Baycrest celebrates 100 years with gala to raise $10 million, Earth, Wind & Fire to headline

TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2018 /CNW/ - A 45,000-square-foot tent on the site of the Baycrest campus will be the venue for some 1,400 guests celebrating the organization's century of care and innovation, and a future of leading-edge firsts on October 14. The fundraising gala with a $10 million goal will be topped off with a performance by legendary Grammy Award-winning band Earth, Wind & Fire.

The visionary event and venue is fitting for "the little house that could". It was 100 years ago that concerned community members founded Baycrest (then known as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home) in a small house on Cecil Street to provide a place for homeless seniors to live and older adults to receive the care they needed.

Baycrest has since grown to become a global leader in specialized residential and health care for older adults; one of the top clinical training grounds for the next generation of geriatric professionals; and home to both the Rotman Research Institute, a world-leading research institute in cognitive neuroscience, and the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, the largest solution accelerator in the field. 

At the centennial gala, Baycrest will celebrate its rich heritage and look forward to a future that includes building the new Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness – a unique, state-of-the-art research and wellness facility that will change the way people age and play a pivotal role in the fight to defeat dementia.

"This evening is the incredible culmination of a century of growth. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we are raising $10 million towards the completion of the Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness, a first-of-its-kind in Canada," says Josh Cooper, President and CEO of the Baycrest Foundation.

"The Kimel family's generosity is woven throughout the fabric of Baycrest and enriches the lives of thousands of older adults in Ontario each and every day. The community has benefited immeasurably from the Kimels' compassion, leadership and support of various initiatives at Baycrest," adds Cooper.

Led by Baycrest's Dr. Howard Chertkow, the Scientific Director of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA), the new Centre will develop and evaluate the most promising approaches to preventing cognitive decline. As its inaugural Director, Dr. Chertkow will assemble a leading-edge Clinical Trials Unit and further develop Baycrest's translational research program in dementia to test the latest emerging therapies for Alzheimer's disease and related conditions.

"Baycrest has evolved to become a place where care, education, research and innovation are intertwined through collaboration and a shared vision," says Dr. William Reichman, Baycrest's President and CEO. "Baycrest continues to pioneer best aging care practices and is working to create a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfilment."

The state-of-the-art, community-based Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness will integrate research to develop prevention programs specifically designed for each individual, based on their unique health profile, lifestyle and family history. Customized programs will include physical exercise, nutrition counselling, cognitive stimulation and stress reduction techniques.

For more information about Baycrest's 100^th Anniversary Gala and the new Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness, please visit: www.baycrestfoundation.org/gala

About the Baycrest Foundation
The Baycrest Foundation's mission is to enrich the quality of life of our community by supporting programs and services that promote excellence in care, research, education and innovation in the field of aging. As the fundraising arm of Baycrest, the Foundation helps provide crucial funding for breakthrough research into cognition, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, stroke and aging brain health; medical programs and services for seniors living in our community; and education that supports healthy aging and healthcare solutions for a growing senior population.

About Baycrest
Now in its 100^th year, Baycrest is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals and one of the world's top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is home to the federally and provincially-funded Canadian Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector, and the developer of Cogniciti - a free online memory assessment for Canadians 40+ who are concerned about their memory. Founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information please visit: www.baycrest.org.

SOURCE Baycrest

For further information: Media contacts: Michelle Petch Gotuzzo, Baycrest, 416-785-2500 ext. 6932, [e-mail]; Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, Baycrest, 416-785-2500 ext. 5527, [e-mail]