Grants Impact

Though one of our Community Grants Autism Ontario was able to, among other things, offer yoga classes and yoga mats to the families they work with. These classes were geared to a child on the spectrum alongside a caregiver, sibling, or friend. A goal of the yoga program was to encourage families to continue yoga…

Thanks to support from a Community Grant, Hopewell Children’s Home was able to create a Snoezelen room for their clients. Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Environments are relaxing spaces that help reduce agitation and anxiety, but they can also engage and delight the user, stimulate reactions, and encourage communication. These environments can be used to calm and reduce…

Good things have been growing this year as the West Village Community Development Co-operative Inc.’s community garden was able to expand with 20 additional garden plots. This means in total garden has 34 plots, each 10×20′, where families can use to grow their plants and their community ties. The number of families in the 2021…

The Child Witness Centre provides support, education and advocacy for children and youth who are or may become victims or witnesses of abuse or crime. In 2020 Child Witness Centre got a golden retriever dog named Monet to work with their clients. While ideally Monet could be present with every client, this is just not…

Supported by a Community Grant, Lake Hope House’s Bringing Better Meals to the Community meal delivery program was an incredible success in 2021. This program was an extension of their meal and food skill-based programming where a Community Chef was hired who delivered food skills classes and created meals to support food insecure within the…

With a grant given through our Musagetes grant program, The Guelph Black Heritage Society has been creating a historical video series, Change Starts Now: Our Stories. Our History. Our Heritage. This project features five short videos that highlight the stories, struggles and triumphs of Black community members from the 1800s and early 1900s. The drive…

Partnering with the University of Guelph, international organization Art Not Shame ran a series of mental health related virtual workshops with the students. Particularly successful were the virtual workshops featuring award-winning short films and panel discussion with students and local mental health professionals. The students were engaged in critical conversations about mental health, watching short…

Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival – enthralling, inspiring and educating If the best community initiatives build rich and broad partnerships then the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival’s (GCDF) Karen Kaeja Residency project certainly leaps to mind. These dancers and community-builders know how to stretch a grant and do so with creativity and grace! With a $2,500 grant from The…

Mentoring young musicians is one of the mandates of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (GSO); thus the launch of the GSOKids Club in the fall of 2012 comes as no surprise. Building on the success of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra, this free, season-long program was designed for children between 6 and 12 years of age. Recent grants from…

Build Your Community, Build Your Resume is an interactive High School Student assembly that demonstrates how youth can make a difference in their community while gaining valuable workplace experiences. This project, a recipient of a $5,000 Community Grant in 2012, addresses volunteer needs and emerging employment opportunities in our community. Over the past year, the Career…

In 2011, the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin, the City of Guelph, and the Guelph Community Foundation teamed up to provide partial tuition scholarships for Conestoga College’s Certificate in Senior Leadership and Management in the Not-for-Profit Sector.  Due to the success of the program, it was repeated in 2012. This program provides learners with increased knowledge, skills, and attitudes…

A community grant of $2,750 to Pollination Guelph, a local charity, helped fund the second phase of a multi-year project to transform the Hospice Wellington site into an attractive, diverse and sustainable landscape that complements the spirit and work of the organization. In September 2012, volunteers with Pollination Guelph and Hospice Wellington planted over 300 perennials and flowering…

“Moving to a new school is difficult enough for youth, now imagine being new to the country, city, neighbourhood, and having to function in a second language”, says Roya Rabbani, Executive Director of Immigrant Services – Guelph Wellington. Each year, through its various programs, Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington serves more than 900 newcomers to Guelph and Wellington, many…

A fledgling youth orchestra received a boost through an innovative partnership and support.  In 2011, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and Guelph Youth Music Centre (GYMC) teamed up to provide financial backing and ongoing mentorship to 32 Guelph-area youth in striking a new Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra. A grant of $6,000 through The Guelph Community Foundation’s Musagetes Fund – dedicated to performing,…

Each year, The Guelph Community Foundation invites requests for funding from charitable organizations within Guelph and Wellington County. Charitable organizations deliver the services and champion the causes that make our community thrive. Whether it is recreation opportunities for children, meals for the hungry, end of life care, or culture for the soul, our not-for-profit sector makes it all happen. The…

(2009 Building Vital Communities Grant)  ‘What does a healthy plant look like and if a plant is going to do well, what does it need to have to stay healthy?’. This is a question that is asked to participants at the Julien Project going into its 4th growing season. The Julien Project, which recently received a…

(2009 Building Vital Communities) – Given that Guelph has been named as one of the best cities in Canada to live, you may be surprised to learn that 15 percent of Guelph and Wellington’s families with children live in poverty. Living on Less workshops began as a pilot outreach project at St. James Apostle Church to help people…

(2008 GCF Children & Youth Fund) – Twelve parents (ages 15-24) and ten children (ages 6 and under) gather in Fergus for the Young Parents Resource Night offered by the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington (CRC). This weekly program provides young moms and dads with opportunities to develop skills in parenting, health and safety, nutrition,…

Immigrating and becoming a new Canadian is a significant change and many women feel isolated as they begin a new life in a completely different culture. The Guelph Community Health Centre was granted $3,000 from the Musagetes Fund for the Helping Hands for Arts & Culture program, supporting women from different backgrounds. This initiative provided opportunity for women to meet others in…

KidzCreate Grant Story By Judith Rosenberg – Founder & Director, Spark of Brilliance (2005 Musagetes Fund grant ) – “It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole”, explained a frustrated mother of her beautiful young daughter with autism. “Our kids just don’t fit”.Parents and other stakeholders from the special needs community along with representatives from the mainstream…

(2005 Guelph Mercury Kids-to-Camp Fund): This past Thanksgiving, the Guelph Mercury successfully revived the historic Thanksgiving Day Races. Over 300 runners and walkers participated and over 1000 people took in the festivities of the Family Fun Day on a perfect fall day. At the end of the day, $2500 was raised for the Guelph Mercury Kids to Camp…

(2004 Sanctuary Woods Fund) – In 2004, The Guelph Community Foundation’s Sanctuary Woods Fund granted $1,350 to Fred A. Hamilton Public School and $1,350 to Jean Little Public School for the purchase of trees. Many schools, particularly in new subdivisions have very little [if any] trees on the property and sun exposure during two 15 minute recess breaks and…