Emergency Community Support Fund awarded projects

We are proud to have partnered with Community Foundations of Canada and the Government of Canada to deliver the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF)  in the Kingston & Area region.

Launched on May 19, 2020, we’ve invested an additional $413,700 through the ECSF towards local charities and qualified donees supporting populations experiencing heightened vulnerability during this crisis. See the full list below.

Our Community Foundation has granted the full funding available to our community through the ECSF. We are unfortunately no longer accepting applications.

Since the start of the pandemic, charities and non-profit organizations have been leading the charge to assist those who need it most in the fight against COVID-19. We know the need for funding is still significant. If you would like to be notified of any additional funding becomes available through ECSF, please fill out this form.

We invite you to explore opportunities with the other ECSF funding intermediaries in your community. More information about other national funders is available here.

We invite you to follow the Community Foundations of Canada’s website for further updates as well.

 

Psychology Clinic at Queen’s

$ 40,000 to launch the Brief Telepsychology Service for Kingston and Area

Vulnerable children, adolescents, adults, and families in Kingston and the surrounding area will have access to short-term, coping-focused virtual psychotherapy support.

 

The Food Sharing Project

$24,800 to provide healthy food boxes to families during summer 2020

To prepare and deliver healthy food boxes and grocery store gift cards to an estimated 600 families, bi-weekly, during July and August.

 

Victorian Order of Nurses – Kingston

$ 20,207 to retrofit patient transportation vans

The installation of plexiglass barriers between drivers and clients and seat covers in their Health Vans will support improved cleaning and safety for all their vulnerable passengers.

 

Rural Frontenac Community Services

$21,000 to address COVID-19 transportation needs in Rural Frontenac

This grant will subsidize the costs for volunteer rides and deliveries to help meet the increased transportation needs of vulnerable Rural Frontenac residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Rural Frontenac Community Services

$16,500 to support seniors in Rural Frontenac during COVID

To reach out to seniors during the pandemic to meet their individual needs and mitigate the effects of social isolation.

 

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston

$16,000 for the Sanitation Project

To create a paid staff position that will be solely responsible for maintaining a safe environment (by cleaning surfaces and maintaining proper rotation of donated items) for clients as they access their Meal Program, Emergency Food Pantry, and Clothing Wear House Program.

 

Book Clubs for Inmates

$10,000 to support book clubs in local federal prisons

Seven existing book clubs whose members are incarcerated within our community will receive books. (Collin’s Bay Institution, Bath Institution, Joyceville Institution, and Millhaven Institution)

 

Kingston Interval House for Women and Children in Crisis

$11,700 for Robin’s Hope Supportive Housing Coordinator extra coverage

COVID-19 has significantly increased the demand for services at the Robin’s Hope facility and the shelter has had to increase staff hours to ensure that clients can continue to be served in this new reality.

 

The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Kingston Chapter

$7,000 for the Short-term Financial Assistance and Patient Program

This program provides a vital safety net and resources for people living with kidney disease and includes transportation requirements for dialysis, medication not covered by OHIP, blood pressure cuffs, as well as basic needs such as rent, utilities, and groceries.

 

Ryandale Shelter

$ 2,646 to supplement wages for the Transition House Manager

Responding to the increased demand for services, the shelter is using this grant to supplement wages for the significant additional hours required during the pandemic.

 

Rural Frontenac Community Services

$2,500 for Youth Hub Hygiene Care Kits

The organization will deliver Hygiene Care Kits for 200 youth ages 13-21 living in Rural Frontenac with basic hygiene supplies, information on active resources available in their community, along with care items used for emotional regulation and coping strategies (stress balls, journals, colouring sheets).

 

Let’s Talk Science

$ 2,060 for The Horizon Learning Pack Project

Distributed through the Foodbank, grade 4-6 students in the Kingston area will receive a Horizon Learning Pack. Recognizing some families may have internet access issues, these kits do not require internet. Each learning pack will include hands-on STEM and literacy activities, an age-appropriate book, supplies, and manipulatives.

 

Easter Seals Ontario

$2,000 for Camp E-aster Seals          

With the cancellation of traditional summer camps, this project will provide an online camp experience to 22 Easter Seals youth from Kingston; allowing them to enjoy a virtual camp experience and giving their parents/caregivers a well-needed break.

 

Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation

$16,100.00 for Southern Frontenac Community Services Digital Transformation

The Digital Transformation project will position SFCSC to deliver important community health support services, that are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in an online virtual format. Specifically, Adult Day Services, Seniors Social Activities, Seniors Food Services, and Transportation Services will be adapted to an online format through this project.

 

Lion Hearts Inc.

$30,000 for COVID-19 Street Project

This grant will continue to allow Lionhearts Inc. to provide reliable access to nutritious food and emergency services every day, delivered to multiple sites in the Kingston area.

 

Martha’s Table Community Program

$30,000 for Hot and Nutritious takeout meal service for the food insecure

Martha’s Table continues to offer takeout meals to provide those in need of a free, hot, nutritious meal to take away. They continue to serve between 100-150 meals daily meals to the community with a modified approach of “take out and patio style dining” versus “dine-in” that will ensure the health and safety of all participants.

 

Outreach St George – Lunch by George

$30,000.00 for Emergency Support

The grant will be used to transform the Lunch by George food program into one that is clean, hygienic, and well organized to allow for the safe seating of clients for meals as directed by Public Health.

 

Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington

$10,000.00 for Community Partner Training on Human Trafficking Screening Tool for Youth       

This project aims to build community capacity to recognize and respond in a consistent way to the issue of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation by offering training on a trauma-informed, evidence-based screening tool for children and youth and the sustainability of its use through a train-the-trainer session.

 

Independent Living Centre Kingston       

$29,000 to provide staffing and equipment for one to one support services for people with disabilities 

One to one direct support will be provided to people with disabilities and other at-risk populations to assist them in navigating needing resources and supports to avoid them falling through systemic cracks. The service will increase our community’s capacity to deliver inclusive programs and services to it’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged population.

 

NewLeaf Link    

$10,000 to build a functional  Interactive website

Before COVID-19, these disabled adults faced loneliness and social isolation, made worse by the challenge of living in remote, rural communities.  This grant will be used to re-design, set-up, training & technical support of our website to make it more functional & interactive for our participants to access emails, photos, videos, lessons & enhance program delivery. For these adults, maintaining social connections with each other and with community supports during this time is crucial for their mental and physical health.

 

Kingston Community Health Centres                    

$12,329 to support the Community Harvest Kingston Covid-19 Community Food Distribution Project 

Community Harvest Kingston (CHK) is committed to helping its market patrons get through the pandemic and to meet the need for sustainably-grown, fresh, local produce identified through a dozen years of Community Harvest Market operations. To that end, CHK is providing an alternative to its produce market: each week, free of charge, recipes and a pre-packaged selection of fresh, healthy, seasonal vegetables from CHK’s own urban, organic garden will be on-offer.

 

YMCA of Eastern Ontario             

$24,000 for the YMCA Kingston Re-Opening Project        

The Y is committed to delivering a safe environment in which members, including over 500 active senior members and 800 kids, 30% from low-income families,  have confidence returning to after the extended shutdown of Y operations due to Covid pandemic. Re-opening, respecting the additional measures to ensure a safe environment, will help relieve elements of isolation, resulting depression and lack of structured physical activity and socialization presented through the self-isolation requirements during this pandemic.

 

St. Lawrence Youth Association 

$12,400 to provide accessible video cognitive behavioural programming for youth at risk

Prior to COVID-19, our team worked diligently to engage with youth and help build skills by completing the Cognitive Basic Skills (CBS) Program with the aim to reduce conflict with the law and improve quality of life and mental health. The COVID-19 restrictions created a new reliance on technology as our support is now primarily by phone or video meetings. This project would create short videos to help introduce and teach each of the 8 CBS modules. The youth can watch the video and then, with counsellor support, apply it to their own lives.

 

Helen Tufts Nursery School         

$6,097.00 for equipment and resources for re-opening During Covid-19 

Helen Tufts Nursery School serves a vulnerable and marginalized group of children and families through its early years programming. To re-open the program in Sept. 2020, amidst Covid-19, the purchase of additional hygiene and sanitization supplies, as well as equipment and resources to encourage social distancing will be essential. New guidelines and protocols from the Ministry of Education for daycares and early years programs must be met for our program to be licensed and running, and for the health and safety of both staff and children.

          

Maltby Centre  

$4,000 to provide youth wellness kits     

The objective is to engage at risk youth through community based distribution of wellness kits by Youth Outreach Workers and other workers from local agencies. The community will benefit by connecting youth to resources to help them feel supported, decrease feelings of social isolation which in turn helps to improve mental health and therefore, feel motivated and encouraged to overcome barriers and promote positive behaviors within the community at large.

 

Resolve Counselling Services Canada      

$12,900 for an Integrated Multi-Service Clinic

This project will allow Resolve to continue developing and delivering a unique one-stop Multi-Service Rapid Response Assistance – Virtual Walk-in Clinic “Suite Approach” that includes trauma counselling, safety planning, financial counselling, parenting, anxiety, and depression support all offered through one point of access by hiring a ‘system navigator” for 1.5 days per week and the technology to support doing this work remotely.

 

Sensity

$2,385 to purchase and install a wheelchair accessible swing to reduce stress during isolation   

Sensity is an essential service and provides services and supports to people who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. In many cases, the causes of deafblindness also contribute to being immunocompromised and medically fragile. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a wheelchair accessible swing will benefit the physical and mental health of three individuals residing in the same location. Swinging is commonly used in Occupational and other sensory therapies because it provides sensory inputs through rhythmic and consistent motions.

 

Spinal Cord Injury Ontario                

$6,096 for The Safe@Home Project – Kingston and Area 

Due to COVID -19 causing the shut-down of the used equipment program (and until new sterilization and delivery protocols are in place), the objective of this effort is to get people the equipment they need to live when they need it.. Those people with spinal cord injury are still able to get the essential mobility and safety equipment they need to live safely (safety bars, lifts, wheelchairs) we have had to increase support for the purchase of new equipment for those who cannot afford it.

 

Telephone Aid Line Kingston (TALK)    

$2,000 to support the Telephone Aid Line Kingston Covid-19 Outreach Campaign           

The Covid-19 pandemic has restricted people’s access to mental health supports and increased social isolation among the vulnerable populations. The project will meet the needs of the community by providing information about the free service to potential callers.  It will allow TALK to provide listening and emotional support to new callers, to de-escalate the caller’s crisis and/or distress, and to equip the caller with appropriate resource referrals.