year is Side 3, a six-member band dedicated to using its collective talent for event fundraising and philanthropy. The entertainment will be emceed by John Derringer and features a live auction with a host of exciting items up for bids ranging from a box at a Blue Jays game, to trip packages to Brazil, Uruguay, Turks & Caicos and more.
\nTeresa Van Schaik, this year\u2019s Jitterbug Ball co-chair, says this event is \u201cnot your typical Ball\u201d where people go in, donate their money to the worthy cause of the evening, before leaving at 9 p.m.
\n\u201cIt is a fantastic dance, and it is a community thing,\u201d says Ms. Van Schaik. \u201cIt will be quite fabulous and we also have a few surprises set for the evening.\u201d
\nMs. Van Schaik knows the importance of hospice care all too well. A member of the Hope House board, she and her family have personally taken care of parents and other loved ones in the last stages of their lives.
\n\u201cHospice is really important not only for the person being cared for, but the person who is taking care of them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is time consuming and when you have an organization that can come in and just give you a bit of relief and comfort, it makes a huge difference.\u201d
\nWhen she first decided to volunteer her time for Hope House, when it was still Hospice King Aurora, she was struck particularly by the programs they provide for children dealing with bereavement.
\n\u201cPeople think hospice is only for the dying people, and it is not,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is for people who have illnesses and just need assistance. A lot of times they don\u2019t understand that we\u2019re not a residential hospice. We deal with people for a year, two years, on a weekly basis. We are a community hospice that goes out to anybody anywhere. Even though we\u2019re just King, Aurora and Richmond Hill, we have gone out of our scope to help anybody, and we can direct them to the right place.\u201d
\nAlthough the Jitterbug Ball is currently hosted in Vaughan, organizers hope that now that adequately-sized banquet facilities are available in Aurora, they can once again host the future balls on home turf, underscoring the community aspect of Aurora, King and Richmond Hill\u2019s community hospice.
\n\u201cThis is a really fun event and there are opportunities to support us in different ways,\u201d says Bonner. \u201cAnd, it supports a really good cause. The thing I like best is the energy in the room. There is an energy you don\u2019t get at every event and it is nice to be a part of that. It is the result of thousands of hours of volunteer contributions and that makes me feel good not only to be a part of that, but to see the end result.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jitterbug Ball in support of Hope House Community Hospice, takes place Friday, October 12, at Hazelton Manor (99 Peelar Road). Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $200 each, or $2,000 for a table of ten. For more information, including tickets and sponsorship opportunities, call 905-727-6815 x22 or visit www.hopehousehospice.com\/jitterbug-ball-2018-new.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over a dozen kids spent seven days last month out in the wilderness reconnecting with nature \u2013 and themselves.
\nThey went back to basics as part of a \u201cGrief Busters\u201d program, an initiative of Hope House \u2013 formerly Hospice King Aurora Richmond Hill \u2013 to support youngsters who are dealing with the death of a parent, grandparent or sibling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/2018-08-23-03.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5zm","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-09 11:12:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}