GUELPH – The Elliott Community Retirement home has announced it is a 2024 grant recipient for the from the Balnar Family Foundation of Guelph.
This grant will allow the Elliott Community to revitalize its on-site cafe, located in the community centre’s atrium.
“The cafe is cherished by our residents, families, staff and volunteers. Renovating and reopening it is key to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community,” said Tanya Watton, chief of human resources and community services in a press release.
“We hear from residents time and again how much they value that space to connect, socialize, and enjoy delicious food and drinks together in a casual environment, and of course, how much they’ve missed it during intermittent closures over the past few years,” she added.
The community centre and cafe have been closed off and on since 2020. First, due to the pandemic, but more recently as a result of construction of a new 29-bed long-term care home area on the floor above.
With construction having been completed in October and new residents moving in over subsequent weeks, the new Edinburgh home area is now fully occupied and the community centre has reopened with the exception of its cafe.
“The Balnar Family Foundation grant will allow us to replace some aging kitchen equipment and restock all supplies, but most critically, we need to remove and replace the front counter which is too high to effectively serve people with a wide variety of accessibility needs,” said fund and community development coordinator Heather Plewes-LaBerge.
Updated equipment displaying baked goods and offering easy access to chilled beverages and prepared foods will complement the cafe’s new accessible service counter.
The final touch, after a front-of-house area ‘refresh’ will be hanging a new sign, renaming the cafe ‘The Hub – Balnar Family Foundation Community Cafe’.
The Balnar Family Foundation was established in 2020 by Michael Balnar and his three children, Eric, Katie, and Alison in Guelph.
The Foundation supports non-profit organizations with a connection to Guelph and Wellington County that strive to enhance the well-being of those they serve.
The field of applicants for Balnar Family Foundation grants in 2024 was extensive and wide- ranging.
“We received grant applications this year from more than 40 non-profit organizations with ties to Guelph and Wellington County,” said Chair of the Balnar Family Foundation, Alison Balnar.
“We were truly inspired by many of the applications we received this year, and making decisions about which projects to fund was extremely challenging,” said Balnar. “The Elliott Community’s application stood out to us from the start and we’re delighted to be able to fund their project during this granting cycle.”
The Elliott Community’s cafe will undergo renovations in the first quarter of 2025 and a grand-reopening celebration for ‘The Hub – Balnar Family Foundation Community Cafe,’ will be announced upon completion in spring 2025.
