Caregivers’ Week 2009 – A Success

Initiated by the Professionals Networking for Caregivers (PNC) in 2003 and officialised by the Quebec government in 2007, Caregivers’ Week aims to: celebrate and honour caregivers, further public awareness about caregiving issues, promote social, individual and government action, and offer a diversity of special activities for caregivers throughout the first week of November.

Caregivers’ Week 2009 was defined by 2 main areas of activity:

The PNC joined a Quebec-wide social marketing campaign, Not Superheroes (www.notsuperheroes.com), which was launched by Care-ring Voice. This campaign aimed to sensitize the public at large to the realities of caregivers, and was transmitted through viral media, articles, posters, internet, and concrete materials. The PNC participated in the campaign as the leaders of Caregivers’ Week in Quebec, and helped disseminate the materials and promote the campaign. The PNC helped organize a launching event, a free public rally held at Place Ville Marie on November 3, 2009. The rally attracted approximately 500 people, and speakers included Minister Marguerite Blais.
The PNC provided funding to its members to help them develop local Caregivers’ Week activities. In total, 11 projects received funding, and many more organizations held activities even without specific funding. Approximately 18 organizations throughout the Montreal region held activities during Caregivers’ Week, reaching over 3000 caregivers.

Thank you to all those who were involved in the planning of this year’s Caregivers’ Week activities!