Category Archives: Chosen Charities say Thanks

North End Harvest Market Says “Thank You!” For Our April Donation

 May 31st, 2021 

The Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition would like to extend our huge gratitude to the 100 Women Who Care and your amazing gift. The NEHM provides fresh and nutritious food to hundreds of community members each week. Over the past year the pandemic has caused a lot of stress and trauma in the lives of so many of our friends. This has created more need for the NEHM’s work and increased our food budget. Your gift could not have come at a better time. I’d like all of us to reflect on why so many in our community need to access emergency food programs and the inequity in our city and country.               

Thanks from Brendan Johnson  –  Executive Director GNSC. 

The North End Harvest Market would like to thank 100 Women Who Care Guelph for your amazing dedication to our community and especially to our vulnerable citizens struggling daily and even more during this pandemic to put good nutritious food on their tables with a special shout out to Linda Cowbrough who was our nominator and is a great market supporter and volunteer.  

Thanks from Barb McPhee – NEHM Manager 

The North End Harvest Market started in July of 2013 as a pilot project to provide fresh produce in the north end of Guelph (which was a food desert) to low income families.  With no sustainable funding, just donations and help from grants and our ADOPT-A-WEEK program, the market has been able to provide this service for the past 7 years. 

May 28th – 2021 – Carol Dilworth (100WWCG) presents donation cheques to Barb (NEHM), Brendan (GNSC) 

The Market provides fresh produce to approximately 560 individuals and families each week.  Marketers are allowed to access the market every two weeks.  The market started in the north end of Guelph and now because of COVID we provide produce to all corners of the City.  We deliver to around 80 homes and we have a Curbside service where the marketer pulls up in their car and a bag of produce is put in their back seat or trunk and they drive away.  It is a real safe – COVID way to make sure everyone gets their produce in a safe way. 

My name is Molly and I am a delivery driver for the North End Harvest Market and just wanted you to know that your financial support is such an amazing donation.  The market does such an amazing job at making sure the most vulnerable are fed.  As a driver – each week – I have been able to make a distant covid connection with some of the marketers receiving this service and I can tell you that they are so very greatful to the market.  I take my kids along to help deliver and it is a fun experience to share as a family.  – Thanks for your gift.” 

Cobs Bread Bakery has an End of Day Giving program where at the end of each day – left over bread is given to community charities and the market is lucky enough to be one of those charities and we are able to give bread, buns, scones and treats out to the families as well as the produce. We also have a connection with one of the Zehrs Stores and we receive their left over goods and combined with a Cobs Bread pick up on Saturday nights, we are able to provide a free bread market on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and we see around 40 families a week. 

“My name is Ellie Gains and I am a single mother with 3 children – I had to quit my job because of COVID , to stay home and help with home schooling.  I am so grateful for the North End Harvest Market who provides our family with the fresh produce that we could not afford to purchase and my children actually love vegetables.  It has also been a blessing that they deliver as I could not carry the produce and my children on the bus.  There is also a bonus now with Harveys free bread market that helps us with free bread and treats on Sundays.”

“My name is Norine Wagner and I was a marketer for over two years and the fresh produce actually saved my life as I was diabetic and could not afford to eat properly.  I now have my health in line and have a part time job to continue with produce.  I also now volunteer each week at the market to give back.” 

“My Name is Kent Wagner and the North End Harvest Market helped me tremendously during my addiction recovery – they not only provided me with Fresh Produce, but treated me like part of the market family and supported me to find resources I needed.  I volunteered at the market to give back and now I have a job at a men’s shelter which the market now supports once a month with fresh produce.  Thanks for your generous donation.  The market works hard at fundraising and these kind of donations are a blessing for their survival.”

Pearl is one of our marketers who is such an inspiration – she just turned 89 and we were able to give her a cake from our Free Bread Market and celebrated with balloons and air hugs.  Your donation makes the little things in life happen with love, caring and dignity. 

THANK YOU 100 WOMEN WHO CARE GUELPH!!!!!!!! 

Barb McPhee, Manager, North End Harvest Market

Chalmers Community Centre Says “Thank You!” For Our January Donation.

Carol Dilworth presents a cheque from 100WWCG to Chalmers Community Services Centre

Thank You 100 Women Who Care Guelph!

I don’t know where to start….
Your donation has meant that many families can stay in their homes. Families get to choose from the following list of items they need: 

  • Fruit and Vegetables
  • Canned  goods
  • Salt 
  • SugarPancake Mix
  • Dried Soups
  • Meat
  • Hummus
  • Peanut Butter 
  • Bread
  • Toilet Paper
  • Soap
  • Razors
  • Shaving cream
  • Shower gel
  • Hygiene products
  • Diapers
  • Baby wipes
  • Toothpaste
  • Socks
  • Gloves

You can imagine the relief a family feels when the above needs are met so they can spend the little money they have left on rent. Because of you 700 families will receive FULL baskets of what they need and they can stay in their homes..Many of the families that visit have 4-5 children so the need is great. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many families.

Thank you so much.

Sincerely, 

Vicki Olatundun, Excutive Director, Chalmers Community Services Centre, Guelph

Guelph Black Heritage Society Says “Thank You!” For Our October 2020 Donation

Kween and Denise from Black Heritage Society were happy to receive 100WWCG’s October donation

Guelph Black Heritage Society is so thankful for the opportunities that 100 Women provided us.

This has made a huge impact on our nonprofit during such a watershed moment in history.

The funding has enabled us to purchase resources for the Flora Francis Library of Black Literature. Education is key for our organization and this allows education to be brought to our safe haven. This Library will be housed in the lower level of the Heritage Hall. The space will be full of resources materials and works of Black authors and books significant to the Black community and our allies.

Additionally, we were able to contract Uli Walle from Old World Woodworking to construct the new doors and transom window. This work is very precise and highly priced due to the Heritage it must upkeep. The work has started and they are expected to be installed in the spring (Covid premitting).

Thank you so much

Kween, Executive Director, Guelph Black Heritage Society 

Food4Kids Guelph Says “Thank You!” for our January 2020 Donation

100 Women Who Care Guelph

When the 100 Women Who Care Guelph team entrusted Food4Kids Guelph with its quarterly donations in January 2020, our volunteer-run charity was over the moon. While the funding was extremely valuable for our small charity, your support and encouragement was, too.

Receiving the extra money from 100 Women meant that we could immediately enroll more children in our weekend food bag program and reduce our waiting list. In fact, our 180 enrolled children soon grew to 200 by March and we were on track for even more growth. Then Covid-19 struck. 

With schools closed, we were unable to deliver our weekend food bags and we immediately switched to mailing grocery gift cards to the children’s caregivers, in the amount of $15 per child per week. 

Sadly, the Covid closures also forced us to cancel our signature fundraising event of the year, our “Closing The Weekend Gap Breakfast” that was already well planned and scheduled for April 28. Ouch.  

We were also “stuck” with a lot of pre-purchased, shelf-stable food on our shelves which we donated to Guelph’s wonderful Chalmers charity to supplement their free food bags. We also lent some of our equipment like freezers and delivery trolleys to other agencies providing food deliveries during Covid. The response of Guelph agencies for food-security has been remarkable. 

It soon became clear that Covid was making family struggles even more dire, so Food4Kids Guelph made a difficult decision. That was to “blow our budget” by dipping into funds already raised for the next school year so that we could provide grocery gift cards to our families throughout the 2020 summer months as well. We  realized that this decision would deplete our carefully planned budget by some $40,000 and that it could mean starting the 2020-21 school year supporting fewer children. However, we felt it was the right thing to support families when they needed it most.

And then our little team of volunteers got to work, as hard as we could. We applied to every possible grant program and reached out to our donors.  

With great relief we are happy to report that since April we have raised $40,000 and then some. Our program is back on track financially and now aims to support up to 300 children in the next school year. Our hearts are happy, and we are sleeping much better!

Thank you so much for supporting Food4Kids Guelph. As I am a regular member of our 100 Women Who Care Guelph team, I will gladly share updates at future meetings.

Sincerely,

Terrie Jarvis

Program Coordinator

Food4Kids Guelph

Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County Says “Thank you!”

 

Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County Children First Fund

Sheila Markle of Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County, says, “Thank you.”

 

It is my pleasure to speak to you about the work of our organization and to thank you for your generous donation to the Children First Fund.

Jean Vanier said “One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals.”

 

 

 

100 Women Who Care is a marvelous example of community coming together to support programs and services that the members of our community benefit from.

A compassionate and caring community is vital to ensure children and youth are safe and nurtured and to ensure that much needed services and supports not provided through government programs or funding are available to help fill in gaps that exist, and they do exist.

The Children First Fund, through generous donations such as yours, provides tangible support to youth who are transitioning to adulthood with very little support from family, material assets or access to financial resources.

Let me tell you a couple of stories:

Tom (not his real name) achieved a goal he didn’t think possible with the support of the Children First Fund.

As an older youth, Tom moved out on his own and worked as a security guard to support himself. A hard worker, he kept to himself

He was holding his own but felt unable to move beyond what he had achieved and certainly not towards his dream of becoming a law enforcement officer.

In his own words:

Education Support “showed me a way out of a rut that could have damaged my life for quite some time.  It opened a world of opportunities that I had never event given thought to and showed me that there was so much more out there for me.  It also showed me that there are people who care a tremendous amount about the well-being and success of others.”

“I had never fathomed that [going to college] was possible. Learning that [there was Education Support] gave me a huge push to go back to school and not waste the chance. It made me realize that I could afford to make a career choice and pursue something that could really get me somewhere in life.”

“It is hard to measure this kind of impact on people but just speaking from my experience I can say that this [Education Support] has opened my eyes to so much more and put me on a path that I am really excited to continue down.  Supporting programs like this are supporting the hopes and dreams of individuals.”

Tom was able to reduce his work commitments so that he could attend college. He successfully completed his program and has moved closer to achieving his dream, recently accepting his job as a law enforcement officer with the RCMP.

The Children First Fund opened a door to possibilities for Mindy (not her real name) which can be pursued at any time. Growing up, Mindy had an interest in photography which with support developed into a passion. Supported by our organization to pursue this interest, the CFF provided her with access to a summer program.  Her work caught the eye of a local photographer who mentored her. Mindy’s creative drive found an outlet and after high school she enrolled in a college program specializing in photographic arts.

Mindy found the adjustment to college life challenging and with continued support from her worker problem solved to overcome the challenges to successfully complete the first year. With the increased workload of the second year, the challenges increased triggering past trauma issues – all of which significantly impacting her ability to cope so she took a break from her program.

In her words:

“It’s scary out there in the real world, with remembering to pay bills and do taxes.  It’s not something I’m amazing at yet.  It’s like learning to swim in a pool of salt water with a whole lot of paper cuts.  What made it easier for me to overcome these things is that I know I have people waiting to bandage up the areas that I can’t.”

When Mindy works through her trauma issues enough, she knows that she can return to college with our support.  The children we assist are not always ready to follow transition pathways at the same time as their peers.  They may do so at a later time.  Through the CFF we are able to continue to assist them to pursue their dreams when they are ready to do so.  The CFF opens doors to the potential of opportunity that our youth often do not know existed.

Donations to our Children First Fund really do make a difference in the lives of the children and youth we support and we thank you tonight for your donations. We know that opportunity is often the difference between success and failure. With donations from generous individuals like yourselves, we are able to resolve barriers and create community solutions. Ultimately those solutions help children, youth, young adults and families to not only survive but thrive.

Sheila Markle,
Executive Director
January 2020

 

Hospice Wellington says “Thank you!”

John Gilbert, Events Co-ordinator of Hospice Wellington, says, “Thank you.”

Our donation helped to create this wonderful renovated sunroom at Hospice Wellington,

 

On behalf of Hospice Wellington, we would like to thank 100 Women Who Care for exactly that, caring. Thank you for your generosity and for your thoughtfulness. Your generosity has brought improved sunlight to our residence at Kortright and Scottsdale in Guelph. Your thoughtfulness shows you are aware of the fact that many people within our community need our services, supports and our compassion.

 

Helen Keller once said, “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.”

Sunshine does something for us…it does something to us. It makes bad days a little bit better…and it makes good days, great. Sunshine grabs our attention. How often have you been sitting somewhere and the sun comes out from around a cloud and shines a beam of light through a window. Often times you turn and look to appreciate that beam of light, even just for a moment.

Morris West said, “If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.”

That is what this solarium is all about. Moments created, laughs remembered, a place to be in the moment. These residents know that the storm is coming, but this renovated solarium gives them the ability to appreciate that sunshine.

So what have the funds allowed us to do in this sacred space that overlooks the beautiful Gosling Gardens…

We replaced all window coverings. Even the beautiful sunshine can be a little bit too much sometimes. We upgraded all of the furniture to ensure comfort for loved ones, while leaving enough space to wheel a resident’s bed into the room also. We updated the room with a fresh coat of paint in a calming colour and will soon be adding a fan to the room, as the sunshine can make the room quite warm at times.

We thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for making such an impactful decision. This solarium means so much to so many.

“The moment won’t last forever. The memory will.” – Michelle A. Homme

Thank you 100 Women Who Care!

From all of us at Hospice Wellington

Society of St. Vincent de Paul – St. Joseph’s Conference, Guelph Says “Thank you!”

 Since WWC kindly donated money in April, we have given away 15 single beds and 5 double beds. The St Vincent de Paul store pays part of the costs from the revenue at the store, so St. Joe’s covers $1,712.50. Extrapolating from there, the donations from 100 WWC will cover 21 or 22 months of beds!

Another benefit from 100 WWC is the increased exposure. We have had more referrals from other agencies, such as someone from Family and Child Services who reached out to refer a young family. It is why we volunteer, to be able to reach those who need some extra help. One lady who moved to Guelph with her family with hardly anything and no support network in town, was referred by her new neighbour and we were able to supply beds and some other necessities. What a great way to show how generous Guelph is.

We are very grateful for the ability to serve those who find themselves in need, thanks to the generosity of our parishioners and the 100 WWCG.

 

A Wholehearted “Thank You!” From Rainbow Day Camp

Jennifer Harrison of Rainbow, delighted at being January’s Chosen Charity

Thank you for having me here this evening – it is an honour to be a recipient of such an incredible donation.

Although you probably think you know what a difference this money will make to our organization, you probably don’t REALLY know. The gratitude I feel is difficult to put into words.

We run a very traditional day camp – we do crafts, play games, break out in song (a lot!), run around, make music, have spontaneous dance parties, decorate cookies and the list continues. All of this is done in a very nurturing, welcoming, diverse and loving environment. 20-25% of our campers have special needs of varying degrees. Some need just a bit of extra support while others need full one-on-one support from a trained counsellor who is there to ensure they are as successful as possible during their time at camp. Success at camp is measured in many different ways – sometimes it’s achieving a goal like jumping off the diving board or putting one foot in the water while other times it can be as simple as a camper asking for his parents 10 times during the day instead of the typical 100 times! All successes are important and one is not better or more important than the other.

As with many other groups who work with children with special needs in our area, we have been dealing with cuts to grants, autism services and our families are dealing with losing many of their financial supports. More than ever, we are delighted to be able to offer the things we do – supporting kids at no extra cost to families. It is an extremely expensive program to run but we feel it is an integral part of the work we do, not only for the kids using support but for typical kids as well. It is incredible to see how much all the kids learn from each other.

We typically have 5 inclusion counsellors per week at Rainbow but this year, after many funding cuts across the board, we were looking at having only 2. The almost $14,000 from 100 Women Who Care will pay for 3 inclusion counsellors for the entire summer. The word INCREDIBLE comes to mind.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. The impact that these funds have on our camp are immeasurable – the ripple effects can and will be felt for years.

Tannis Sprott and Jennifer Harrison pose with a “big cheque” for Rainbow Day Camp.