Grant Stories
Community Foundation Granting Reaches $206,300.63!
February 13, 2012News Release February 14, 2012
Community Foundation Granting Reaches $206,300.63!
Elgin County residents are most certainly generous! The many generous hearts and donors who work with the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation have granted $79,038.23 in 52 separate grants to Elgin County charities and scholarships to local students in 2011. This brings our total granted to date to $206,300.63 while holding our community capital intact!
“This is an incredible milestone” says Board Chair Junee Monteith. “It is a real honour to be working with such community minded people and building such wonderful legacies in Elgin County”.
The 52 Grants in 2011 covered a wide range of charities including the Caring Cupboard, Inn out of the Cold, Talbot Teen Centre, Elgin Theatre Guild, YMCA, Community Living Elgin, United Way, STEGH, and included many post-secondary educational scholarships to Elgin County students.
“Some of these grants are from unrestricted funds like our Community Fund” says Executive Director Karen Laine, “However the lion’s share of granting is from individuals or families through their Donor Advised Funds. Family philanthropy is so inspiring to me,…..a great model to teach younger generations about community,…when all the generations discuss and decide together who they will grant to this year. Very exciting.”
“The grants from the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation are so important to us here at the Talbot Teen Centre” says Coordinator Sherry Ball. “They are one of the few granters that provide support to fill the gaps or do innovative new programming that does not always fit in standard grant relationships.”
Any charity in Elgin County is eligible to apply for grants. The deadline for student scholarships is June 01st, and for Community Fund applications is Sept 30th each year. “We try our best to match need with donors” says ED Karen Laine. “It is always worth submitting an application, and keeping us aware of your organization’s funding needs.”
The Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation started building endowment funds in 2005, and now holds over $789,579 in community assets.
Visit our website at www.escf.ca to see a full list of 2011 grant recipients, donors and families who’s BIG HEARTS and generosity we celebrate this Valentine’s Day!
Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation’s Mission is “To strengthen the community for the benefit of all by fostering the growth of community philanthropy; giving opportunities to benefactors to leave a lasting legacy for future generations; building and prudently managing community endowments; and addressing the needs of the community through strategic grant making and organizational support”.
Endowed Funds are held into perpetuity, and a portion of the interest earned each year is granted to address emerging need and support charitable activities in our community. Quickly becoming one of Canada’s largest grant-makers, collectively the 177 Community Foundations across Canada now hold over 3 billion in assets and distribute over 140 million annually.
Serenity House Hospice-Kid’s Grief Camp
December 2, 2011Serenity House Hospice provides many wonderful programs and supports for those experiencing grief and bereavement.
During the summer of 2011 they extended their services to include a week long day camp for kids and families experiencing grief. The focus of this camp was to support kids through group activities (like games, arts and crafts etc.) to explore grief in a healthy supported environment, discuss death and dying, and create new friendships.
Read about one family’s experience here.
My Journey
My husband, my best friend, and the best dad in the world died the last day of September 2010 surrounded by loving family and friends. In the spring of 2011 I made my way to Serenity House and met Cindy. I told her my story and completed the paperwork to become a volunteer.
Since that day I have attended a bereavement group for 8 weeks with others who are grieving the loss of a loved one. I found myself crying for someone else’s pain and loss. For so many months I had cried for only my own. The people I have met during this chapter of my journey are very special and I hope to continue meeting with them.
I also met Wendy and Caroline, the leaders of the group. They let us talk and talk about our feelings in a positive, safe environment, free of judgment and others opinions. During this time I was asked if my son (age 15) and daughter (17) would be interested in helping out with the first kids camp for children who are grieving a loss of a parent. This was a very big step for a teenage boy to discuss his feelings about losing your dad. After the week of camp both my kids graduated with the other children and let letters go by balloon to the clouds. I was very proud of both of them for helping others who just like them have lost a parent.
How life just happens is still a mystery to me but my daughter feels that her path is to help children with grief and plans on looking into this when she graduates this year. As for me I have signed up and will be starting the fundamentals of hospice/palliative care. My future as I knew it is no longer but with the help of many along the way things seem to be falling into place. People say it will get better……it doesn’t, it just is different.
Kathy
Serenity House Hospice also has a new handbook of resources titled “Understanding your Child’s Grief Journey: A handbook of resources to help guide the understanding of why children react the way they do when faced with death and grieving.”. You can reach Cindy and the wonderful folks at Serenity House, learn more about their programs, and request a copy of this new handbook at: www.serenityhousehospice.ca
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Community Foundation will highlight stories!
May 24, 2011There is nothing like a story to help us understand the impact of our actions. At the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation we “have a pile of ‘em”.
Over our short history we have distributed over $190,000 in grants to local charities or in scholarships to local youth and we are looking forward to sharing them with you.
Read our Annual and Granting Reports HERE to see all our granting history!
Stay tuned!
