TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACTURING CANADA DONATES $355,000 TO VON OXFORD SAKURA HOUSE
Gift Provides Final Payment on Loan Advanced by County of Oxford
Woodstock, Ontario (May 30, 2014) – VON Canada today announced that Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (Toyota) has made a new commitment to VON Sakura House, the only residential palliative care hospice serving the people of Oxford County and surrounding community. Toyota’s $355,000 donation is the single largest cash gift ever received by VON in Oxford County.
It will provide the final payment on a loan generously advanced by the County of Oxford in 2009 to support Sakura House and its mission, closing out the capital campaign that was launched with Toyota’s initial 2005 gift to VON of the house itself.
“We are here today to celebrate and honour the deep commitment of Toyota to Sakura House and to the community” said John Goodbun, chair of the VON Oxford Community Corporation, which led the capital campaign to create the hospice and continues to raise funds to support its operations. “We are truly humbled by Toyota’s leadership and support. Sakura House would quite simply not exist without Toyota’s generosity and commitment.”
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada President Brian Krinock said “We are very proud of Sakura House, and it has become as much of a gift to Toyota as it has become to the community and the many families who have come here. Sakura House will always be our neighbour, and we look forward to partnering with the Victorian Order of Nurses in support of Sakura House for many years to come.”
“What this gift offers to us is the opportunity to start the next chapter of our fundraising in this community” said Cindy Kinnon, district executive director for VON Middlesex-Elgin and Oxford. “It will mean that we can turn our attention to securing the $376,000 needed each year to operate Sakura House, which is free of charge to families. It will also offer us the chance to raise funds for other important community supports, and that’s something we are looking forward to exploring.”
About VON Sakura House: Sakura House, located in Woodstock Ontario, is Oxford County’s only residential hospice and is operated by the Victorian Order of Nurses, VON Oxford. It is a palliative care facility where 24 hour end-of-life care is provided by a skilled team of healthcare professionals with the assistance of professionally trained volunteers at no cost to patients or their families.
