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In late December 2024, the Grandview Kids Foundation met with the wonderful employees of Honda Oshawa Whitby as they presented the Foundation with an incredible donation of $5,000! The Foundation was lucky enough to tour their team through our new Ajax headquarters and proudly display our brand-new Donor Wall on the first floor of The Jerry Coughlan Building.

Thanks to generous community partners in Durham Region like Honda Oshawa Whitby, the Grandview Kids Foundation can continue to support children and youth at Grandview Kids. Thank you, Honda Oshawa Whitby, for your heartfelt generosity and your eagerness to celebrate The state-of-the-art Grandview Kids – The Jerry Coughlan Building. 

In December 2024, the Grandview Kids Foundation welcomed a generous $10,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Pickering during a cheque presentation. The Rotary Clubs of Durham Region have been steadfast community partners, offering ongoing support to the Foundation and the children and youth served by Grandview Kids.

To recognize this long-lasting partnership, Executive Director of the Foundation, Brigitte Tschinkel, toured the Knights through our new headquarters, proudly showing them their donor plaque on the first floor of The Jerry Coughlan Building. Since 2008, the Rotary Clubs of Durham Region have collectively contributed more than $500,000 to the Grandview Kids Foundation—an extraordinary milestone that played a vital role in the successful completion of the Foundation’s $20-million Believe Campaign. Thank you, Rotary Club of Pickering for your steadfast support of the Foundation’s mission and the children and youth at Grandview Kids.

For immediate release – Tuesday, January 14, 2025

AJAX, ONT. – Grandview Kids (“the Centre”) announced today the restructuring of the fundraising platform for Grandview Kids, whereby the Centre will assume fundraising responsibilities for Grandview Kids going forward, effective immediately. As part of the restructuring, Grandview Kids Foundation (“the Foundation”) will wind down its operations over the coming months as the Centre establishes a Development Department dedicated to fundraising.  

As the Centre and the Foundation celebrated the successful completion of their “Believe” capital campaign and the opening of their new Ajax-based headquarters, The Jerry Coughlan Building, it was the perfect time to evaluate operations in a number of areas, including their fundraising activities. 

As part of the restructuring, Brigitte Tschinkel, the Foundation’s Executive Director will be retiring. The Centre will be conducting a search to identify and appoint a new Fundraising Lead for the Centre. It is expected that existing Foundation staff will become employees of the Centre and continue their commitment to fund development and donor care. 

To assist with the transition, the Centre appointed Linda Flynn to serve as Interim Executive Lead, Development. Flynn will work with the Centre’s Board of Directors and staff to ensure the continuity of development activities, develop strategic priorities and focus on donor care. Recently retired from Durham College as their Associate Vice-President of Advancement and Alumni Relations, she brings 35 years of experience, a master’s degree in leadership, and a strong track record of raising millions of dollars in the Durham Region. In addition, her active community engagement means she already has strong relationships with many of our donors and volunteers.    

The restructuring will be implemented over the coming months and will require a special meeting of members of the Foundation to authorize the distribution of the Foundation’s assets to the Centre, followed by the revocation of the Foundation’s charitable registration and then the formal dissolution of the Foundation. Pursuant to an asset transfer agreement entered into today between the Foundation and the Centre, the transfer of assets from the Foundation (and the assumption by the Centre of the Foundation’s liabilities) is expected to close on or near February 5, 2025.  All donor agreements with the Foundation will be assumed and honoured by the Centre. 

To learn more about Grandview Kids Foundation’s transition, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on Grandview Kids’ website by clicking here.

Quotes 

“This decision comes at an important time for the Centre and provides an opportunity to develop a highly integrated fund development and donor care program. Donor relationships are critically important to ensuring that Grandview Kids can deliver more programs and services to our families. We are grateful for the support of the Foundation for the last 30 years. We believe this new structure (which is similar to the fundraising structures of many not-for-profit organizations) is the optimal structure for Grandview Kids moving forward.” 

– Leo Plue, Chair, Grandview Kids Board of Directors 

“The Foundation Board is supportive of this restructuring and will work with the Centre to ensure a seamless transition for our donors and supporters. The Foundation is very proud of its results in supporting Grandview Kids, including our recently completed $20 million Believe Campaign – and we thank the Foundation staff and team, the Foundation Board of Directors, and our donors and supporters, for their support of the Foundation and their continuing support of Grandview Kids. On behalf of Grandview Kids and our donors, we thank Brigitte for her commitment and support of Grandview Kids for the last 15 years, especially her leadership through our $20 million Believe Campaign, and we wish her well. ” 

– Bryan Yetman, Chair, Grandview Kids Foundation Board of Directors 

“We are grateful for the support of the Foundation. I am confident that Linda will help us navigate this transition and ensure continued support for Grandview Kids under this new structure.”  

– Tom McHugh, Chief Executive Officer, Grandview Kids  

In December 2024, the Grandview Kids Foundation was lucky to meet with Jennifer from Electro-Sonic once again as they made an incredible $4,500 donation to support the children and youth at Grandview Kids. This time, we had the honour of meeting at our brand-new headquarters in Ajax, The Jerry Coughlan Building!

Through generous companies and organizations in the Durham Region, the Grandview Kids Foundation can continue to support Grandview Kids’ children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs. Thank you, Electro-Sonic for being a friend to the Grandview Kids Foundation! Your generosity is making an impact on families across our community. 

Media Release – Friday, December 20, 2024

AJAX, ON – The Grandview Kids Foundation has officially closed its $20-million Believe Campaign, marking a major milestone in the journey to build and support the new Grandview Kids – The Jerry Coughlan Building at 1461 Harwood Ave. N. in Ajax. 

The campaign began quietly in 2008 and was publicly launched in 2018, concluding in December 2024 with support from more than 300 donors. A celebration on December 17 in The Jerry Coughlan Building’s Canadian Tire Jumpstart Gymnasium brought together more than 150 donors, community partners and supporters. 

Durham Radio’s Terry Johnston joined as emcee for the event, creating a lively and inspiring atmosphere. Guests were welcomed to the gymnasium, located on Level 2, for an informal reception at 1 p.m. Durham Radio host Jerry Archer, of KX96 New Country FM, interviewed key contributors to the Believe Campaign, including Brigitte Tschinkel, executive director of the Foundation; Bryan Yetman, chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors; and Lyn Dunlop-Coughlan, wife of the late Jerry Coughlan. 

The event officially began at 1:30 p.m. with a moving video that featured seven Believe Campaign Ambassadors — Amanda, Justine, Matthew, Molly, Owen, Teagan and Timothy — who shared their stories and advocated for the Believe Campaign since its inception. 

Guests also toured the state-of-the-art facility, guided by members of Team Grandview. The tour included the unveiling of the Foundation’s new donor wall on Level 1, where the names of all Believe Campaign contributors since 2008 above the $10,000 level are displayed. 

As the Grandview Kids Foundation celebrates the Believe Campaign’s conclusion and the official opening of Grandview Kids – The Jerry Coughlan Building, it looks ahead to its 30th anniversary in 2025, ready to build on the momentum of this historic achievement. 

The Grandview Kids Foundation extends its deepest gratitude to all donors and partners who made the Believe Campaign a success. 

– Brigitte Tschinkel, CFRE 

Executive Director of the Grandview Kids Foundation 

About Grandview Kids Foundation

The Grandview Kids Foundation – established in 1995 – is an accredited charity organization through Imagine Canada. The Foundation raises funds to advance and support the specialized programs and rehabilitation services delivered by Grandview Kids in the Durham Region. Through the generosity of donors, the Grandview Kids Foundation supported Grandview Kids’ children and youth to live, learn and play.

Media contact

Kelsey Cluett

Communications and Marketing Specialist

+1 437-529-5366