About Our Charity
Noah's Club House
Created in Honour of Noah Roche
Noah Roche and his identical twin brother, Nicholas, were born prematurely on July 12, 2003. Complications shortly after birth, including a stroke, left Noah with a profound hearing loss as well as a diagnosis of severe cerebral palsy. As Noah grew older and bigger, his family became aware of the challenges of raising a child with special needs. His mother, Brigitte Berneche, always thought there should be more financial resources available to families with children with special needs.
On February 12, 2011, Noah passed away suddenly at the young age of 7. Brigitte felt she needed to turn this tragedy into something positive. In 2014, she created a fund in Noah’s honour with the purpose of providing financial assistance for families with children like her son. In January 2017, Noah’s Clubhouse received its charity status.
Our Purpose
To promote health by providing children affected by cerebral palsy with financial assistance for therapies to manage the conditions of cerebral palsy, the costs of which are not covered by government or other service agencies.
We have provided funding of over $172,000 to 350 families in Ontario since 2018!
To see how your money is being spent, please feel free to review our financial statements on the CRA website >
Our Staff
Noah’s Clubhouse is managed by the founder on a volunteer basis. Student volunteers also assist during various fundraisers during the year.
Our Board Of Directors
Brigitte Berneche
FOUNDER
Brigitte is the proud mother of identical twin boys, Nicholas and Noah. Her son Noah had severe cerebral palsy and is the inspiration for the creation of Noah’s Clubhouse. Her heart is set on making a difference in the lives of families with children living with cerebral palsy.
Brigitte is a CPA, CA and has worked in both public companies and large accounting firms, specializing in corporate tax. She holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto.
She is fluent in French and English and has a working proficiency in Spanish.
Sue Ross
DIRECTOR
Sue has been a CPA, CA for over 25 years and has worked in large public companies, in a private elementary school and most recently as VP Corporate Operations for Syntegrity, based in Toronto.
Sue graduated from Western and then did a Diploma in Accounting at Laurier before starting her career in Toronto. Her passion for children and wanting to give back led her to be a board member for Noah’s ClubHouse.
Her background in finance, tax and operations enable her to assist the Board in its purpose of funding therapies for special needs children. As a mother of 2, being able to help children thrive and reach their potential is very important and it is a privilege to be part of this organization.
Jo-Anne Weltman
DIRECTOR
Jo-Anne is a physiotherapist with 30 years of experience working with children and the co-founder of DMI Therapy. Her objective has always been to provide the best services to the children that she works with.
After spending several years working in government based services, she started working in private practice, where she could provide a more specialized approach to the children that she worked with.
Jo-Anne opened S.M.I.L.E. (Sensory. Motor. Integrated. Learning. Experience) Therapy for Kids in 2017, a private practice that specializes in child development, to meet the demand for physiotherapy in children. Jo-Anne’s other side interests include being involved with various paediatric charities and organizations supporting children with special needs. Jo-Anne is currently working with the University of Toronto, Queens University and Dalhousie University, Physiotherapy departments to host students.
Jo-Anne is an advocate for children with special needs and their families and works hard at trying to make changes in many areas to help these children.
