Program

Through Gilda Radner's legacy of humour, Gilda's Clubs everywhere offer a warm and friendly environment and a selection of activities that together provide a comprehensive program of emotional and social support to its members. Gilda's Club Barrie Ontario (GCBO) will be a non-residential, home-like setting where children, teens/young adults, men, and women can gather to share time, feelings and laughter.

The life-enriching program is individually designed for each member according to their needs and wishes in a single community setting, and will include opportunities for support group meetings, networking, lectures & workshops and social activities for all ages. New Member Meetings and The Customized Membership Plan enable individuals to identify their specific needs, mobilize resources and learn to feel in control of their lives.

All Gilda's Clubs conduct a multi-faceted program that includes the following:

Support and Networking Groups

Support and networking groups include Weekly Wellness Groups for those living with cancer, Family Groups for family members and friends, and monthly Networking Groups that focus on a particular kind of cancer or topic of common interest.

Lectures and Workshops

These activities provide opportunities for acquiring new skills, tools, information and techniques to learn how to live with cancer. Typical lecture topics include stress reduction, nutrition, talking to your children about cancer, and managing pain. Major workshop areas include art, meditation, exercise and yoga, and cooking.

Social Activities

Among the most popular offerings at Gilda's Clubs, social activities vary from potluck suppers with music and karaoke nights, to joke fests and comedy nights, to major celebrations around special holidays. Members and families who gather for fun create bonds that enhance other individual and group experiences.

Team Convene™

Facilitated by a staff member, these two-hour sessions are requested by a person with cancer or a family member to create an active support network at the time of diagnosis and for any challenging situation that may follow (e.g., a hospital stay or home recuperation). Sessions include all significant friends and family members, who join together to provide support for transportation, food preparation, childcare, etc.

Family Focus™

The Family Focus meeting, which includes all individuals whom a member defines as family, is designed to enlist the entire family as a resource and help them learn together how to live with cancer. Facilitated by a staff member, the meeting also seeks to identify and discuss family beliefs about cancer, critical family issues, and immediate practical problems as well as solutions.

Noogieland™

Noogieland is a part of the Gilda's Club program designated for children and families living with cancer. Each clubhouse has a special area where children meet. Most Gilda's Clubs also have several kinds of activities for teens.

ph&d for Cancer Survivors

The goal of ph&d, a word play on PhD, is to address the often-neglected social and emotional needs of cancer survivors, and their families and friends. This well-defined program of education and support activities specifically assists cancer survivors in achieving perspective, integrating and gaining information about their life post-treatment. Unique and innovative, this program also provides social and emotional support for those whose loved ones have died of cancer.