Anyone who’s ridden in the annual Barrie to Baycrest (B2B) charitable bike ride to the Maple Downs Golf and Country Club rest stop – the last one before the home stretch – knows the beauty of its grounds, the courteous staff and the towering, genial presence of the club’s general manager, Paul Doucet. And if you’ve never been to Maple Downs, you’re missing out. (In fact, why not remedy that and consider registering for the B2B Ride this year?)
Funds raised from B2B go to support the work of Baycrest’s therapeutic and recreational fitness programs. And Maple Downs, founding sponsor of the B2B since 1996, will host riders for the 19th time on Sept. 7, 2014.
Read also: An interview with Warren Kimel, B2B rider & 2014 Committee Chair
But beyond the serene environment and great course at Maple Downs, it has become a key partner of the B2B in a more important sense: it is the host of the annual Baycrest Apotex Outing. It is, quite simply, one of the most anticipated annual events to some 150 Baycrest residents, staff, family members and volunteers who make the trip up north and give praise yearly to Doucet and his crew.
Special thanks also extend out from Baycrest to Maple Downs members for their perennial friendship and ardent support of this event. Over the years, residents and care teams have both remarked on the graciousness of members, who go out of their way to make the Apotex crew feel welcome and at home while on the grounds of their club.
“Members also hand out a flower to each resident as a thank you for coming. This is a lovely gesture from Maple Downs that makes our residents feel extra special,” note Baycrest Apotex Recreationists Jenypher Ashby and Jessica Baker, who will accompany the residents again this year on their outing.
Each year, plans are made by caring staff at the Apotex to assemble a fleet of modified buses, draw up safety plans and itineraries, and transport residents to Maple Downs in August for a special visit and lunch, complete with entertainment. Singing and dancing ensue, with Maple Downs staff competing to serve, chat and even dance with their favourite Baycrest visitors. Oh, and some staff even volunteer their hours to work that day.
It’s a critically important outing for the residents. Some of whom have the day etched in their memory like clockwork, despite suffering from various dementias and remembering little else.
“The Maple Downs outing provides our residents with the ability to leave the boundaries of Baycrest and enter a beautiful setting familiar to them, where they get to interact with their families, friends, and community members,” say Ashby and Baker. “Similar to how you may go out for the afternoon to the golf course or garden areas to socialize with your own friends, our Apotex residents are given an opportunity to leave their day-to-day routines and experience a day full of sunshine, good food and even better company. This is something not many residents can do on a regular basis.
“As a therapeutic recreation department, we view each resident as a whole person and not as a diagnosis. This outing gives our residents an outlet to express themselves, as well as interact with the community in a way customary to their past socializing. Residents have expressed they feel they are being treated like royalty at Maple Downs. This, combined with the way they light up as soon as they get off the bus, really makes the months of hard work and planning thoroughly worth it. Due to the positive feelings and emotions this outing evokes, every year our residents express sincere and immense anticipation of attending.”
As for Doucet, the outing is also one of the most heavily anticipated for his staff. In fact, it’s become such a draw that he has employees vying weeks in advance for shifts that day.
“A lot of clubs say they’re family oriented,” says Doucet. “But Maple Downs has a family first philosophy. When I took over as general manager in 2009, Baycrest was one of the first names I heard around here. Maple Downs staff derive tremendous, personal satisfaction from spending time with the residents when they visit.”
Doucet recalls one instance when two residents got off the bus in wheelchairs, and asked Maple Downs staff to help them race each other up the paths through the club’s outdoor patio. “It was amazing. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. I just hope to have the opportunity to feel that good when I’m that age.
“It’s a galvanizing event around here and anything we can do as a group to help the residents, we will. You can’t help but feel good on Baycrest Apotex Day.”