Board of Directors

The Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation is a dedicated team of enthusiastic volunteers and staff who are passionately committed to improving health care and the quality of life in our communities.

Shared Purpose

To inspire generous giving to enable exceptional patient care at Northumberland Hills Hospital.

Our Values

Compassion  *  Accountability  *  Integrity  *  Respect  *  Dedication  *  Diversity & Inclusion

We do this by:

• Building and managing a comprehensive fund development program designed to secure more gift revenue, more cost effectively each fiscal year
• Identifying, attracting and retaining more donors through effective cultivation and stewardship
• Building NHH healthcare service capabilities by engaging in strategic and imaginative grant-making
• Spreading our messages in thoughtful and inspiring ways to both external and internal stakeholders by all means possible, through collaborative communications and marketing efforts
• Attracting committed volunteers, practicing effective governance and demonstrating accountability in all of our activities

Message from Wendy Ito, NHH Foundation Board Chair

The Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) Foundation has long represented and supported NHH – even before our hospital opened in 2003. The staff, Board, and volunteers of the Foundation have dedicated many hours tirelessly raising funds to keep our hospital thriving and current to ensure the team can best care for our community, raising more than $70 million since 2002.

Though the Provincial Government does provide funding to Ontario hospitals to cover operational costs, and in recent years has been very supportive of medium-sized hospitals like NHH, it typically does not provide direct funding for ongoing hospital equipment and capital needs. This is where NHH Foundation steps in.

The Board of Directors along with the incredible staff and volunteers work to raise much needed funds to keep our hospital efficient and current. With the constant change in technology and the constant need for repair and replacement of medical equipment, the Foundation plays an imperative role in raising the funds to help our hospital maintain the excellent reputation it holds within our growing community.

Together with community donors, local businesses, and supporters, we have helped achieve incredible things: helping to fund the initial build of our state-of-the-art facility, funding brand new equipment and equipment replacement to keep modern healthcare in our community, supporting renovations to expand services, and more. The need to keep our hospital not just running, but well-equipped is the fundamental component of keeping quality healthcare close to home and to providing our physicians, nurses, clinicians, and staff teams with the necessary equipment to best care for us, our families, friends, and neighbours.

Looking ahead, we have set some lofty goals. We will be undertaking the largest campaign in our history, the Exceptional Community, Exceptional Care campaign to ensure we can fund NHH’s upcoming capital needs to keep our hospital the thriving establishment it is. With the dedication of our staff, board and volunteers I am confident together, we can ensure our community continues to have access to the high level of care it deserves. I am proud to serve as Board Chair as we plan for this exciting future ahead and look forward to working alongside our Campaign Chair, Hank Vandermeer, to ensure success.

NHH Foundation has an incredible relationship with our community. This is displayed time and time again, through the support our community offers during our many fundraising events, with major gifts and bequests left to our hospital, in contributions by local businesses, and more.  Our hospital is strong, the NHH team is strong, our Foundation is strong, and our volunteers are strong. There is nothing more apparent to me than how much our community supports and contributes to this strength whole-heartedly. 

Together, we have the ability to help NHH grow stronger – to be a hospital that is well-equipped and well-prepared to face our future and prioritize our community’s health and well-being with exceptional care, close to home

Board Members

Wendy Ito

Chair

Wendy and her family, including her husband Mark and their two daughters, have resided in Cobourg all their lives. A graduate from CDCI East, Trent University, and Sir Sandford Fleming, Wendy has a Bachelor of Arts Degree, her Early Childhood Education... read more

Meet the Board

Staff Team

Rhonda Cunningham

Chief Executive Officer

Rhonda joined the Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation as a member of a small staff team in September 1995 and was appointed as the Executive Director in 1997. To date (2021), she has helped raise over $64 million in support of Northumberland Hills... read more

Meet the Staff

Youth Cares Committee

The Youth Cares Committee is a group of energetic young students, representing Port Hope High School, Cobourg Collegiate Institute, St. Mary Secondary and Trinity College School. These students are busy planning events to raise funds for the purchase of new medical equipment for our community hospital.... read more

Join the Committee

Caring for Generations Society

Stepping inside the Northumberland Hills Hospital, it doesn't take long for patients and visitors to discover the wide array of state-of-the-art equipment that is available to our local communities. From an MRI, to a CT scanner to trauma stretchers and more, new technology offers exciting new possibilities... read more

Meet the Committee