St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation is pleased to congratulate Salah Bachir who has been honoured as one of a select few individuals to receive the June Callwood Outstanding Volunteer Award by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. This annual award for voluntarism recognizes contributions to communities and to the province.
We nominated him for this award because of this tremendous impact at St. Joe’s. Salah leads by example and his impact is felt across our Health Centre. His inspiration to help patients at St. Joe’s comes from his time as a patient himself. He was an integral leader on our $100 million Promise Campaign Cabinet and Salah has donated and raised the funds needed to build a new dialysis center in St. Joe’s and update our community renal centre on Islington. Both centres are named in honour of him and his husband Jacob Yerex. For almost a decade Salah has also hosted The Salah Bachir Show gala, bringing together well-known entertainers and guests to support St. Joe’s greatest needs.
Salah Bachir is a long time and transformative volunteer and tremendous philanthropist who dedicates himself to improving patients’ experiences and making our west-end community hospital a better place.
His love for St. Joe’s, our healthcare teams and this community has inspired him to become the Honourary Patron of our Promise Festival of Lights. He has donated thousands of lights and decorations to make sure St. Joe’s shines bright every holiday season to lift the spirits of those in the hospital and the broader community.
“This past year, Salah stepped up again after seeing the devastating toll that the pandemic has had on the mental health of our healthcare teams,” says Maria Dyck, President and CEO, St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation. “He sprang into action to ensure that staff felt appreciated and acknowledged.”
Salah spearheaded the Breakfast for Champions initiative which provided over 10,000 breakfasts to physicians, nurses and staff.
“We are thrilled that Salah’s volunteerism is being recognized, he’s such a shining example of the impact a committed and passionate volunteer can have,” says Maria Dyck. “Salah was a friend of June Callwood so the award has special meaning. He has made a difference at St. Joe’s and at so many other organizations across the city and country. The world is a better place because of Salah and it’s wonderful that his incredible support for so many organizations is being recognized.”