A dinner in celebration of the man who spearheaded the creation of the House of Kin takes place May 9.
Due to health challenges, including Parkinson's Disease, Chris Sheridan is stepping back from his volunteer work with the organization.
The retirement dinner takes place starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Caruso Club, and includes a dinner and speeches.
The House of Kin, which opened in 1997 in the former Grand Prix Inn in the South End, gives people who have travelled to Greater Sudbury for medical treatment an affordable place to stay.
“Without Chris, the House of Kin would not exist,” said Karly Bortolotti, fundraising and marketing co-ordinator with the House of Kin.
“People travelling to Sudbury for medical care would not have this place to stay in. He spearheaded all the fundraising and the purchase of the facility. He took all of that on, along with a committee.”
Over the past 19 years, the House of Kin has provided a home away from home for more than 300,000 people.
Back in the 1980s, when Sheridan was on the board of Memorial Hospital, he noticed people sleeping in their cars because a family member was in the hospital, and they couldn't afford hotel rates.
With the help of local hotel and motel associations, the Sudbury Kinsmen Club, of which Sheridan was a member, developed a program where rooms would be offered at a lower cost to families travelling for medical reasons.
From that program sprung the creation of the House of Kin.
Tickets to Sheridan's retirement dinner cost $50 a ticket or $400 for a table of eight. To purchase tickets, phone the House of Kin at 705-522-3600.
