20 years of community growth with Wellspring Stratford

By: Emily Stewart

Wellspring Stratford is proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary and the growth in community support in membership over time.

"It's amazing. I've been with the organization for almost 15 years so it's really great to see how much we've grown in the last 20 years in the community,” said Lisa Stacey, executive director of Wellspring Stratford.

Wellspring provides a supportive environment and a variety of enrichment programs for those living with cancer and their loved ones. Stratford House is part of Wellspring London and Region, with any money raised for Wellspring Stratford staying in Stratford.

When Stacey started working for Wellspring Stratford, there was a small group of volunteers operating out of London, Ont. Now, there are more than 20 volunteers part of Wellspring Stratford, including some who have been there since the start.

"We're more like a family. It's a really strong group of people with huge hearts that make this organization happen and it extends out to the people that come in to take our services that become part of this family,” she said.

As Wellspring Stratford doesn’t receive any government, nor United Way funding, financial support from the community is vital.

"All of our fundraisers and our donors are what keeps our doors open for people in the community that need our services and those people that need our services are those that are navigating their cancer journey,” Stacey said.

The organization will host a casual drop-in event to commemorate the monumental celebration on Oct. 15 at the Army and Navy between 4-7 p.m. The event will feature speeches from Wellspring members, donors and volunteers, live music from Celtic folk duo Heron Bridge, and catering from Black Angus Bakery and Catering.

"I have to give a huge shoutout to the Black Angus because they have been an incredible supporter of our events where they do incredible catering jobs and they donate all of it for free,” Stacey said.

All are welcome to celebrate Wellspring Stratford’s 20th anniversary.

"This is open to people that have been members, donors, community support, but also maybe there's people in the community that don't really know what Wellspring's and this would be a great opportunity to just step in the door and meet members, meet our volunteers, and get a better understanding of the different programs that Wellspring offers to the community,” Stacey said.

More information about the organization can be found online by visiting https://wellspring.ca/london-region/locations/stratford.