The Centre Wellington Community Foundation (CWCF) recently announced the 12 recipients of this year’s mini-grants of $500 each.
“With more than two dozen charitable organizations pitching creative and worthwhile projects, the review team had a tough job on their hands,” said Bronwynne Wilton, chair of the grants committee.
“But each of the successful projects reflect the social, artistic or environmental objectives of the foundation.”
Successful applicants were:
– Bungalow 55 DIY series, a recently established non-profit organization in Centre Wellington providing space, support and programming to individuals, small business, groups and organizations in Centre Wellington; the grant will support Bungalow 55’s DIY (Do It Yourself) Series of workshops intended to help participants develop useful skills at an affordable cost;
– The Centre Wellington Social Justice Group, which is composed of about 35 active members and 65 supporting members, with representation from many organizations and churches; the mini-grant will support a number of community discussions to raise awareness and continue the consensus-building around action to reduce poverty and its effects;
– the Elora Monster March Parade, offered by officials with the Monster March Parade and “Tutu in You” sewing club; the funds will help purchase supplies and offer creative sewing classes for “Tutu in You” to create a re-usable recycled float that can be pulled and steered by its creators, who will invite the community to join the March and donate to the Centre Wellington Food Bank;
– the Elora Outdoor Sculpture Project, an initiative of the Elora BIA in cooperation with the Township of Centre Wellington and funded by the Elora BIA with additional financial support from Noecker Travel and Secure Insurance Solutions Group; the mini-grant will fund work by Erin Perry, a recent graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, who will be creating an outdoor sculpture at the Elora Arts Centre during the summer;
– the Elora Writers Festival, which draws entrants from all over Ontario and Canada and as far away as New Zealand and India; the mini-grant sponsors two local authors who attended this year’s event held at the end of May;
– The Fergus Grand Theatre, which this year is celebrating its 85th anniversary; the mini-grant helped support a three-day celebration in August;
– The Food and Friends Breakfast Program, offered by the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington and including the “Wake up Wellington” breakfast program offered at Centre Wellington District High School; the mini grant will help purchase healthy food to meet the growing demand;
– the Kitchen in the Park Project (KIPP), which operates an outdoor bread oven in Bissell Park as a focal point of programming; the mini-grant will help fund the purchase of a tankless water heater at the site;
– Let Kids Play, which assists low income families with the cost of Sports equipment and works closely with the Guelph-Wellington Children’s Foundation; the mini-grant will help purchase equipment;
– Power of Play, which built the township’s first fully-accessible playground in Fergus at Stait Park; the money went towards the construction of the play structure, which is now complete;
– a resource package for parents of children with special needs that will include important contacts and agencies, as well as a book for parents to read that offers a perspective about parenting a child with special needs (Bloom-Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton); the grant will fund the purchase of the books and the print material that will be provided to parents; and
– Spark of Brilliance, which provides creative activities to individuals in Centre and North Wellington living with mental health and/or addiction issues and provides social opportunities to people who can face isolation; the grant will help bring in volunteer mentors.
For more information about the grants or the foundation visit http://cwcfoundation.ca or contact Randall Howard at rhoward@verdexus.com or 519-846-0550.
