Eddy Goldstein and Gloria Salomon of Preston Group
The local developer Preston Group has pledged $1 million over four years to Southlake’s count on me campaign.
Health
June 23, 2008 03:07 PM
beingwell magazine Summer 2008
By: Patrick Mangion
When Preston Group and its principals, Gloria Salomon and Eddy Goldstein, first laid down tracks in Newmarket more than 20 years ago while developing Leslie Valley Homes, the area’s turn-of-the-century, small town underpinnings still poked through the suburban landscape.
Understandably, Mr. Goldstein and his sister-in-law, Gloria Salomon were immediately taken by Newmarket’s charm, strong sense of community and family lifestyle. They knew they wanted their developments to reflect Newmarket’s values and small town atmosphere.
Today, the first phase of the Preston Group’s new community, Copper Hills, is nearing completion in lockstep with a massive construction project at Southlake Regional Health Centre across town. But it was a seemingly innocent luncheon last fall, between the family company and the hospital that irrevocably connected them.
Preston Group, which maintains a low profile managing, developing and building homes in the Greater Toronto Area, has quietly set in motion a plan to donate $1 million, over four years, to Southlake’s count on me campaign to help build the Regional Cancer Program at Southlake, in order to make comprehensive cancer services more accessible to the more than one million residents of York Region and south Simcoe County.
The family has asked that their donation be earmarked for the mammography unit to assist in the early detection of breast cancer. With a family of four daughters, women’s health issues have always been an important priority.
Southlake’s emphasis on ensuring a holistic approach to cancer care that addresses the mental as well as physical well-being of cancer patients and their families, was something the family particularly valued.
Prior to last year’s tour, the Davis Drive hospital conjured up images of a small, bare bones community hospital. Instead, they were greeted by a state-of-the-art facility, fanning out care and specialized programs to an area from southern York Region to Muskoka.
The wheels were set in motion last year when Mr. Goldstein and Ms Salomon accepted an invitation to attend a luncheon with fellow developers hosted by Southlake. A video presentation and impassioned words delivered by Southlake leaders quickly captured their interest. A casual conversation with hospital officials followed. By the time it was over, Ms Salomon and her brother-in-law exchanged a glance with the understanding they would help.
“We knew we would do something. We just had to figure out what,” she says.
“It’s an extreme hardship for someone going through cancer. Southlake is a top-of-the-line facility that will ease a lot of that tension.”
Giving back has been ingrained in the company culture since Ms Salomon’s father, David, 82, founded it in the late 1960s. As a Polish immigrant, he and his sister arrived in Canada as orphans having lost three brothers and sisters and their parents in the Holocaust during the 1940s.
Struggling to learn English, his first work experience included painting houses and renovating fixer-uppers. The turning point would come about 20 years later when he and several partners developed four apartment buildings in the Flemington Park area around Don Mills and Eglinton. It was one of Toronto’s first planned communities.
From there, the company under the visionary leadership of Mr. Goldstein and Ms Salomon evolved into a major high rise residential owner before moving on to housing and land development.
“My father always contributed to worthy causes but he never celebrated it. It was just the right thing to do. He didn’t shout it from the roof tops,” Ms Salomon says.
“We are honoured to have the support of the Preston Group,” says Neila Poscente, President and CEO of the Southlake Foundation. “They so genuinely want to improve the delivery of cancer care in our region and we are proud that they see Southlake as worthy of their support.
A plaque recognizing Preston Group’s contribution will be permanently affixed to Southlake’s walls. They wanted a place where women would be made to feel comfortable while getting the best care possible, and they are confident that Southlake’s Regional Cancer Program is just the place to make that a reality.