Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka provides a gathering place where people with cancer, as well as their families and friends, or people who have lost someone to cancer, can join with others to actively involve themselves in building social and emotional support as a supplement to regular medical care.
All services and programming provided by Gilda’s Club are provided free of charge to anyone who walks through the doors (physically or virtually). Approximately 750 individuals take advantage of these services on an annual basis.
Covid, as with all organizations, has affected Gilda’s Club in two major ways:
The Pandemic has created a backlog of the following screening tests in North Simcoe Muskoka:
These backlogs are projected to result in the following volumes of undetected cancer cases in North Simcoe Muskoka:
This surge of patients amplifies the need for Gilda’s Club’s programs. Gilda’s Club is run by a small, passionate three-person administrative team with Aaron Lutes leading the vision as Executive Director. A 12-person volunteer Board of Directors is in place along with an additional team of 80–100 volunteers.
Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka receives zero funding from government sources. 100% of all operational dollars are earned through donations.