The Massawippi Valley Health Foundation

The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation actively engaged in promoting the health and wellness of citizens in the Massawippi Valley and beyond and support the strengthening of Quebec’s healthcare system.

Our primary mission is to actively identify gaps in the healthcare system and raise funds to address them, reimagining access to community healthcare. A key priority is to facilitate access to primary and preventive care, closer to home. 
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About us

The Massawippi Valley Health Foundation (MVHF)

The Foundation serves to network and support a community of concerned citizens who are dedicated to improving the proximity, accessibility, and quality of health care for citizens in our region, thereby strengthening the Quebec healthcare system.

The Foundation currently supports a variety of health and wellness projects in and around the communities of Ayer’s Cliff and North Hatley and also runs programming aimed at supporting the independence and wellness of seniors in our area.

Our vision is to support the creation and operation of health and wellness clinics, services, and programming throughout the Massawippi Valley using a variety of models such as social enterprise and public/private partnering, offering services such as nursing care, medical assessments, testing, vaccinations, and minor emergency care.  

It is registered as a charitable organization with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec.

Charitable: 84263 7571 RR0001

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2014 ​

Founding date

$1,000,000

The Foundation has raised more than $1,000,000 to help improve the lives of thousands of residents of the communities of the Massawippi Valley.

IMPACT OF YOUR DONATIONS

Thank You

The Massawippi Valley Health Foundation (MVHF) acknowledges the invaluable support of its donors, volunteers and partners. You are essential in the pursuit of our mission.

A clinic for Ayer’s Cliff

For more than a decade, our Foundation actively supported a project to create and run a community-based clinic in Ayer’s Cliff.  The clinic opened in 2015 thanks to a campaign by MVHF that raised $400,000 for the renovation and equipping of a heritage building in Ayer’s Cliff. Over the years, MVHF has provided more than $1.3 million for the Ayer’s Cliff clinic’s establishment and operation, and is still supporting access to healthcare services for the citizens of Ayer’s Cliff and surrounding communities.

Donors and Supporters

Donations $1,000 and more – from 2014 to date

  • 9130-6647 Québec Inc.
  • Arthur et Diane LaPenna
  • Banque CIBC
  • Bertrand St-Laurent
  • Beverley & Leon Dyer
  • Carol & Mike Mooney
  • Catherine Milne
  • Chantal Touzin
  • Charles Larson
  • Claude Séguin
  • Claudia Wardman
  • Crook Touzin Family Sunset Fund
  • D’Arcy Ryan
  • Darliene Wood
  • David & Mary Monty
  • David & Susan Tunnell
  • Dian Cohen
  • Donald Bishop
  • Dorel Industries
  • Edwin Cohen
  • Elizabeth Ann Dolan
  • Fondation Bannerman
  • Fondation Carmand Normand
  • Fondation de la Famille Lemaire
  • Fondation Massawippi Foundation 
  • Fondation Robert Charest
  • Fonds régional de Tillotson Coaticook
  • Geoffrey & Jane Warren
  • Global Excel
  • Guy Jolicoeur
  • Heather Wynne & Ed Pomykala
  • Helena & Jim Brodie
  • Hon. Jean Charest
  • Jake & Jocelyne Knoppers
  • James Crook
  • Jean Claude Brais
  • Jean-Pierre Lefebvre
  • Jeffrey & Debra Stafford
  • Jeremy Stairs & Nancy Layron
  • Joanne & Robert Henderson
  • John Oldland
  • Judith & Philip Webster Foundation
  • Kelley Cosgrove
  • La Caisse Desjardins des Verts-Sommets de l’Estrie
  • La Caisse Desjardins du Lac-Memphrémagog
  • Lilian Safdie
  • Lucy Hensel
  • Marché Tradition Guy Patry
  • Mary & André Labbée
  • Mary Webster
  • Melanie Drew
  • Melodie Yates
  • Michael Crook
  • Michael Everett
  • Michael Ogilvie & Anne Watson
  • Michael Sudlow
  • Michel Laumaillier
  • Michel Rodrigue
  • Mike Bresee
  • Mobile Reve Que-Sud
  • Municipalité d’Ayers Cliff
  • Neil Riddell & Marie-Eve Bouffard
  • New Horizons (Federal Government)
  • N’Oubliez Charitable Foundation
  • Patterson & Norman Webster
  • Penelope S. Eakin
  • Peter Provencher
  • R. Howard Webster Foundation
  • Robert Charest
  • Robert Farnham
  • Rotary Club of the Boundary
  • Sarah Preston
  • Sonia Nepton
  • Stanley Holmes
  • Stephen & Barbara Allatt Foundation
  • Stephen & Katherine Stafford 
  • Stephen Allatt Stuart & Jill Cobbett
  • Susan Fitzpatrick
  • Susan McDougall
  • Susan Taylor Holmes
  • Suzanne & Raymond Nault
  • Tony Straessle
  • Vincent Cuddihy
  • William Robson & Lissa McRae
  • Wulftec 

Contribute monetarily each month and multiply the impact of your donation.

You determine the amount you wish to donate. This amount will be automatically deducted from your credit card.

You can modify, suspend or cancel your commitment at any time.

A tax receipt will be issued at the end of the year for the total amount of your monthly donations.

  • Barry Shineton
  • Therrien Couture Jolicoeur
  • Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, c.p. Compton-Stanstead
  • Hovey Manor
  • Les Marchés Tradition Patry & Fils Ayer’s Cliff
  • Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton (RCTG)
David Griffith

Innovative Support for the Well-Being of Our Seniors

Although primary care for health issues remains a key priority, our healthcare professionals’ philosophy is rooted in prevention and the well-being of our citizens, including their mental health. These ambitious projects reflect our commitment to addressing the pressing needs of our community while strengthening local healthcare infrastructure and continuing our support for seniors in the region, including the English-speaking community.

The Seniors Program helps older adults in our communities build connections and overcome isolation. Social engagement among seniors in the Massawippi Valley is essential to their well-being. The Foundation shares the community’s goal of keeping our seniors healthy, fulfilled, and aging in a place that suits them best. Through the dedication of coordinators located in Lennoxville, Ayer’s Cliff, Huntingville, Fitch Bay, Ogden, Coaticook, and Baldwin Mills, the Foundation provides moral support and resources during regular group meetings aimed at keeping rural and remote seniors informed and connected.

  • SOCIAL CAFÉ – Funded by a grant from the Tillotson Coaticook Region Fund, this initiative emphasizes the importance of regular socialization for seniors in our community. Once a month, participants gather to learn new concepts about healthy cooking, technology, medical access, play games, and engage in discussions. Another grant from the Tillotson Coaticook Region Fund allowed the purchase of videoconferencing equipment to host remote board meetings, webinars, and seminars on health-related topics.
  • CONNECTING SENIORS Project — Funded by grants from the Canada Community Foundation and the New Horizons for Seniors Program (55+), this project prioritizes isolated seniors living in their own homes. It has enabled participants to learn how to navigate the internet, use a tablet or laptop to stay in touch with friends and family, and participate in activities such as walks, lectures, workshops, exercise classes, and luncheons.

Either a one-time gift of cash or cheque and/or a one-time donation
or a monthly donation through DonorPerfect

Gifts of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and securities do not
incur the capital gains tax.

Simply instruct your broker to transfer your shares directly from your account to the Foundation’s account.

The Foundation sells the shares as soon as it receives them, and our broker makes an electronic transfer to the Foundation’s account.

We’ll send you a tax receipt for the fair market value on the date of transfer, and you’ll pay no capital gains tax.

Please note that this process can take up to four weeks.

Please download the form and send it to us at information@fsvm.ca

Leave your legacy with a planned gift – a donation that you arrange now to be realized in the future. Planned gifts include gifts in your will and gifts of life insurance. The legal name of the Foundation is Massawippi Valley Health Foundation or Fondation santé vallée Massawippi.

You can designate FSVM as a beneficiary or co-beneficiary on an existing life insurance policy, and your estate will receive a tax credit.

Some of our donors choose to donate to honour or in memory of a family member or someone special in their lives by making a commemorative gift.

When you make a gift in another person’s name, the honouree is notified and, for gifts of $20 or more, you receive a charitable tax receipt. All gifts of $20.00 or more are eligible for a tax receipt.

Investing in the region

5 ways to give

The Massawippi Valley Health Foundation (“MVHF”) provides community leadership by offering individuals, corporations and foundations the opportunity to invest in the betterment of healthcare in our region. Your donations in any form – from a one-time donation to a long-term commitment – are invested by directly supporting the Massawippi Valley region’s healthcare needs and benefiting the citizens of our communities.

For more information about any of the above Ways of Giving, please contact us.

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News

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Newsletter Archives

September 2024 December 2024 February 2025 April 2025 February 2026 June 2026

Our Team

Judy A. Hopps

Co-President

Judy brings 30 plus years in the field of philanthropy working with a variety of
non-profit organizations in nstitutional advancement, major gift fundraising, corporate communications and donor relations. Her specialty is volunteer management and fundraising strategy. Judy is retired and now lives full time just outside the City of Magog. She is currently President of Memphremagog Wetlands Foundations, Chair of the Fundraising and Communications Committee for the Lampe Foundation, President, Quebec Council of CFUW and Regional Vice President, Quebec, National Board, Canadian Federation of University Women.

Royal Orr

Co-President

Royal Orr is a strategic communications advisor and trainer with a career background in community organizing, journalism, and broadcasting. He is a consultant with Les Communications Royal Orr, an Affiliate Member of Faculty at McGill’s Ingram School of Nursing, and farms 150 acres in Hatley.

He was the volunteer President of Alliance Quebec in the late 1980’s, then became a radio personality with CJAD and CBC Radio in Montreal.

He went from journalism into communications and public relations as a vice president at Cossette Communications in Montreal and a Senior Member of Faculty with the Canada School of Public Service.

Chantal Touzin

Treasurer

Chantal Touzin is an Assurance Partner at the Sherbrooke office of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, a professional services firm dedicated to the success of organizations and their leaders. Chantal has over 25 years assurance and consulting experience with a predominantly English-speaking clientele in the Eastern Townships. Her extensive and diverse experience allows her to support her clients in their accounting and financial management challenges.

Michel Rodrigue

Director

After a 35 year career as a television broadcaster, producer and international distributor,playing a key role in driving the television Format industry to worldwide prominence, Michel started a new role at helming The Format People. During the past 10 years, his broad- ranging work has included substantial mandates with major broadcasters and production companies including Warner Bros, FOX Reality, Fremantle Media and Star China; executive- mentoring of leading figures in the TV business, and developing major infrastructure projects such as building Mongol TV from the ground-up into one the country’s leading broadcaster. Michel was honored with a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Mr. Jacques Toubon, from the government of France and is an active member of the international television community.

Marie-Eve Bouffard

Director

A native of the area, Marie-Eve, along with her husband and their six children, are deeply rooted in the community. She and her husband have owned a business in Sherbrooke for sixteen years. She was involved with Vision Santé Idéale, a charity supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds. She also served as vice president of the Vision School board in Sherbrooke for many years and continues to act as a consultant. Marie-Eve has always had the well-being of the community and healthcare at heart.

Philippe Lapointe

Director

A well-known and respected figure in the media industry, Philippe Lapointe has achieved remarkable success in fields as diverse as broadcasting, television production, news, and radio. 

He has notably led the newsrooms of Radio-Canada and TVA, and later oversaw all programming and production for the TVA network. He subsequently served as President of the independent production company Pixcom, and later as Senior Vice President for Multiplatform Operations at TC Media. Philippe Lapointe also created and managed AMI-télé, the world’s first French-language television channel for people with disabilities, including those who are blind or visually impaired. More recently, he headed 98.5 and the talk radio division at Cogeco Média. He currently leads Canal M, the radio of inclusion, which is part of Vues et Voix, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting people with disabilities. He also works as a consultant and public speaker. 

Philippe Lapointe has contributed to many of the major organizations that shape the Canadian and Quebec cultural industries. His understanding of industry issues is exceptional. In 2021, Philippe Lapointe published Aventures au pays des nouvelles télévisées, a narrative recounting major events that have shaped television news in Quebec. 

Dian Cohen

Founder

1932-2025

Tribute to Dian Cohen – Founder of Our Foundation

Today, we pay tribute to an extraordinary woman whose vision, determination, and unwavering commitment laid the foundation—quite literally—for the work we do today. Dian Cohen was not only the founder of our organization, but its heart and soul in its early years. Her leadership inspired a movement dedicated to improving health care access in our region, and her legacy continues to shape every step we take.Dian believed deeply in the power of community. With a keen understanding of both policy and people, she brought together voices, resources, and ideas with one goal in mind: ensuring that everyone, regardless of age or circumstance, could receive the care they need close to home.Her remarkable life as a journalist, economist, and advocate gave her a unique ability to see both the big picture and the human stories within it. She used that gift to push for concrete solutions—never content with words alone when action was possible.We are grateful every day for the path Dian charted. Her vision lives on in the clinics we support, the partnerships we build, and the lives we touch. Though she is no longer with us, her spirit continues to guide and inspire us.

Thank you, Dian. Your legacy is not just remembered—it is lived.

Ambassador’s Council

Ambassadors of the Massawippi Valley Health Foundation are an advisory body formed to assist
the President and Executive Directors of the MVHF Board with relationship building to better
connect the communities in the Massawippi Valley with the mission and programs of the
Foundation.

Testimonials

  • Before the clinic opened, I had to go to the emergency ward at Magog Hospital once a month as I have no
    family doctor. Since the clinic opened, I can now see the nurses, the physiotherapist when needed. The nurses
    will fit me in to see the doctor when necessary.
    From a North Hatley resident
  • I can’t find the words to describe how I feel about the clinic: it’s bilingual! The fees are extraordinarily low! I love Nurse Ines and all the staff!
    Monica Perdriel
  • I am always well satisfied with the clinic. All the medical and non-medical staff are prompt and polite. I don’t have to travel long distances. Winter travel isn’t necessary. They offer follow-ups. I like that I don’t have to go to Magog for a blood test.
    Norma Ellis

Contact us

Please leave us your name and contact information, as well as your message, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!

P.O. Box 2658, North Hatley, QC J0B 2C0

(819) 821-3013

information@fsvm.ca

Contact Form anglo