News

Guelph, Ontario –  The Foundation for Rural Living (FRL) has partnered with 28 non-profit organisations across South-western Ontario, as part of its Rural  Development Officer Program (RDO), in partnership with RBC. The Community Partners for 2009-2010 are:

Autism Ontario – Niagara

Brant Cultural Centre Project – Paris

Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent – Chatham

CHOICES Youth Shelter – Orangeville

Cultural Coalition of Chatham-Kent – Chatham

Elgin County Library – St. Thomas

Epilepsy Huron-Perth-Bruce – Seaforth

Everdale Environmental Learning Centre – Hillsburgh

Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario – Guelph

Gateway Rural Health Research Institute/HealthKick – Seaforth

Huron Business Development Corporation – Green Jobs Strategy – Brussels-Huron

Kimbercote Farm – Heathcote

Municipality of West Elgin – Rodney

North America Railway Hall of Fame – St. Thomas

Niagara Chapter – Native Women Inc. – Fort Erie

Niagara West Employment & Learning Resource Centres – Beamsville

Norfolk County – Simcoe

Ontario 4-H Foundation – Guelph

County of Perth – Stratford

Savour Elora – Elora

Sensational Elora – Elora

Serenity House Hospice Inc. – St. Thomas

Southampton Arts Society – Southampton

Stratford & Perth County Community Foundation – Stratford

Welland Historical Museum – Welland

Women’s Addiction Recovery Mediation – Fort Erie

Women’s Resource Centre – Beamsville

Women’s Rural Resource Centre – Strathroy

Last fall, FRL unveiled its $1.7 million Rural Development Officer Program, which places unemployed individuals as Rural Development Officers (RDOs) with rural organizations for up to one year. The program leverages resources from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (TCU), The RBC Foundation, the Co-operators, and at the community level.

“At RBC, we know the importance of investing in rural community development” says Shari Austin, Vice President and head of Corporate Citizenship at RBC. “Businesses want to locate in communities that offer a high quality of life. The RBC Foundation is proud to partner with the Foundation for Rural Living on an innovative program that invests in people, community-based organizations and rural communities.”

Dennis Deters, Senior Vice-President, Member Relations and Corporate Services of  The Co-operators Group Ltd., agrees. “Ensuring our communities are healthy and sustainable is grounded in our co-operative values. Our longstanding partnership with the Foundation for Rural Living reflects our shared commitment to support integrative solutions that create a high quality of life in rural communities.”

Clearly, the ultimate goal is quality of life, and this is reflected in the diversity of FRL’s partnering sectors. The concept of partnership extends beyond FRL and the organisation, though. Another key component of the RDO program is the relationship between
community and individual.

“The RDO Program-JCP Model invests in building the human resource, in-kind resource and fund development capacity of rural, community-based organizations to better respond to the priorities of their communities,” says Anita Hayes, Executive Director of the Foundation for Rural Living. “At the same time, it invests in people who are seeking re-entry into the workforce.”

The Foundation for Rural Living advances the rural non-profit and voluntary sector and builds sustainable rural capacity to enhance the quality of life of rural citizens. FRL’s mission is supported by The Co-operators.

Click logo to view the Ethical Code.

ONLY SECOND CHATHAM-KENT CHARITY TO DO SO

The Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent has been accepted into Imagine Canada’s Ethical Code Program, joining Big Brothers Big Sisters Chatham-Kent as the municipality’s only other member.

“At the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation, we believe transparency and accountability are essential to our continued success,” says Art Stirling, Foundation Executive Director.  “We place a high value on our relationships with donors and sponsors because, without their support, we would not be able to achieve our objective of helping disabled children and youth in the community.”

The Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code lay out a set of standards for charitable organizations to manage and report their financial affairs responsibly.  By adhering to these standards, the charity is complying with generally accepted practices for soliciting and managing donor dollars.

The Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation was established in 2007 to raise awareness and funds in the community to support the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent.  Its mandate is to bring greater stability to the Centre’s core programming and improve the accessibility and sustainability of enhanced programming required by our community’s children and their families. More information can be found at www.childrenstreatmentfoundation-ck.com.

Imagine Canada is a leading national organization that looks into and out for Canada’s charities and non-profit entities. Their vision is a Canada where strong and vital charitable and non-profit organizations, the private sector and governments individually and collectively contribute to social progress and vibrant communities.

Council Awards Funding to 53 Local Groups 

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is pleased to announce that 27 community groups have been awarded grants totaling $145,324.65 through the Mainstream component of the 2009 Community Partnership Fund (CPF) and that a further 26 groups have been awarded grants totaling $80,866.00 under the Festivals & Events component of the CPF. Eight additional community groups have been awarded grants totaling $38,079.12 through the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) fund. This funding will permit these groups to proceed with 35 community improvement projects and 26 local festivals and events, and is in keeping with the Municipality’s commitment to encourage community development through partnerships with community groups.

“The volunteers who put on these community projects show great community spirit and enthusiasm,” said Mayor Randy Hope. “The Community Partnership Fund helps them to make Chatham-Kent an exciting and caring place to live. That kind of positive commitment, the excitement, and people taking care of people are qualities of a successful community. They’re also something that visitors and investors appreciate.”

You can view the complete release here.