BGIS WEST - Sorrentino’s Compassion House Christmas Party Raffle

Article published on behalf of Lisa Walker, BGIS

BGIS is a company that believes in giving back to the community. Our Western team have chosen Sorrentino’s Compassion House charity, as our Christmas Raffle recipient. 

Sadly, many people have never heard of Sorrentino’s Compassion House. This organization provides safe, comfortable and affordable accommodations for women undergoing cancer treatments. Their mission is to support women who must leave their homes for cancer care.

The Compassion House Foundation was established in 1998. The six-guest suite home was built in 2002 and intended to support Northern Albertan women with breast cancer during treatment and the early stages of recovery. The house has since been reconstructed and its capacity increased to 14 suites. Since opening, hundreds of women from more than 250 communities have been able to use the Compassion House as a safe haven, which now hosts women with all forms of cancer.

Many women who travel here, are away from their communities for an extended period of time. Not only are these women fighting cancer, but they are away from their family, friends, and home. Compassion House is a safe space that allows these strong women to feel connection and comfort, in a time where most people wouldn’t be able to.

At the BGIS Christmas party, the Edmonton office raised $578. We contacted the Compassion House and let them know BGIS wished to donate this money to their organization again for the 2019 year. 

Compassion House responded by inviting Kent Rochon and I for a tour and a more in-depth history of what the Compassion House has been through, their growth, and where they see their future. In our tour, we learned that this organization holds multiple events such as the Fashion for Compassion which is hosted by Syncrude and is designed to rejuvenate the spirit of women who need to stay at Compassion House.

Walking down the halls of what used to be the original house, the new Compassion House pays tribute to their beginnings. They show where they started, old drawings of the building layout, and themes and years of fashion for compassion. 

I feel the photo below perfectly sums the expression, “If a picture can speak a thousand words”. The picture shows a map full of pins and each pin is the number of women who have stayed at the Compassion House for their first time. As the map shows, an amazing number of women have come not only from Alberta, but from all over Canada.

In the end, it is organizations like Sorrentino’s Compassion House that deserve to be recognized. Most people will know someone directly or indirectly affected by cancer. I myself, became passionate about this cause after having a best friend at the young age of 28 need to stay at Compassion House during her cancer treatments.

Sorrentino’s ceaselessly works to continue to grow the Compassion House and help women and their families across Canada. It is donations like ours that can help. I am proud to be a part of BGIS, a company that is willing to make a difference. 

                                                                                                    -Lisa Walker, BGIS