PFC HISTORY – CELEBRATING OVER 25 YEARS
The Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada (PFC) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2007. It began in 1982 with a committed group of physiotherapists who strongly believed in the power and importance of research. Led by Malcolm Peat, who became the Foundation’s first volunteer President, along with inaugural Board members Gaye Syndenham and Nancy Christie, the Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada was born.
Before grants could be awarded, incoming funding was required. PFC’s first funding was the result of a Founding Member campaign which saw many members supporting the cause with $1,000 donations. In 1983, PFC launched its first awards program with a total of $13,300 being presented to physiotherapists who have continued to make a significant contribution to research within the profession such as Denis Gravel, Jayne Garland, Joan Loomis, Carol Miles-Tapping, and Tony Szturm.
But it was a generous bequest of close to $500,000 in 1986 from Ann Collins Whitmore, a blind physiotherapist, which enabled the Foundation to eventually reach its $1 million fundraising goal. Since its inaugural days, PFC has gone on to award nearly $1 million in grants and scholarships in support of physiotherapy research. In subsequent years, respected physiotherapy researchers such Mindy Levin, Anouk Lamontagne, Marilyn Mackay-Lyons, Ann Fenety, Carolyn Emery, Sandra Curwin, and Elsie Culham, to name a few, have all contributed to the advancement of the physiotherapy profession through research projects funded by PFC.
There’s no question that research leads the way for evidence-based practice. It’s the only route to discovering new and more effective ways of treatment which leads ultimately to better client care and improved mobility.
Despite our success, many deserving applications go unfunded by PFC. It is the Foundation’s goal to increase its fundraising efforts so that it can continue to fund as many projects as possible and at a greater value.