JOINT NEWS RELEASE
MPP ANDREA KHANJIN
MPP DOUG DOWNEY
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Today, MPP Andrea Khanjin and MPP Doug Downey announced on behalf of the Ontario government that the following organizations will receive funding to rebuild and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Barrie Rowing Club will receive $23,400
- Big Brothers Big Sisters will receive $5,200
- Canadian Mental Health Association will receive $117,100
- Dress for Success Orillia and Barrie will receive $127,000
- Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County will receive $68,000
- John Howard Society of Simcoe Muskoka will receive $20,400
- Kempenfelt Community Players will receive $19,300
- Redwood Park Communities will receive $120,600
- Royal Canadian Legion Br147 will receive $140,100
- Simcoe Contemporary Dancers will receive $27,000
- Talk is Free Theatre will receive $77,700
- Victim Services of Simcoe County will receive $150,000
- Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie will receive $100,000
This grant has been provided through the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s $83-million Resilient Communities Fund.
“This investment will ensure that our vital non-profits can continue running and provide important mental health supports to people struggling,” says MPP Andrea Khanjin. “We need to support our non-profit organizations now more than ever, and this funding will help ensure that their doors stay open to those that need them.”
The Resilient Communities Fund provides grants of up to $150,000 to eligible non-profit organizations to cover a broad and flexible range of needs, such as:
- Mental and physical health and wellbeing supports for staff or volunteers
- Support to adapt or re-imagine program delivery and services to meet the needs of communities, employees, and volunteers, incorporate new health and safety processes, or purchase new technology and personal protective equipment
- Renovations and facility updates to meet the changing needs of the communities they serve.
"Victim Services of Simcoe County is delighted to be among those grant recipients of the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Resilient Communities Fund," said Executive Director McCallum, who plans to invest the funds in strengthening the agency's infrastructure and updating its processes to meet the needs of the current and future digital environment. "This grant will increase our ability to serve the needs of our community and its residents who have been victims of crime or tragedy. On behalf of our board, staff and volunteers, I sincerely thank the OTF."
"The pandemic is likely one of the biggest professional challenges for those working in the arts. But these are also the same people who have been finding the strength in this colossal disruption as an instrument of change,” says Arkady Spivak, Artistic Producer with Talk is Free Theatre. “We are grateful for the support of the Provincial Government through the Ontario Trillium Foundation for supporting the arts, as this is the first sector to take advantage of the situation as an opportunity."
Barrie has so many non-profits that do great work and contribute to the cultivating of culture and mental health within the community, and OTF is committed to ensuring these organizations receive the support they need to continue offering these services safely.
“Our local non-profits are vital to the enrichment of our lives and to elevating our community” said MPP Doug Downey. “This funding helps to ensure that these important organizations are able to survive these difficult times and continue to serve our community as we recover and return to normal life.”
OTF will continue to offer the Resilient Communities Fund in 2021-22 to help more eligible non-profit organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19. Application details will follow soon. For more information on the OTF’s Resilient Communities Fund, including a full list of grant recipients, please visit the OTF website.
QUICK FACTS
- The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. OTF awarded $ 94.3 million to 1,238 projects last year to build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario.
- In 2020/2021, OTF redirected provincial funding previously allocated for the 2020 Grow and Capital grant streams into the $83-million Resilient Communities Fund.
- The Resilient Communities Fund has supported 1,045 projects across Ontario since it was announced in August 2020.
- Ontario is extending the nomination deadlines for the Volunteer Service Awards, the June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism, and the Order of Ontario. Please visit Ontario.ca/page/honours-and-awards-volunteering and Ontario.ca/page/order-ontario for more information.
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