The Project

Gilda’s Club is now into the home stretch of our capital fundraising campaign for our facility to be built on land adjacent to Royal Victoria Hospital and the future Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre.  When the signature Red Door opens, the residents of Simcoe County, Muskoka-Parry Sound, Grey Bruce and Dufferin Counties who are living with cancer will have easy access to our free and innovative program of emotional and social support.

Gilda’s Club will provide networking and support groups, workshops, offerings for children, teens and adults, educational seminars and social activities. It will be a place where people of all ages can gather to learn more about cancer, to share their experiences with others and, true to our namesake Gilda Radner, to find opportunities to laugh.   

The residents of this region will especially benefit from the program to be provided at Gilda’s Club due to the fact that of the 30 Gilda’s Clubs in North America, only three are in Canada; one in Toronto, the one to open in Barrie followed by Eastern Ontario.   No other Canadian residents are able to access this special program specifically designed to provide the emotional and social support so important to people living with cancer and their support network.

With encouragement and support from the health care community; a dedicated Board of Directors and Capital Campaign Cabinet; a strong Medical Resource Council as well as widespread community support, Gilda’s Club Barrie Ontario embarked on our “Open the Red Door” capital campaign with a goal to raise $3 million to build a clubhouse that will serve the residents of Simcoe County, Muskoka-Parry Sound, Grey-Bruce and Dufferin Counties. Construction of the clubhouse was started in the spring of 2009 with a projected opening date in early 2010.

To date, $2.1 million in cash and pledges has been donated.   Since membership in Gilda’s Club is free, these funds will be used to build the 10,000 square foot facility and provide operational support to offer the program in this region. The clubhouse will be built adjacent to the future Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre, and Rotary House, the overnight lodge that will accommodate people living outside of a 40 km radius who will receive treatment at the centre. 

Please make a donation and be a part of the excitement as we prepare to break ground in the spring of 2009. Your contribution will have a positive impact on the lives of people in our region who are living with cancer. When we open the signature Red Door, the celebration of life will be a daily gift that we will share with all of our members.