United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin distributes over $256,500 assist with COVID-19 Efforts
Twenty-Two grants issued through the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund
Guelph, Ontario. December 21, 2020. Today, United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin announced over $276,500 to local organizations through the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF), to support vulnerable members of our community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECSF is funded by the Government of Canada and is being administered in collaboration with United Way Centraide Canada, Community Foundations of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross in communities across Canada.
On October 5th, United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin launched a second call for applications for the ECSF to support charities and other qualified donees adapt frontline services to support the community. Fifty-three applications were received from community organizations, with a total ask of over $1.18 million. A volunteer-led grants committee reviewed applications to distribute ECSF funds locally. The team worked closely with the Guelph Community Foundation and Centre Wellington Community Foundation to ensure a coordinated approach was taken to distribute funds fairly and ensure maximum impact.
“These funds are important to our community, as we continue to respond to the impacts of COVID-19”, said Glenna Banda, executive director at United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin. “Since the pandemic was declared nine months ago, our community’s essential social services organizations have been working tirelessly to provide emergency support, in particular to those with heightened vulnerability. We know additional funding is needed in order to continue to meet the increasing demand for services.”
Successful applications are addressing a number of issues across our community, including food insecurity, mental health and addictions, housing, poverty, domestic violence, seniors and social isolation.
“These are issues that our community faced before and COVID-19 has only exacerbated,” said Banda. “We know many of our community’s vital non-profit organizations are continuing to struggle – the fact that we had more applications this time than in the first round of the ECSF funding back in May and the ask was 4X more than what was available, demonstrates the great need right now.”
With such a demand for funding, United Way allocated an additional $37,500 through the local COVID-19 Community Response Fund in order to fulfill a few more requests for funding. Combined with the funds from the first round of the Emergency Community Support Fund, and other grants issued through the local COVID-19 Community Response Fund, United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin has issued close to $1.5 million in emergency support since April 2020. This is in addition to $2.5 million in annual United Way funding to organizations in 2020-21.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that the safety net that United Way funds and our community relies on is there for people when they need support”, said Banda. “Clearly, our support is needed now more than ever, and we hope to continue to be there for our community well into 2021.”
Donations to the annual United Way campaign are still being accepted through the United Way office (519-821-0571 or www.unitedwayguelph.com). Donations, as always, will stay 100% local.
A full list of the successful projects awarded funding through United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin’s ECSF allocation is included below.
| Organization | Program Name | Grant Awarded |
| Shelldale Family Gateway | Wraparound Support in the Onward Willow Community | $28,471.55 |
| Hospice Wellington | Hospice Residence transformation | $5,000.00 |
| Guelph Black Heritage Society | Virtual Programming – #ChangeStartsNow & Black History Month | $5,949.45 |
| Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington | Senior Supportive Delivery Services | $15,000.00 |
| 10C Shared Space | Nourish by 10C – Collaborating for Local Emergency Food Provision | $7,302.00 |
| Easter Seals Ontario | Off-Season Virtual and At-Home Camp | $5301.00 |
| The Elliott Community | The Elliott Community | $20,000.00 |
| Family & Children Services of Guelph and Wellington County | The Shelldale Centre: Covid-19 Response Planning | $10,000.00 |
| The Corporation of the Township of Mapleton Seniors’ Centre for Excellence | The Good for You Food Box Program | $20,000.00 |
| Wyndham House | Youth Emergency Supports and Wellness Program | $6,000.00 |
| The Guelph Enabling Garden | Virtual Horticultural Therapy Outreach | $5,000.00 |
| Guelph Community Health Centre | Get Connected | $30,000.00 |
| Frontier College | Frontier College COVID-Response Literacy Support in Guelph | $5,000.00 |
| Guelph /Wellington Seniors Association | Building Bridges | $20,000.00 |
| Autism Society of Ontario | Virtual & At-Home Programming | $10,000.00 |
| Community of Hearts Lifelong Learning | Independent Hearts: Virtual Format | $10,000.00 |
| Chalmers Community Services Centre | Filling in the Gaps | $3,900.00 |
| Welcome ln Drop In Centre | Housing Stability | $30,000.00 |
| Everdale Environmental | 100,000 lbs. of fresh food grown in 2021 | $8,000.00 |
| Start2Finish Canada | Brainworx! Learning Enhancement Program – Guelph | $10,000.00 |
| Michael House | Help and Hope Through the Pandemic | $17,016.00 |
| Nightingale Centre for Grieving Children, Youth and Families | Providing Grief Services to Families in the age of Covid-19 | $4,572.00 |
| TOTAL | $276,512.00 |
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin has worked in our community for over 80 years to monitor and meet the pressing social needs of our community, including poverty, social isolation and mental health. Directed by a volunteer board, managed by committed staff and supported by thousands of donors, United Way works with partners in all sectors to improve lives and build community. Donations stay 100% local, always. For more information, please visit unitedwayguelph.com
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Media Contacts:
Glenna Banda, Executive Director
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin
glenna@unitedwayguelph.com
Colleen Murdoch, Director, Communications & Community Impact
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin
colleen@unitedwayguelph.com