FLIGHT OF LIFE

LEWISPORTE -

"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine." - Jeffrey Glassberg

A little sunshine has been bestowed on North Haven Manor in the form of the Flight of Life project.

The project originated in 2003 whereby artist Dawn Baker creates a mural and for a nominal fee each year, personalized butterflies are placed on the mural by donors with the name and birth date (optional) of the person being celebrated. It has become a revenue-generating project for several South and Central Health Foundation facilities since then.

The Flight of Life was launched at North Haven Manor on Sept. 28.

Lewisporte director of Health Services Deborah Colbourne hosted the ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of the mural at the Manor.

"The Flight of Life provides a unique way to celebrate the lives of the special people around us," said Ms. Colbourne. "It also generates revenue which will be reinvested in health programs and services for the benefit of patients, residents and clients receiving care right here at our own health facility and within this region."

The Flight of Life at the Manor features a mural painted by Ms. Baker. Each mural she creates incorporates well-known landmarks and views from the area where it will be displayed. In the case of this mural, the Sir Robert Bond and the anchor that is currently on display in front of the Lewisporte Town Hall are incorporated into the piece. There is an abundance of blue sky where the butterflies will be placed.

Foundation board of trustee's member Tina Belbin explained that in the past the tradition for many people was to engrave wooden plaques of appreciation and memorial and present them to the different departments within the health care facility. Now people are being encouraged to invest in a butterfly instead to create a more appealing display and at the same time held fund projects.

It was noted that the Flight of Life is not a memorial display.

"It is a program which focuses on celebrating life and the remarkable people who have changed our lives in some way," said Ms. Belbin. "So whether you want to donate a butterfly on the occasion of the birth of a new baby, milestone birthday, anniversary, graduation or someone who has passed away, it's a good way to celebrate the life of that person and to show everyone how amazing that person was to you."

Ms. Colbourne explained that each butterfly would include the name of the person being honoured on one wing and their date of birth (optional) on the other wing. The date of death (if applicable) will not be included as "this is a celebration of the contribution they have made to our lives."

Auxiliary

The Flight of Life project is a reality at the Manor because of the North Haven Manor Auxiliary. They are the corporate sponsors for this initiative.

"These wonderful ladies are tremendous volunteers in our community and they are big supporters of local health care," said Ms. Belbin.

In introducing Auxiliary president May Snow, Ms. Colbourne said the Auxiliary has always been a very important part of the Manor.

"Whether it's a fundraising endeavour, whether we need assistance for our fall sale, help with a capelin roast or someone to sit with a palliative care client, I have never ever called on the Auxiliary when they haven't responded with a yes," said Ms. Colbourne. "We certainly do appreciate the work that the Auxiliary does and certainly the quality of life for our residents has been enhanced by the work of the auxiliary and we thank you for that."

Ms. Snow was so pleased the day had finally arrived for the unveiling of the Flight of Life project at the Manor.

"This is our crowning glory today, the fact that we have this mural here and I know it will bring in many, many dollars for many, many residents for many, many years to come," she said. "That's what it's all about, making sure our residents have the best of care and who knows, any one of us here could be here in this home, and that's why I work so hard to keep everything going."

Projects

One of the possible projects that could benefit from people supporting the Flight of Life would be a new bus for the Manor.

Ms. Belbin informed the gathering on one of the Foundations most important successes last year, the completion of a $100,000 fundraising project to provide a wheelchair accessible bus to be shared between Carmelite House in Grand Falls-Windsor and Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre in Botwood.

"I understand there will be talks to see if there is some community support here and in Gander to launch a similar project to be shared between North Haven Manor and Bayside Homes in Gander," she said. "I hope you will all consider partnering with us for that important project."

Ms. Colbourne added that the bus currently serving the Manor residents was purchased in the early '90's and it is in "really hard shape now". She confirmed that they have entered into some discussion with the Foundation to fundraise to co-share a bus.

"Any of you who do know the residents here at the Manor know that the residents do enjoy the bus outings," she said.

Anyone looking to purchase a butterfly for the Flight of Life can pick up an application form at North Haven Manor.