Over $180,000 to be granted to 17 community initiatives by local organizations

The Community Foundation for Kingston and Area will be granting $181,128 in Fall Community Grants to support 17 initiatives by local community service organizations, projected to directly impact 7,854 individuals, including 5,940 youth. A full list of the 17 funded projects can be found below.

The Foundation’s wide array of granting interests include Arts & Culture, Children’s Mental Health, Community Development, Education & Literacy, Environment, Health & Social Services, Heritage Preservation, Recreation, and Youth.

Funding for these new projects comes from the Foundation’s $25.7 million (March 31, 2023) assets under management – funds established by individual, families, and organizations seeking to build a community in which we all thrive together. The Fall Community Grants program was greatly assisted by a team of 16 community-based volunteer reviewers who played an essential role in the granting process by reviewing the grants applications.

 

Fall 2023 Community Grants Recipients:

• Amherst Island Community Medical Clinic, “Ongoing Programming”
• Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, “Youth Network Project: Black 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Connect”
• The Food Sharing Project, “More beans please!”
• Frontier College, “Championing Literacy in Kingston”
• KFL&A Public Health, “Dental Treatment Assistance Fund”
• Kingston Arts Council, “Kingston Arts Council Tech Updates”
• Kingston Community Health Centres, “Winter Boots for Newcomer Children”
• Kingston School of Art, “Mashkawizii Miinikaanan: Strong Seeds”
• The Mess Studio, “Community through Creativity”
• New Leaf Link, “NeLL Recovers and Rebuilds”
• Resolve Counselling Services Kingston, “Child & Youth Counselling Program”
• The Rideau Waterway Land Trust, “Summer Conservation Biology Co-Op Student for Stewardship of Rideau Waterway Land Trust Nature Reserves”
• Scott Ecological Fund, “Equipment, Scott Ecological Fund”
• Start2Finish Canada, “R&R Club+”
• Street Health Centre – Kingston Community Health Centres, “Catalyst Contingency Management Program for People Who Use Crystal Methamphetamine”
• St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston, “St. Vincent de Paul Pandemic Recovery”
• Wintergreen Studios, “Four Seasons of Land Art BioBlitz (LABB)”

Arts & Culture (2 Projects)

Kingston Arts Council – Kingston Arts Council Tech Updates, $8,695
Funded by: The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund

The Kingston Arts Council will be able to purchase three stationary office computers and two laptops to replace current iMac computers that are over a decade old, and laptops that are over 13 years old. New computers for the KAC office is a crucial upgrade, so that each staff member has a stationary computer, and having laptops available will also accommodate work flexibility, in-person meeeting, and facilitating presentations.

Impact: 1,000 Individuals (including 300 Youth)

 

Kingston School of Art – Mashkawizii Miinikaanan: Strong Seeds, $4,795

Funded by: The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund; the Marion Meyer Opportunity Fund; Tha’teioneniienawa’khontie: In the Spirit of Cooperation; the Phil Quattrochi Memorial Fund; and the Community Fund

“Mashkawizii Miinikaanan: Strong Seeds” is an exciting new initiative offered by Kingston School of Art in partnership with Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre and Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest. “Mashkawizii Miinikaanan: Strong Seeds” features regularly occurring beading circles, led by local Indigenous Artists and Knowledge Keepers, who will assist in sharing legends and histories of Katarokwi-Kingston. These sessions endeavor to inform participants of the pre-colonial histories and stories of this land, create artworks using traditional techniques, and foster relationships between participants from all backgrounds of Indigeneity. “Mashkawizii Miinikaanan: Strong Seeds” seeks to bring our Indigenous communities together to celebrate the traditional teachings of the Haudenosaunee, Mississauga, and Algonquin.

 

Community Development (1 Project)

The Mess Studio – Community through Creativity, $14,730

Funded by: The Audrey and Peter Scholes Memorial Fund; the Valerie Robertson Women in the Robert & Judith Mackenzie Fund; Theatre Fund; the Edward Ratcliffe Fund; and the Arts & Culture Community Fund

The Mess Studio is an open arts studio that provides opportunities to create art and build relationships. Their mandate is to build a strong, creative, supportive community that encourages resilience and healthy life choices. They invite all to come, connect and create! The Community through Creativity sessions seek to expand and introduce our community to other organizations. Funding will be used towards ongoing operations to support the programming.

 

Education and Literacy (2 Projects)

Frontier College – Championing Literacy in Kingston, $15,000

Funded by: the Alcan Endowment Fund; the Bill & Nancy Gray Fund; The Bronskill Group Fund; the Henry Lee & Loretta Lee Memorial Legacy Fund; the Kingston Whig-Standard Literacy Endowment Fund; the K-Town Tri Legacy Fund; and the Regina (Gini) Rosen Fund

Funding for United for Literacy (formerly Frontier College) will provide literacy support to children and youth in low-income neighbourhoods of Kingston. Activities will include individual and small-group tutoring through after-school programs designed to promote literacy and numeracy in a fun, interactive, and inclusive environment. Children at risk of falling behind in their learning will work with United for Literacy’s rigorously trained volunteer literacy tutors and United for Literacy staff to improve their skills and build their confidence.

 

Start2Finish Canada – R&R Club+, $16,000

Funded by: an Anonymous Endowment Fund; the Bill and Gladys Kelly Community Fund; the David Middleton North End Development Fund; the Elisabeth Heney Fund for Literacy; the Gordon F. Tompkins Funeral Home Children’s Endowment Fund; the Kingston Whig-Standard Literacy Endowment Fund; the Marion and John Dunn Fund; the Ontario Endowment for Children and Youth in Recreation Fund; the Russell and Susan Park Memorial Fund; the Smart & Caring Community Fund; the Tackaberry Heating Supplies Fund; the Theda Anderson Fund; the Woodbury Enterprises We Care Charitable Youth Fund; the Young Adults Mental Health Fund; and the Youth Community Fund

The R&R Club+ (running and reading + social-emotional learning) will serve 150 children (grades 1-6) from underserved schools in Kingston (Molly Brant, John Grave Simcoe, and Polson Park) 3x per week through both in-person and online sessions. This year they will remodel the program curriculum to create a more targeted focus on social-emotional learning and literary outcomes for participants, incorporating evidence-based Positive Education and literacy activities that meet the needs of ALL types of learners.

 

Environment (3 Projects)

The Rideau Waterway Land Trust – Summer Conservation Biology Co-Op Student for Stewardship of Rideau Waterway Land Trust Nature Reserves, $3,420

Funded by: the Chown Fund; the Douglas Branton Fell Memorial Fund; the Environmental Legacy Fund; and the Ruth and Stu Barton Environmental Fund

Funding will support The Rideau Waterway Land Trust to hire a student for the upcoming spring/summer field season. Hiring a Conservation Co-op student will allow them to complete ecology surveys and property management plans; ecological significance screening of potential new properties within the watersheds; invasive species containment and control and restoration projects; endangered species survey and projects to support population regeneration; and evaluation of land use strategies consistent with conserving habitat. In addition, a student will help in continuing the research and create practical application around land conservation and Reconciliation.

 

Scott Ecological Fund – Equipment, Scott Ecological Fund, $2,293

Funded by: the Kingston Youth Science and Technology Fund and the Loyalist Parkway Fund

The Scott Ecological Fund will purchase three LED grow light stands, three electric timers, and additional growing resources such as soil and planter boxes. These materials will be allocated to Bath Elementary School to support growing seedlings, which can be taken home over the summer, with fruits and vegetables being returned in the fall to begin the learning cycle of seed harvesting and seed saving. The school has a developing gardening club and this ability to conduct in class education during winter periods and advance seedlings for transplanting to the outdoor plots will enhance that learning opportunity.

 

Wintergreen Studios – Four Seasons of Land Art BioBlitz (LABB), $1,000

Funded by: the McArthur Connidis Arts Fund

Wintergreen’s Land Art BioBlitz (LABB) is an event held each year at Wintergreen Studios where communities are invited, free of charge, to visit the land and learn about the incredible plants, animals, and fungi of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. The programming is multigenerational, attracting participants from school-aged children to seniors. Looking ahead to 2024, and its 10th anniversary, LABB will expand to become a year-long multi-seasonal offering: Four Seasons of LABB. This suite of year-long programming will invite visitors to explore the incredible species and living organisms that call the Frontenac Arch Biosphere home through Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.

 

Health & Social Services (7 Projects)

Amherst Island Community Medical Clinic – Ongoing Programming, $750

Funded by: the Amherst Island Fund

The Amherst Island Community Medical Clinic provides wellness clinics, mental health programming, and services for seniors. Their primary services are targeted towards seniors. An entirely volunteer-run organization, they work to help seniors remain in their homes in the community, offering services like meal delivery, medication delivery, and home foot care. Over 25% of senior residents have no medical assistance. The AICMC aims to have a nurse practitioner or doctor available at least once a week for residents without a primary care physician.

 

The Food Sharing Project – More beans please!, $11, 825

Funded by: the Regina Rosen Food First Fund

The Food Sharing Project will provide Instant Pots to 25 of the 88 schools it serves, along with food needed to cook 20 meals over the last 6 months of the 2023-2024 school year. The meals will be based on meatless proteins, such as beans, lentils, pulses, chickpeas and texturized vegetable protein (TVP). This will expose students and school staff to a broader variety of easy to prepare, low-cost, protein-rich meals, while making it easier for school meal coordinators with limited time to prepare a nutritious hot meal.

 

Kingston Community Health Centres – Winter Boots for Newcomer Children, $5,259

Funded by: an Anonymous Fund

Funding will be used for winter boots acquisition and distribution to refugee children in Kingston. Although there is a $2 winter boots program run by Kingston Community Health Centre, which provides boots to kids for a particular period in the year, However, the kids who arrive after this time are unable to receive them. These children are usually the newest arrivals in cold Canada, and these are the ones who need the boots the most since winter has already begun around the time they arrive. This is a collaborative effort with support from all settlement agencies in Kingston responsible for the wellbeing of newcomers and youth.

 

KFL&A Public Health – Dental Treatment Assistance Fund, $16,000

Funded by: the Aaron and Norma Palmer Endowment Fund; the Community Fund; the David C. Riley Fund; and The Tragically Hip Community Fund

The Dental Treatment Assistance Fund (DTAF) is a charitable fund administered by KFL&A Public Health since 1984. Through the fund, they provide up to $400 toward the cost of emergency dental treatment for KFL&A residents experiencing dental pain, infection, and/or trauma. Individuals are eligible if they are aged 18 or older, have no public or private dental insurance, and declare a financial need. Dentists in our region often treat these individuals at reduced fees and restrict their services to urgent treatment.

 

New Leaf Link – NeLL Recovers and Rebuilds, $6,268

Funded by: the Helping Hands for those with Disabilities Fund; the Jim & Julie Parker Fund; the K-Town Tri Legacy Fund; the Peter Hartel Community Fund; and the Skolnick Family Fund

New Leaf Link (NeLL) is a non-profit organization that supports adults, 18 years and over, with developmental and physical disabilities. NeLL provides day programming in the arts, healthy living and community participation. This funding will allow them to retain a Developmental Program Manager to help them recover from the pandemic. This key person will focus on an outreach, marketing and recruitment program with the goal of a 50% increase in participants. They will also seek out new and exciting fundraising opportunities, donors, and potential corporate sponsors, helping NeLL to attain their goal of financial sustainability.

 

Street Health Centre – Kingston Community Health Centres – Catalyst Contingency Management Program for Peopole Who Use Crystal Methamphetamine, $25,000

Funded by: the Anne & Bill Patterson Community Fund; the David C. Riley Fund; the Eddie Bak Memorial Fund; the Ellen Shepherd Community Fund; the Frank & Sarah Good Memorial Fund; the Gayle Barr & Peter Bryson Family Fund; the Gordon Barr Ltd. Fund; the Health & Social Services Community Fund; the Larry Gibson Community Fund; the Marin Pest Management Fund; the McNevin Family Fund; the Neil Currie Davis Fund; the Richard Moorehouse Fund; the Ronald & Mildred Grant Family Fund; the Ross and Suzanne Kilpatrick Fund; the Ruth and Stu Barton Community Fund; and the Terry Harris Endowment Fund

Stimulant use has long been an issue for Kingston and surrounding communities. Recently, crystal methamphetamine use has become a growing problem for Kingston for a variety of reasons including increased social isolation, lack of housing, affordability, and availability. Catalyst is a program intended for those who currently use crystal methamphetamine and whose goal it is to become abstinent. Catalyst not only offers basic Contingency Management, it offers wrap-around services.

 

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston – St. Vincent de Paul Pandemic Recovery, $16,000

Funded by: the Cameron and Laurie Thompson Fund; the Regina Rosen Food First Fund; the Sandiford Family Fund; the Seniors Community Grant Fund; the Smart & Caring Community Fund; and the Wilson Family Fund

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston has been providing practical assistance to the Kingston community for 54 years. They adapted their service delivery for meal service and added additional staff to manage through the pandemic. Instead of returning to pre-pandemic numbers, they are facing a new challenge in high food prices and increased demand for their services. Their meal program, while leveling off after the pandemic still serves an average 194 people daily. Funding will assist them in meeting the significant demand for their services amid rising food costs.

 

Youth (2 Projects)

Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity – Youth Network Project: Black 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Connect, $10,000

Funded by: the Community Fund; and the Robert W. Clark Endowment Fund

In partnership with Black Luck Collective (Kingston), Youth Network Project: Black 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Connect is a hybrid culturally responsive and trauma-informed initiative providing peer-to-peer mental health supports for youth navigating the intersection of anti-Blackness, homophobia, and transphobia. YNP: Black 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Connect will create peer-led, trauma-informed, facilitated spaces for Black queer and trans youth, aged 15-25, in Kingston to share their experiences on identity and belonging while navigating the impacts on well-being and wellness. The main goal of the YNP: Black 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Connect is to cultivate a space for youth participants to learn, build connections with their peers and Black 2SLGBTQI+ elders and knowledge holders, and reflect meaningfully on their experiences and resources available to them.

 

Resolve Counselling Services Kingston – Child & Youth Counselling Program, $20,000

Funded by: the Henry Fund; the Parker Family Fund; the Smart & Caring Community Fund; and the Sunnyside Children’s Fund

Resolve Counselling Services Canada (RCSC) Child and Youth Counselling Program provides affordable counselling services to children and youth in KFL&A. The Child and Youth Counselling Program has become an integral part of a range of services for children and youth in our community, and has a current waitlist of 40 youth in need of subsidized counselling services. It is part of a continuum of services that community service providers, families, and youth have come to depend on, especially children and youth who live on low incomes. The Child and Youth Counselling Program is needed to ensure accessible counselling and early intervention supports to children and youth in our community.