Brian Adams, a retired psychologist from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH), donated $15,000 to the Orillia Youth Centre with the help of the Community Foundation of Orillia and Area, making it the largest private donation in the centre’s history.
The Vancouver native moved to Orillia in 1977 to help set up the community mental health program at OSMH.
When Adams retired it was important for him to keep involved in community projects and foundations. Over the years he has made significant donations to the Couchiching Conservancy, the Building Hope campaign, and the St. Paul Centre.
After spending many years supporting a number of initiatives of the youth centre, Adams decided to go all-in on making a large donation this year.
“I kind of target one recipient to receive a more substantial donation which I am able to arrange through the transfer of shares with an investment portfolio, and this year I had determined that the Orillia Youth Centre would benefit from this,” he explained.
Adams says his history of working in the mental health program at OSMH dovetails with the work of the youth centre, which he appreciates.
“I fundamentally believe in the philosophy and the practice of the youth centre,” he said.
“I know that if we can provide the right kinds of supports to our young people, it bodes well for the community in the long run.”
Adams decided the youth centre was the best recipient for his donation because of the mental health challenges that a lot of youth have been facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orillia Youth Centre director, Kevin Gangloff, says he was taken aback by Adams’ unexpected donation.
“When I was ... told that Brian wanted to make a donation and the amount was indicated in the email, my first reaction was to email back and ask is this accurate?” he said.
“We’ve been very fortunate to receive tremendous support over the years, but this is the largest private donation we’ve received since I’ve been here. I was flabbergasted.”
While Gangloff is surprised to receive such a large donation, he is not surprised to see who it’s coming from.
“Knowing Brian, knowing who he is, and how he’s supported us over the years, it’s not surprising to come from him. He’s an amazing individual,” he said.
“He’s the kind of guy where if a client or a youth needed help at 12 o’clock, he would be there at 12:05 to support.”
Gangloff says 100 per cent of Adams' donation will go back into youth programming and opportunities.
“Knowing Brian’s affinity for supporting young people, we are looking at some of the opportunities around mental health and creative programming,” Gangloff said.
“It’s great to have a little bit of a pocket of money to support youth in ways we are not envisioning at this point right now. It creates a little bit of a cushion to make some new programming and create some new opportunities."
