Community Service Recovery Fund Granted to 12 Community Service Organizations!

 In the photo, front row from left, Fred Blackstein (Pembroke Petawawa District Community Foundation (PPDCF)); Jenn Levair (Wise Owl Day Care); Matt Bradley (PPDCF); Kim Chenard (PPDCF); and Kayla Menkhorst (Fairfields senior living in Eganville). Middle row from left, Yves Roy (PPDCF); Mary Leigh Elliott (Victim Services of Renfrew County); Debbie MacDonald (Muskrat River Watershed Council); Evelyn St. Amour (Muskrat River Watershed Council); Brian Cull (Valley Mental Health); Ron Reiche (Valley Mental Health); and Lisa Hubers (Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care). Back row from left, Jill Holroyd (Pflag Renfrew County); Jamie Dawes (Pflag Renfrew County); Kate Murton (Killaloe and District Public Library and Killaloe Community Resource Centre); Kristen Callaghan (Killaloe and District Housing and Killaloe Resource Centre); and Gerald Tracey (Fairfields senior living in Eganville).

Pembroke Petawawa District Community Foundation (PPDCF) is delighted to announce $347,000 in funding to support 12 projects in the area courtesy of the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund.

“This is an enormous contribution to our wider community, which we are very excited about,” said Matt Bradley, chairman of the PPDCF board. “This is going to be of enormous community benefit because, as you know, if you’ve listen to all the [recipient] groups, this will have an enormous impact in all kinds of sectors in our wider community which is fantastic.”

Since the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, community service organizations have struggled with increased demand for their services, reduced revenues, declines in charitable giving due to the rising cost of living, and a greater need to make use of digital tools. The PPDCF said many organizations are struggling to recover and adapt their services to the changing needs of the community.

“Community service organizations are at the heart of communities like the Pembroke, Petawawa, and district community, creating a sense of belonging from coast to coast to coast,” said Jenna Sudds, minister of Families, Children and Social Development in a press release. “The Community Services Recovery Fund will enable organizations that serve our diverse communities to adapt and modernize their programs and services and to invest in the future of their organizations, staff, and volunteers. Together, we can rebuild from the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more just and equitable future for those in the Pembroke, Petawawa, and district community.”

The following projects are being supported by this funding in Pembroke, Petawawa, and area:

• $14,980 was invested to fund Killaloe and District Housing Inc., to conduct a governance modernization and develop a Strategic Plan 2023-2027 to update its governance framework and adapt its strategic direction.
• $18,500 was invested to fund Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Open Studio, to create and implement a new communications strategy. The strategy will be set up to allow Ottawa Valley community arts to best reach new community members in need of engaged artmaking while reconnecting with lapsed community members using processes and materials that are fully inclusive and accessible.
• $46,000 was invested to fund Victim Services of Renfrew County Inc., to update its technology and systems including computers, server, website, and database system.
• $58,000 was invested to fund Eganville and Area Long-term Care Corporation, to hire consultants to evaluate the feasibility, implications (including Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act) costs, benefits, downsides, etc. of merging the operational management and/or governance of Fairfield’s and Eganville Seniors.
• $24,000 was invested to fund Killaloe and District Public Library, to allow the library to undertake a community needs assessment and strategic planning process and explore new avenues for fundraising and communications.
• $20,000 was invested to fund Community Resource Centre (CRC) — Killaloe, to allow the CRC to update and modernize its website, social media feeds, and e-newsletters, while developing and implementing a strategy for communicating with stakeholders.
• $11,900 was invested to fund Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care, to explore the merger or amalgamation of two community service agencies. A mirror board was initiated in 2018 and during COVID that was found to have created efficiencies and better resource sharing.
• $39,060 was invested to help the Muskrat Watershed Council restructure its organization and adapt its communications with the purchase of equipment and updating of skills.
• $10,000 was invested to fund Pflag (Canada) Renfrew County to create an online, external-facing resource library for 2SLGBTQ+ people in Renfrew County, family members and others who wish to become allies.
• $61,160 was invested to fund Renfrew County Community Poverty Action Network, to create a streamlined service that will be more efficient for clients and personnel (staff and volunteers) by creating/purchasing software to manage programs, personnel, and fundraising.
• $10,000 was invested to fund Valley Employee and Family Assistance Program in increasing service availability, improving account management, and providing the necessary technical equipment and software upgrades for sustainability.
• $33,400 was invested to fund the Wise Owl Day Care Centre in improving efficiency when exchanging information while reducing its use of paper and the cost to its budget and the environment. The project will modernize communication by updating technology, connecting everyone to one system.

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time investment of $400 million by the Government of Canada to help Community Service Organizations, charities, non-profits and Indigenous governing bodies located in Canada.

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