The T2B Action Committee is the heart of T2B. This closed committee is made up of a group of core members who have been a part of the charity since its inception. The members meet every few weeks throughout the year to discuss and plan upcoming events for T2B. This group goes above and beyond for our charity and acts as our front line for T2B signature events.
100% of the donations we receive are used right here at home.
If you have any questions regarding T2B, your involvement or ways to get involved, we invite you to contact the T2B office at your convenience.
Transition to Betterness is located at:
3200 Deziel Drive, Unit 307
Windsor, Ontario N8W 5K8
Email: [email protected]
Office: 519-944-5143
Fax: 519-944-2590
Transition to Betterness (T2B) is dedicated to providing comfort to patients and families impacted by a life-altering illness.
Top row (left to right) Dan Palazzolo, Kelly Gosselin (past), Amber Hunter, Tania Sorge, Gary Klein, Dr. Tim Guthrie
Bottom row (left to right) Renee Laforet, Fo Abiad, Gloria Cavenago, Doris Lapico
Missing: Jennifer Shilson
Top row (left to right) Nicoleta Burlea, Zishan Ali, Linda Santos
Bottom row (left to right) Sandra Presland, Amber Hunter, Kasey Martins
Our programs are there to provide tangible items so patients and their families feel more at home. People impacted include, but are not limited to, paediatric patients, oncology patients, palliative care patients, families of patients facing a life-altering illness or chronic disease and hospital staff. Our programs are a critical part of a patient and their family’s journey. Each program has been implemented as a direct response to the community’s needs and each is geared towards making patients feel as if they are in the comforts of their own home.
The Comfort Cart is focused on providing patients and visitors with comfort the best way we know how…COMFORT FOOD.
The Connecting for Comfort Program provides patients and hospital staff access to all the available technology iPads provide.
Offers a complimentary meal for families in the palliative unit on holidays throughout the year in hopes of keeping family traditions alive.
Comfort Blankets are warm fleece blankets for the patients at the hospital.
Provides snacks, water, coffee and tea for families with loved ones in palliative situations.
Provides 3 monthly passes to patients families in the T2B Palliative Care Unit.
Adult Music and Medicine Programs provides soothing music therapy sessions.
The Concierge Program provides patients and visitors with emotional support and everyday essentials during their hospital stay.
The Tote Program helps engage and comfort patients during chemotherapy.
The Stephanie & Barry Zekelman Wing has been refurbished to include a family kitchen, family lounge, reception, nurse’s station, and spacious hallways.
The Hair to Share program sends donated hair to A Child's Voice Foundation where it's made into a wig for a child.
One of the main visions of T2B is creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for the patients and families through our first program, room refurbishments.
The Stephanie & Barry Zekelman Wing has been refurbished to include a family kitchen, family lounge, reception, nurse’s station, and spacious hallways.
This incredible two-phase Capital Campaign is located at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare on Prince Road. Check back occasionally for updates on the project.
Complimentary TV services allow patients and visitors to keep busy while staying at the hospital.
The Slushie Machine is located in the paediatric kitchenette so that children and their families can have something refreshing after surgery or treatment.
The room offers snacks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the families and patients of this unit.
Provides paediatric oncology patients with a backpack filled with toys to take with them to treatments.
Handmade colourful youth-size blankets for the paediatric patients at the hospital.
The Art Cart allows paediatric patients to partake in art therapy from their bedside.
Trained black belt martial artists teach breathing, visualization, and relaxation techniques, in addition to traditional martial arts.
This program promotes education in dealing with treatment and new events, such as hair loss for example.
TT2B was excited to partake in Canada's first Ronald McDonald House Within a Hospital right here in Windsor!
Art & Music Therapy gives children a voice to connect with a therapist and share their anxieties, feelings and thoughts.
Shellie Polewski and her husband Ed were always avid supporters of the Transition to Betterness (T2B) organization. They attended annual fundraisers with their children and families and donated because they saw the difference their donations made when Ed’s mother was in a T2B room. These donations don’t just float around – they directly impact the community.
Suddenly, at a young age, Ed was stricken with cancer and needed constant in-hospital care. Being in the T2B room at Metropolitan Hospital allowed Ed to have more of a home environment while granting him privacy and dignity during his illness. Shellie says that the T2B programs are fundamentally founded on kindness and love. They allowed the Polewski's to spend time as a family and say goodbye to Ed in a private and beautiful sort of way.
While Mason Macri’s cancer treatments took him to hospitals across North America, his parents Chantelle Bacon and Iain Macri credit T2B with helping make his local hospital stays positive and comfortable. “He always looked forward to having a slushie and he loved the craft supply cart,” says Chantelle of her son, who lost his life to Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2016 at the age of four. “
“We really wanted to thank T2B for everything they’ve done and for being such an inspiration for us as a charity,” says Chantelle. “They have been absolutely incredible throughout our journey and we’re so lucky to have partners like them in our community.”
After losing both his parents to cancer within seven months, Paul Germanese credits T2B with giving his family comfort and consistency during their many hospital visits. For Germanese, it was all the little things that made a big difference throughout such a difficult time.
Those things can really lift a person up: the parking passes, snacks, being able to watch a Tigers game with my dad, or just sitting in comfort with my mother,” explains Germanese. “T2B’s family liaison offered familiarity every time we were there. Our one constant was that we knew we were going to be taken care of.”
Aliya began treatments when she was four and stretched over three years. As scary as the experience was for parents Jasmine and Greg, they had to make normal of a very abnormal situation. This is where Transition to Betterness (T2B)’s paediatric programs made the difference.
Although Aliya needed chemotherapy and transfusions in order to survive, T2B also recognized that a child needs more than treatments to make up their life. Since Aliya couldn’t go into the hospital’s playroom, the T2B staff would bring her brand-new sterile toys, slushies and snacks, and her favourite thing of all: the art cart.
When Bonnie was diagnosed with cancer, Tasha thought they had 10 months together, but she took a turn after the first week.
Even one T2B program made all the difference for Tasha and her family. When Bonnie passed, Tasha dedicated a soccer tournament to her mom and made sure the money was donated to T2B.
“T2B made such a big impact on those last days and final hours for my mom,” Tasha says. “She would be so thrilled about the partnership.”
As Jonathan Allison’s grandfather was battling cancer in 2016, Jonathan, his wife Amy, and their large extended family rushed to gather by his bedside.
AFortunately, they learned of a T2B Family Room located on the same floor their grandfather was staying. Having use of the room allowed them to remain comfortably close by over the course of his two weeks in the palliative unit at Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare.
“We took great comfort in being able to use that space,” says Amy. “There was a kitchen, a Comfort Cart and it was beautifully decorated. It was a calming room for us to be together and support one another.”
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“I have been a supporter of T2B right from the beginning when hospital rooms were dreary and there was no such thing as 'comfort stations'. Back then and even more now, as we fear the ever-growing affects of cancer, by giving back I have always hoped that it made the patient's recovery or days that much better.”
"Transition to Betterness has opened our eyes, provided us with a different perspective on things & even made us cry with how amazing they truly are! Knowing that our hard work was able to raise $650 leaves us speechless, but at the end of the day it’s not really about the monetary amount that’s given, it’s about the help that you provided, even something simple as a hug can change someone’s life.
Planning our event was extremely stressful but also equally as rewarding. To everyone who helped, donated, or even spread the word of our event we thank you so much, it wouldn’t of have been a success without you.”
"Giving back to T2B has become not only one of my favorite things to experience but has become my personal duty after what they have provided for me and my family during a time of need. I give back to those who are currently going through a tough time with a loved one. I give back to those who unfortunately will go through a tough time with a loved one. I give back so our community can be taken care of when they need taken care of!"
“T2B is a Local grass roots organization in our community. Their programs have an immediate impact on those in need, and the comfort they provide, is felt by every family in our region”
“I want to make kids happy when they are sad and sick."
“Seeing a young child suffer from an illness is heart-wrenching. With the Back the Pack Program, we provide children with items tailored to their interests and age. We hope that this program brings a little more joy to every child while they undergo their brave journey toward recovery.”