33 grants totalling $400,388 awarded to local charities

With record breaking funding applications to our Fall Community Grants Program (over $1.1 million in requests), it is evident that charities in all fields of interest are feeling the impacts of the pandemic.

Our volunteer grant review teams faced some tough decisions this year in particular: we greatly appreciate their diligent and thoughtful reviews of so many applications.

COVID-19 has made ‘business as usual’ a near impossibility for everyone. Most charities are facing reduced revenues and increased costs. Adapting front line service efforts to comply with stringent COVID-19 safety protocols and converting to online programs in meaningful and accessible ways has created an additional stress on charities as they endeavour to carry out their important work.

While we couldn’t fund all the projects we would like, we are happy to report that we were able to grant a total of $400,388 – our highest amount ever awarded in a single granting round.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors and fundholders, we are pleased to be able to support the work of so many local charities – in all areas that enhance our community – to help them through this challenging time.

Congratulations to our Fall 2020 Grant recipients:

Arts & Culture

Cantabile Choirs of Kingston – $5,000
Virtual Voices

Funding from the Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund, Anne & Bill Patterson Community Fund, Michael Potter Memorial Fund, Frank & Sarah Good Memorial Fund, Ronald & Mildred Grant Family Fund, McNevin Family Fund

Operating expenses for Virtual Voices, Cantabile’s hallmark vocal education program that has been redesigned to integrate into an online learning platform.

 

H’art Centre for Smiles Inc. – $15,000
H’art Studio Programming

Funding from the Ruth and Stu Barton Community Fund, Edward Ratcliffe Fund

Support for staffing costs: H’art Studio directly employs 3 regular staff for instruction. The full-time Arts Education Director, a Program Coordinator, and a part-time Artist-Instructor deliver arts-based workshops year-round to up to 50 adults with disabilities.

 

Kingston Canadian Film Festival – $5,000
Summer Screening Series

Funding from the Community Fund

This project aims to develop a new outdoor, distanced screening series to be presented during the summer 2021 where audiences can engage with Canadian film in a number of locations across the city that may include parks, heritage sites and the waterfront.

 

Kingston Symphony Association – $14,275
Harmon in Space

Funding from The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund, Mrs. Rupert Davies Fund

Funds will be used to create a 13-episode educational series where each episode highlights different instruments in the orchestra, featuring music that is accessible to children. A curriculum package and online learning modules for the digital Symphony Education Partnership program will be written to accompany the series.

 

North Frontenac Little Theatre – $14,500
Transition to Oso Hall

Funding from the Valerie Robertson Women in Theatre Fund, Robert & Judith Mackenzie Fund, McArthur Connidis Arts Fund, Arts & Culture Community Fund, Community Fund

Funding will cover upgrades to Oso Hall for preparing and installing a new North Frontenac Little Theater theatrical lighting system to accommodate future theatre productions in their new location.

 

The Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning – $5,500
Woven Together at the Tett Centre

Funding from the Henry & Loretta Lee Legacy Fund

The Tett Centre will present a cross-cultural and inter-generational exploration of fibre arts. This project will bring participants together in a safe, welcoming, and empowering environment to learn and share the art of weaving, spinning, felting and fibre visual arts.

Children & Mental Health

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington – $30,000
New Mentoring Support for Highly Vulnerable Waitlisted Children

Funding from the Robert W. Clark Endowment Fund, The Henry Fund, Sunnyside Children’s Fund, Assante Financial Management-Fenlon Division Endowment Fund

This project seeks to primarily engage waitlisted children facing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) with immediate and consistent mentoring support through twice weekly on-site programs.

 

The Psychology Clinic at Queen’s – $15,300
Building Family Resilience Through Parent Mental Health

Funding from the Sunnyside Children’s Fund

The funds will be used to support the development and implementation of a series of group-based interventions to promote emotional well-being in parents and families within KFLA.

Community Development

Sensity – $1,384
Accessible Features for People Who Are Deafblind

Funding from the Community Fund

The funds will be used to purchase an ADA-compliant, accessible picnic table and a large format outdoor/indoor game (Connect 4) suitable for individuals with low vision.

Education & Literacy

Beyond Classrooms Kingston – $8,623
Rural School Remote Programming

Funding from the Marion Meyer Opportunity Fund, The Diocese of Ontario Fearless Generosity Fund, Community Fund

This project will make Beyond Classroom Kingston’s successful on-site program, emphasizing inquiry-based learning, accessible to rural classrooms by using an online platform delivery model.

 

Food Sharing Project – $15,000
Providing Healthy Food to Schools within COVID-19 Restrictions

Funding from The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund, Skolnick Family Fund, Jim & Julie Parker Fund, Bob & Margaret Fund, Dr.Samuel S. Robinson Charitable Foundation Fund, Eric Dewar Neuman Fund

These funds will support the provision of healthy food meeting provincial nutrition guidelines to over 80 schools throughout Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington.

Environment

Queen’s University Biological Station – $5,000
Elbow Lake Trail Accessibility & Interpretive Signage Project

Fundsing from the Ruth and Stu Barton Environmental Fund, Chown Fund, Environmental Legacy Fund

In partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a portion of the ELEEC popular hiking trail will become accessible to all.

Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre – $4,239
Virtual Wildlife Presentations for School Groups

Funding from the Alexrad Fund

Funding will support free Virtual Wildlife Presentations for School Groups to raise awareness of human impacts on species in the Kingston area, and offer practical ways of reducing harm to wildlife.

 

Health & Social Science

Boys and Girls Club of Kingston & Area – $15,000
Winter and Spring After-School Programs amid COVID-19

Funding from the Tragically Hip Community Fund, David C. Riley Fund, Ellen Shepherd Community Fund, Cyril E. Wharrie & Evelyn D. Wharrie Fund, Peter Hartel Community Fund, Smart & Caring Community

This project will enable the safe design of winter and spring program activities for children 4-12 years old in line with public health guidelines, the institution of new and constantly changing program policies, and continuous staff training.

Dawn House Services and Housing for Women – $2,050
Transitional Housing Program

Funding from the Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund

Funds will be used to purchase portable laptops/equipment for staff to enable usage throughout the building when meeting with clients.

 

Dawn House Services and Housing for Women – $15,000
Transitional Housing Program

Fundsing from The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund, Russell and Susan Park Memorial Fund

The Transitional Housing Program provides homeless women an opportunity to begin recovering by putting their lives back together in a safe supportive environment. These women may be challenged either financially, by poor physical/mental health, by addiction, or are developmentally challenged.

 

Elizabeth Fry Society of Kingston – $13,400
C.A.R.E.: Court Accompaniment, Referrals, and Education for Women

Funding from The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund, Terry Harris Endowment Fund

This project is a three-point effort directed toward vulnerable and isolated women aged 18 years and over that are facing criminal charges before provincial and federal court, or matters before family court.

 

Girls Inc. – $15,000
Girls Education Program

Funding from the Sunnyside Children’s Fund, Cameron and Laurie Thompson Fund

The Girls Ed Program is directly responsive to gender-based barriers that prevent girls from successfully transitioning to adulthood as healthy, caring, financially self-sufficient women. Funding will help new services including one-to-one support, curb-side visits, supply deliveries, activities on social media, and a robust virtual program schedule.

 

Kingston Interval House – $17,400
Volunteer Program

Funding from The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund

Funds will be used to create a two-year pilot volunteer program at Kingston Interval House to develop a formal, long-term initiative that will allow the organization to better serve the growing complex needs of its clients and the community.

 

K4Paws Service Dogs – $11,250
New Puppies In Training

Funding from the Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund, Community Fund

Funding will support the acquisition of three future Service Dogs from a breeder, their veterinary needs, and food costs.

 

Loving Spoonful – $18,000
Community Kitchen – Taking it Outside!

Funding from the David Middleton North End Development Fund, Bill & Nancy Gray Fund, K-Town Tri Legacy Fund, Alcan Endowment Fund, Smart & Caring Community Fund

Loving Spoonful is taking their Community Kitchen program OUTSIDE due to increasing COVID-19 restrictions. They will interact with participants in a safe and engaging manner, to help overcome the increased social isolation experienced by members of the vulnerable Rideau Heights community.

 

Martha’s Table – $15,000
Meal Delivery Service

Funding from the William Cherry Fund, Smart & Caring Community Fund, Smart & Caring Covid-19 Fund

8,750 nutritious meals will be delivered, at no charge, to people that may be prohibited from accessing the facility during the coldest months of the year due to physical and mental challenges.

 

New Leaf Link – $14,973
Program Delivery

Funding from the Larry Gibson Community Fund, Richard Moorehouse Fund, Health & Social Services Community Fund

This grant will assist program instructors to implement simultaneous program delivery models until October 2021, including virtual program delivery, regular wellness checks, and eventual return to in-person programming at least 1 day/week.

 

Ongwanada – $15,000
Virtual Supports and Programming

Funding from the Helping Hands for those with Disables Fund, Eddie Bak Memorial Fund, Phil Quattrochi Memorial Fund, Community Fund

This funding will allow for a Virtual Programming Consultant to make staff and individuals more comfortable using technology required for joining virtual programming, to support greater participation of individuals living alone in the community.

 

Outreach St. George’s Kingston – $15,000
Lunch by George

Funding from the Ruth and Stu Barton Community Fund, Gordon Barr Ltd. Fund, Larry Gibson Community Fund, Smart & Caring Community Fund

The Boxed Hot Lunch program will allow some clients to pick up warm meals outside the doors at St. George’s even if they are unable to enter the communal hall due to COVID-19 restrictions.

 

Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation – $34,137
Walk-in Freezer

Funding from The Audrey & Peter Scholes Memorial Fund, Sandiford Family Fund, Jim & Julie Parker Fund, Regina Rosen Fund, Axelrad Fund, Eric Dewar Neuman Fund, Smart & Caring Community Fund

This funding will be used for the purchase and installation of a walk-in freezer to support food security programs including Hot & Frozen Meals on Wheels, meals/snacks for Adult Day clients, and the Community Food Bank.

 

Tetra Society of North America – $3,000
Kingston Chapter – Assistive Device Program

Funding from the Helping Hands for those with Disabilities Fund

These funds support Community Outreach efforts to increase requests for new devices and expand Tetra Kingston’s Technical and Outreach volunteer base.

 

YMCA of Eastern Ontario – $7,500
Total Life Care Program

Funding from The Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund

Funds will be used to replace aging and single purpose equipment in the Total Life Care facility catering to persons living with chronic health conditions such as post-operative heart surgeries, COPD, arthritis, cancer, chronic pain management, diabetes, and obesity.

 

YMCA of Eastern Ontario – $11,857
YMCA Financial Assistance Program

Funding from the Theda Anderson Fund, Gordon F. Tompkins Funeral Home Children’s Endowment Fund, Ontario Endowment for Children & Youth in Recreation Fund, Ross and Suzanne Kilpatrick Fund, Community Fund, Larry Gibson Community Fund, Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund, Cyril E. Wharrie and Evelyn D. Wharrie Fund, Smart & Caring Community Fund

The Financial Assistance Program at the YMCA provides access to Y health and wellness programs and services for those who may otherwise not be able to afford full or partial fees.

 

Heritage

Central Frontenac Railway Museum – $5,000
Heritage Furniture and Accessories Project

Funding from the Chown Fund, Douglas Branton Fell Memorial Fund, Community Fund

This funding is for the purchase and installation of two outdoor benches, associated plaques ,and two trash receptacles.

 

Heritage Preservation

South Frontenac Museum Society – $3,000
Museum Computer Purchase

Funding from the Douglas Branton Fell Memorial Fund

Funding for technology upgrades to out dated laptops and equipment for the museum.

 

Youth

KCHC Pathways to Education – $15,000
Pandemic ACEs buster (PACE buster)

Funding from the Robert W. Clark Endowment Fund, Alcan Endowment Fund, Wilson Family Fund, Woodbury Enterprises We Care Charitable Youth Fund

Funding supports the Student Parent Support Worker position to help mitigate the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in a very tangible way.

 

Rotary Club of Kingston – $15,000
Loughborough Public School Teaching Kitchen and Greenhouse

Funding from the Smart & Caring Community Fund

The funds will be used to convert an existing classroom at the school into a teaching kitchen, and to build a greenhouse so students can be involved in the process of planting, cultivating, and harvesting healthy foods.