URSA provides critical 24-hour support for children, adults and seniors with developmental disabilities and brain injuries. We support individuals, most of whom are medically fragile, to live a normal, everyday life in the community. We have 275 staff, working at 23 different locations across the City of Calgary, providing care to more than 200 individuals. Our services include a home for medically complex children, aging-in-place homes for Seniors and a home for at-risk Indigenous people.
Due to the Covid-19 crisis, we have had to cancel two main revenue-generating opportunities that provide vital support to our agency operations. Our signature Brain-Art program, highlighting art from our brain injury survivors, has had to be cancelled due to the social distancing guidelines. The URSA Retreat Centre also has had to close its operations for the same reasons. In addition to the reduction of revenue from these two activities, we are also experiencing higher operational costs due to the need to provide all our staff with PPE, to learn how to adapt our operations to facilitate remote working and continue to look to the needs that were crucial for our organization before the pandemic.
Your support to help us continue to provide the exceptional care to the individuals we serve is critical over the coming months.
Our areas of greatest need are:
Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic
Our top priority is for increased funding to help us offset the purchases we have had to make for the extensive PPE required for the daily care for our individuals and to keep everyone in our homes safe. Funding in this area will also allow us to provide increased materials and supplies to the programs so they can be creative in the activities they do with the individuals while we keep them safe in our homes.
Goal: $100,000
Enhanced Technology Needs
As other charitable organizations, we do not have the technology infrastructure in place to be able to best support our individuals to stay connected with their families and the community. Funding in this area will go to purchasing of iPads, computers and the software required to ensure that our individuals and teams stay entertained and connected during this period when there are no visitors allowed in the homes.
Goal: $75,000
On-going operational needs
With the extra costs required to meet the current needs through this pandemic, most of our fundraising dollars have already been re-allocated. This means we will be unable to meet the urgent needs this year for programs, such as replacing two vehicles in our fleet. Our fully accessible vehicles are imperative to facilitate the practical needs of our individuals, such as travelling to doctors’ appointments and transportation to activities that support quality of life and facilitate community integration opportunities. Funding in this area will also allow us to continue to keep the lights on at our Retreat Centre, an important therapeutic environment that is used for individuals with disabilities not only at URSA, but also with other partner organizations in our community.
Goal: $250,000
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS GIFT.
If you are unable to complete this online form, please call 403-272-7722 to pay with Visa/MC or mail a cheque with a donation form to 808 Manning Road NE, Calgary, AB, T2E 7N8.
