Casinos and kids may seem like an unusual alliance, but Gateway Casinos & Entertainment has shown its commitment to young people in the community with a generous donation to the Children’s Health Foundation.
On Friday, representatives from several of Gateway Casinos’ southwestern Ontario locations joined staff at the London Children’s Hospital to announce a donation of $30,000, which will support the expansion of creative art-based therapies in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care Program (CAMHCP). This department provides mental health services for people up to 17-years-old, as well as their families.
The $30,000 contribution came through GatewayGIVES, the company’s corporate giving program.
“This gift has been a long time in the making… [the COVID-19 pandemic] severely impacted our business at Gateway and it impacted our ability to give back to the communities that we operate in,” said Damien de Roux, director of operations at Gateway Casinos. “But now, at last, we are able to do that again, and it feels really great. Speaking on behalf of all of Gateway’s employees, this is a really proud day for us.”
Art and music therapists from the Children’s Hospital were there to highlight the benefits of using creative approaches in mental health treatments. They shared that using creative outlets as a coping strategy or a means of self-expression can be transformative for young people, creating an environment where patients feel safe, relaxed, heard, and understood.
Hospital staff also spoke to the increased need for services and growing severity of children’s mental health challenges over the last few years. Young people struggled throughout the pandemic, and the effects have proven to be long-lasting.
“I don’t think we can overstate the important impact that these programs have with our kids. They wouldn’t exist without support from our community. I think that’s why we’re so incredibly appreciative of Gateway’s support, it really does make a difference,” said Scott Fortnum, president and CEO of Children’s Health Foundation.
Gateway’s sizable donation was made in celebration of the company’s 30th anniversary. The milestone aligns with the Children’s Health Foundation’s 100th year of service. The funding is something worth celebrating for them, as well.
Some 1,500 children and adolescents receive mental health treatment through CAMHCP each year, totaling 13,500 visits to the Children’s Hospital.
Rob Mitchell, Gateway’s director of communications & public affairs, explained that his company is proud to support one of Ontario’s largest hospitals – and one that is so important in the seven nearby communities that they serve. “It’s all about the hospital and the work that they do. That’s why we’re here today,” he said.
