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Community Foundation for Kingston & Area To Announce Largest Grant in its History
Date: Friday, April 19, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Location: Kingston Community Health Centres, 263 Weller Ave.
Notes:
Stacy G Kelly, Executive Director of Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, will announce a three-year grant, the largest in the Foundation’s history, to Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox & Addington’s ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre’ through the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Community Impact Fund.
This is a formal opportunity to bring people together to highlight and celebrate the important work of the many local organizations that collaborate at the Centre to serve and support families with young children in this community.
In Attendance:
- Stacy G Kelly, Executive Director, Community Foundation for Kingston & Area (funder)
- Amanda Colacicco, Executive Director, Family & Children's Services of Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (host recipient, project and funding will be highlighted)
- Sister Shannon, Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul (funding partner)
- Vicki Casey, ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre’ (funded project)
- Jennie Hill, Indigenous Healthy Babies Health Children Worker, Ontario Native Women’s Association (partnering organization)
- Representatives from other partnering organizations will be in attendance. Organizations and groups that currently partner with the Centre include KCHC, Kewaywin Circle, Kids Inclusive (KHSC), City of Kingston, Métis Nation of Ontario, Maltby Centre, KFL&A Public Health, Kingston Military Family Resource Centre, Ontario Native Women’s Association, AMHS, Resolve, Indigenous Interprofessional Primary Care Team, Ontario Works - Learning, Earning & Parenting, Thrive, Kahwà;tsire Indigenous-Led Child and Family Program, Childbirth Kingston, and Ruthy’s Reading Room
Quick Facts:
- This funding will sustain, enhance and expand the ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre’ innovative model for serving families with young children in the Kingston & Area.
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Created in consultation with the community it would serve, the Centre opened its doors in October, 2022, supported through seed funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). This funding ended on March 31st, 2024.
- Offering families better service coordination and navigation has created a ‘one door knock’ for services, including childcare, and helps reduce barriers to accessing services, ultimately preventing escalation of need. The Centre is an inviting, welcoming place where families feel comfortable walking through the door, confident that their culture and life experience are valued and respected.
- Since opening, the Centre has demonstrated strong success through the number of families that attend, the referrals received, and strong partnership with 14 community organizations.
- Funding from the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Community Impact Fund will build on this strong foundation, helping to introduce more early relational programming, expanding the model to reach more families, and ultimately developing a collaborative, efficient system with a focus on primary prevention, early intervention and support.
Quotes
“The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul came to CFKA with a vision: prevent and mitigate the lifelong impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and build resiliency in children and families. They also presented us with a mission: invest in high-impact, local initiatives that will support transformative, sustainable, systems-level change. Our funding of ‘A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre answers that call with an innovative, collaborative, and a genuinely community-built solution”.
-Stacy G Kelly, Executive Director, Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
“In having spent time within A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre with families, the team and community partners, I can say that the positive impact of the centre can be felt in each interaction. FACSFLA offers our sincere gratitude to The Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul for casting a vision to mobilize community-built solutions and for this incredibly meaningful investment, alongside the support of CFKA and all our community partners in realizing this multi-year expansion. The sustainability and growth of A Great Start for Families: Kahwà:tsire Ronwatiyenawá:se Centre supports the collective vision we all share for the resilience and well-being of children, young people and families in our communities.”
-Amanda Colacicco, Executive Director, Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington
Associated Links:
Media Contact:
Stacy G Kelly, Executive Director
Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
ed@cfka.org
613.546.9696 Ext 102
About Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
Established in 1995, The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area strengthens our community by connecting the generosity of donors with the energy and ideas of people and charities addressing local community needs. The Foundation holds over 225 invested funds, created by individuals, families, and organizations, from which it makes charitable grants to support charities.
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