In support of seniors in Canada
Since it was established in 2006, the LeSueur and Althera Brodie Fund has provided over $700,000 to more than 65 applicants in support of projects that benefit seniors.
Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director, AFC, explains the importance of the Brodie Fund in supporting accessibility projects, in particular. “So many of the Diverse Infrastructure applications we receive place an emphasis on accessibility. For worshiping congregations who are ageing, often located in rural communities where the population is also ageing, the Brodie Fund has helped to set more than 50 Anglican churches in Canada on the path to accessibility so that they may be safe, welcoming, and accessible spaces for older Canadians.”
The Ven. Michael Read, Incumbent, Parish of the St. Lawrence, Brockville, in the Diocese of Ontario, says he is grateful for the $15,000 boost his St. Lawrence Accessibility project received from the Brodie Fund in 2023. “Saint Lawrence Church supports full and active ministry in our community including a weekly Happy Hearts Seniors Program,” says Read. With the people and the building working in tandem, Read says Happy Hearts promotes holistic health for seniors which includes diabetic and wellness check-ups, low-impact exercise, memory strengthening exercises, and a light lunch. “The future of our parish depends on our having a fully accessible facility, for people of all abilities, but most especially for our older citizens.”
“A central component of AFC’s work is to connect donors to their philanthropic goals,” says Brubacher. “The task of managing an endowment on behalf of people who are no longer with us, but whose wishes we seek to honour by matching the right fund to the right project, is taken very seriously. There is always a deep sense of satisfaction in making a good match.”
Lieutenant Colonel LeSueur Brodie (April 13, 1905—May 7, 1988), was invested into the Order of Canada in April 1977. According to the Governor General’s website he, “rendered distinguished services to Canada in war and peace” and his “interest in military history found expression in his many gifts to various museums in Canada.” He and his wife, Althera Brodie, who passed away in 2005 in her 101st year, were parishioners of St. Leonard’s Anglican Church in the Diocese of Toronto.
Brubacher says that the project-to-donor alignment effort ensures that AFC’s benefactors are at the centre of the conversation. “These donors are very present with us during all our deliberations. They are not forgotten.”
For more information on how you can leave a legacy through the Anglican Foundation of Canada, please contact Michelle Hauser, AFC’s Development & Communications Officer, at [email protected].
