Our Mission is Simple.We want to support frontline workers and elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Why support SAGE?
Currently, 81% of COVID-19 related deaths in Canada occur in long-term care homes. On top of these tragedies, loneliness has plagued long-term care facilities. Families are not allowed to visit, residents are ordered to stay inside their rooms, and the contact between workers and elderly people are limited. Isolated, confused, and anxious, residents are being driven to despair.
Long-term care health workers and personal support workers are overburdened. Prior to COVID-19, these workers were paid low wages and earned a living working part-time shifts at several facilities, which caused them to work without benefit or sick days. Now, due to the coronavirus, many of them had to quit their jobs to prevent viral transmission between homes. This created great financial strains. On top of financial burden, personal support workers are working in a dangerous environment with high exposure to the virus. They make up 1 in 10 of known COVID-19 cases.
Long-term care health workers and personal support workers are overburdened. Prior to COVID-19, these workers were paid low wages and earned a living working part-time shifts at several facilities, which caused them to work without benefit or sick days. Now, due to the coronavirus, many of them had to quit their jobs to prevent viral transmission between homes. This created great financial strains. On top of financial burden, personal support workers are working in a dangerous environment with high exposure to the virus. They make up 1 in 10 of known COVID-19 cases.
What is SAGE doing to help?
TO SUPPORT FRONTLINE WORKERS:
- SAGE started the COMMUNITY CARE PROJECT, where we partner with businesses and restaurants to provide in-kind donations such as coffee, baked goods, meals, energy bars, and personal care items as ways to energize and support our frontline heroes.
TO SUPPORT ELDERLY PEOPLE:
- We have launched COMPANION CALLS to connect volunteers with residents in senior homes through phone and video calls. Through sharing stories, connecting over hobbies, and getting to know one another, we are keeping spirits up during this difficult time.
- We have delivered our first batch of 50 PEN PAL LETTERS to two care homes to further keep residents company during lockdown and to help them remain integrated in their communities.
- We have also successfully finished our BLOOM TOGETHER project to provide residents with gardening supplies and flowers to transform the outdoor spaces at their home. With the help of the Rising Youth grant, we hope to engage the residents at these homes in a fun, communal outdoor activity.
- We collected holiday messages from our community and delivered 341 handwritten COMMUNITY CHEER holiday cards to residents over the winter holiday.
How did SAGE begin?
During the early months of 2020, some of us students at University of Toronto were taking a class on dementia with Dr. Franco Taverna and we had the wonderful opportunity to visit our friends living in local long-term care homes. Due to COVID-19, these homes closed to visitors before everyone else was ordered to lockdown, cutting our visits with our friends short.
In Ontario, long-term care homes were the first to be affected by the pandemic and continue to be disproportionately affected. Concerned that we could not meet with our friends, we came together to brainstorm ideas to connect and make sure that social distancing did not mean social isolation. Many homes did not have resources to support video calls or socially distant recreation for their residents. We also recognized the immense strain that healthcare workers were undergoing in trying to stay safe and continue their essential work. The health and wellbeing of healthcare workers is critical in navigating this pandemic. In early May, we reached out to local businesses and homes to provide snacks and coffee to the staff of long-term care homes. Through the amazing work of our team, we branched out and were able to start offering video call visits, letters, and activities to help keep seniors in care engaged.
Sage is a plant that grows throughout the world and has come to be associated with wisdom. It has a long history of usage in medicine and healthcare. Thus, the symbolism behind the sage plant serves as a great representation of our organization and our values. Emphasizing that SAGE stands for Student Association for Geriatric Empowerment allows us to highlight our focus on wanting to increase young people’s involvement in a cause that is often overlooked.
As an organization, we welcome everyone to participate in our projects. We strive to be inclusive in both our language and our actions. We do not stand for discrimination of any kind based on age, race, gender, ability, or sexuality, and are working to be active in the education and dismantling of systems that enable such disenfranchisement. We aim to be as transparent as we can in our actions and our leadership. If you notice something we do that does not align with our mission, please reach out and let us know your suggestions.
Please note: we are currently working on making our website, images, and social media more accessible, including adding alternative text and adding ease of accessibility. If you have any input, please email us.
In Ontario, long-term care homes were the first to be affected by the pandemic and continue to be disproportionately affected. Concerned that we could not meet with our friends, we came together to brainstorm ideas to connect and make sure that social distancing did not mean social isolation. Many homes did not have resources to support video calls or socially distant recreation for their residents. We also recognized the immense strain that healthcare workers were undergoing in trying to stay safe and continue their essential work. The health and wellbeing of healthcare workers is critical in navigating this pandemic. In early May, we reached out to local businesses and homes to provide snacks and coffee to the staff of long-term care homes. Through the amazing work of our team, we branched out and were able to start offering video call visits, letters, and activities to help keep seniors in care engaged.
Sage is a plant that grows throughout the world and has come to be associated with wisdom. It has a long history of usage in medicine and healthcare. Thus, the symbolism behind the sage plant serves as a great representation of our organization and our values. Emphasizing that SAGE stands for Student Association for Geriatric Empowerment allows us to highlight our focus on wanting to increase young people’s involvement in a cause that is often overlooked.
As an organization, we welcome everyone to participate in our projects. We strive to be inclusive in both our language and our actions. We do not stand for discrimination of any kind based on age, race, gender, ability, or sexuality, and are working to be active in the education and dismantling of systems that enable such disenfranchisement. We aim to be as transparent as we can in our actions and our leadership. If you notice something we do that does not align with our mission, please reach out and let us know your suggestions.
Please note: we are currently working on making our website, images, and social media more accessible, including adding alternative text and adding ease of accessibility. If you have any input, please email us.
