The hockey world and countless others lost a beloved coach, friend and mentor in 2003 as Ottawa Senators assistant coach Roger Neilson passed away after a long-term battle with cancer. To honour Roger, and his lifetime commitment of helping others, the Sens Foundation, the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) forged a partnership to establish Roger's House, Ontario's first paediatric respite and palliative care home dedicated to enhancing the comfort and quality of life of children and families in a time of need.
With the generous support of eight founding sponsors, countless corporate and individual donations, a helping hand from CHEO, the City of Ottawa and the Province of Ontario and the passion of an entire community, Roger's House opened its doors in the spring of 2006, a remarkable two years ahead of schedule.
Located on the grounds of CHEO, Roger's House provides a comprehensive paediatric palliative care program with elements of outreach, residential hospice, pain and symptom management, grief and bereavement counselling and research.
Children and families that are admitted to the state-of-the-art, eight bedroom facility are comforted by the welcoming home-away-from-home atmosphere of this unique place of refuge and peace where dedicated professionals and volunteers provide the very best in compassionate care and support.
Roger's House is the charity of choice for the Sens Foundation. As such, the Sens Foundation has made a commitment to cover an important portion of the annual operating budget for Roger's House and to help build an endowment fund to provide for its future financial stability and growth.
Why Roger’s House is Important
- Serves families from all over Ontario
- Helps provide valuable services for the over 150 children/youth and their families since opening in 2006
- Among children/youth ages 1-19 in Ontario, approximately 50% of deaths can be attributed to progressive life-limiting conditions such as neoplasms, congenital abnormalities, neurological disorders and endocrine/metabolic diseases
- At any given time, there are approximately 400 children/youth living with a progressive life-limiting condition in Eastern Ontario
- There are only four of their kind in Canada currently
- It serves as a model for other teams, hospitals and health care organizations from all over
- MUCH more than just end of life & respite care - bereavement counselling, research etc.
- 200 + volunteers play very active role in providing services
- Volunteer photographer takes pictures of families "Celebration on Life"
- Over 100 community events raise funds to support Roger's House - has been embraced by the community.
We invite you to support us in our fundraising endeavours for Roger's House. You can:
Donate now
Participate in an event
Host an event
How Does Your Donation to Roger's House Help?
Your donation to Roger's House provides for many services including:
- Supplies for bi-monthly pet therapy for guests
- Provides nutritious meals for 1 week for a child/youth at Roger’s House
- Pays for medication and medical supplies for a child
- Provides grief and bereavement resources (e.g. reading and audio-visual materials) for grieving families
And much more....
Visit www.rogershouse.ca to learn more about this amazing facitity.
You can also contact us at:
Sens Foundation
Scotiabank Place – Lower GATE 2
1000 Palladium Drive
Kanata, ON K2V 1A5
Tel: 613-599-0323
Fax: 613-599-1471