On February 25, 2025, the Chairman addressed the PALS Annual General Meeting.
Chairman’s Report
This year we celebrate P.A.L.S. 45th anniversary! We have much to celebrate. P.A.L.S. is delivering on its mission of providing cancer patients (and their families) with quality care, support and assistance. We do this with love, compassion and empathy. Our dedicated clinical team meets people “where they are” in their cancer journey, assists and guides them. And we do all this against a backdrop of increased demand for our services; more complex cases, a younger patient population and increased financial burden on our patients.
There are many people that the board would like to thank. First our clinical team. Thank you to our long-serving nurses Kathy Fox, Merlyn Burgess, and three nurses that joined P.A.L.S. in 2024: Roseanne Key (a previous P.A.L.S. nurse) who joined us from Agape House; Charmaine Ross-Burgess, also from Agape House; and Judith Saltus who is another returning P.A.L.S. nurse. Thank you to our Nurse Manager Julie Harrington; Medical Director Dr. Sharon Alikhani; and Medical Social Worker, Shaimeka Ingham—who assist patients in addressing the significant financial burden that often accompanies a cancer diagnosis.
Under Colleen’s leadership and with the support and assistance of our Treasurer John Hill, Receptionist/Marketing Coordinator Lacey Rance; Darlene Phillips, Chair of the Fundraising Committee and many others, P.A.L.S is keeping to its mission while being fiscally responsible. I’m pleased to report that we continue to show improvement in our financial results. For the 2024 fiscal year we saw a 14% increase in revenues including a 16% increase in donations and an 8.5% increase in fundraising—which includes the P.A.L.S. Thrift Shop, golf tournament, P.A.L.S. Walk, Annual Fair and raffles. Together these increases, along with investment gains, resulted in a $160,000 increase in Accumulated Funds.
I mention this because while our 45th anniversary is a very important milestone, one that should be celebrated, it is equally important to the board that P.A.L.S. is capable of carrying out its mission for as long as there is a need in our community. Thank you, Colleen English DeGrilla. If our clinical team is the face of P.A.L.S., Colleen is certainly the voice of P.A.L.S. with her weekly radio spots. A big thank you to our many volunteers, some 200. Those that work in the Thrift Shop, drive patients, assist with events, act as P.A.L.S. memorial secretary, and provide grief support.
Fourteen directors will stand for election this evening. The group includes Sam Stevens, who was appointed to the board in April 2025 and Colm Homan who was appointed to the board earlier this year. Many of you will be familiar with Colm, his family and the tragic loss of his son Eoghan, to cancer.
Thank you to Terri Durrant who has served on the board since 2019. Terri is not standing for re-election because she has taken up the role of manager of the thrift shop. In the last fiscal year, the shop generated $275,000 in revenue and $220,000 in net profit, making it an import source of revenue. We are very happy to have Terri overseeing the shop.
Lastly, thank you to my fellow board members.
William Wharton, Chairman