United Way is changing the way it works with residents, community partners and local service providers to support the new Cradle to Career strategy.
Our Focus
United Way is focusing its community investments on improving outcomes for children and youth in Windsor-Essex County in the areas of out-of-school programs, improving elementary math and literacy outcomes, mental health, and nutrition.
Our three priority neighbourhoods include Downtown Windsor, West Windsor, and Leamington.
UUnited Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County funds 31 community service organizations through the Community Services Recovery Fund
The Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support charities and non-profits as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery. United Way Centraide Canada was one of three national intermediaries, selected to administer funding.
The application deadline for the Community Services Recovery Fund was February 21, 2023. After a rigorous community review of applications submitted through the United Way/Centraide Windsor Essex County, we are pleased to announce $1,535,605 in CSRF funding will support 31 capacity building projects being delivered across Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent. Approved projects are outlined below.
For more information, please reach out to CSRF@weareunited.com.
| Organization & CSRF Funded Project Description |
| Article Inc To develop and pilot a program to recruit and mentor youth who are aspiring arts professionals. Youth will develop the tools to govern and operate a professional arts organization and will be paid a stipend for completion of program. |
| Black Kids in Action Performing Arts Group Virtual connectivity to support black youth with mentorship and exploring diverse career paths. |
| The Windsor Parade Corporation Free public “Christmas in The County” holiday event at Heritage Village and the Canadian Transportation Museum |
| Kingsville Music Society The project will provide opportunity for new partnerships to recruit volunteers and reduce barriers for seniors and diverse populations to access free music events in the community. |
| Meta Makers Cooperative Inc. Project will upgrade their maker space and purchase new state-of-the-art technology that is accessible to diverse groups across the Windsor-Essex community. |
| Migrant Worker Community Program Project will integrate marketing and story-telling components into all MWCP programs to strengthen outreach, branding, community awareness and good will. Strengthen capacity of the MWCP to continue to be the leading provider of support services to temporary foreign workers across Essex County. |
| Family Fuse This project will introduce new virtual supports to make it easier to help Black families with system navigation and will provide tools and information needed to build resiliency post pandemic. |
| Youth Connection Association for Academic Excellence Inc. Culturally appropriate programing to support positive mental health among black youth |
| The Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County Project will educate service providers, clients and staff about new and existing services to ensure newcomers have simplified and equitable access to mental health services to support recovery and resiliency. |
| Windsor Hackforge This project will introduce multi-platform programming and new virtual strategies to engage residents in problem solving to support resiliency post pandemic. |
| Workforce Windsor Essex Strategy to help better connect students to workplaces in an evolving labour market. The project will provide personalized support, school presentations and employer awards that will result in new student placement opportunities and support for local employers to proactively fill in-demand and hard-to-fill positions with local talent. |
| John McGivney Children’s Centre To expand and modernize a post pandemic strategy to support students with disabilities and their families as youth transition out of high school. Creation of a new advisory committee and updated strategy/plan to expand workshops, outreach, and programing to develop independence, job readiness, relationships, safety and self-advocacy. |
| Windsor Essex Child/Youth Advocacy Centre Program will offer child/youth victims of abuse interim mental health support, while they are waitlisted for necessary community support services (e.g., counselling) post pandemic. |
| Life After Fifty Expansion of recreational programs for seniors. |
| Unemployed Help Centre Support for summer meals for students and capacity building within the Ontario Student Nutrition Program, Direct School Food Delivery Program. |
| Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society Project to remodel behavioral support services by adapting our clinical service model to reflect cultural and socio-economic differences and new needs post pandemic. |
| Serenity Circle Recovery Farm Project allows county residents to recover from addictions while being influenced by the calming and sustaining effect of garden/farm work and the outdoors. |
| Association des communautés francophones de l ‘Ontario Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent The project will enable staff to manage and promote a regional platform for Francophone volunteers through digital and in-person events and channels. |
| COOK-UP This project will strengthen the capacity to support entrepreneurs from equity-deserving populations to build and sustain resilient businesses in the food sector. |
| Congregation Beth El of Windsor An audio-visual streaming solution would provide high quality sound and video to digitally stream religious services and other community events. |
| Welcome Centre Shelter for Women Project will create/offer a variety of shelter-specific harm reduction online trainings to assist shelters in embracing and incorporating harm reduction practices into frontline services. |
| McBride Youth United Association This project will build capacity of McBride Youth United Association to enhance their youth mentorship work across the community. |
| LaSalle Hang Out for Youth This project will build the internal capacity of the LaSalle youth center to continue to enhance the support they offer to youth post-pandemic. |
| Westover Treatment Centre Pilot Program offers a modified version of online treatment for people suffering from addiction, to alleviate wait list, expand access and early intervention. |
| NeighbourLink C-K Meeting people where they are at with food support and relationship building to connect vulnerable populations with housing and other social services. |
| Chatham Kent Student Breakfast Program Expanded access and capacity building for the school food delivery program |
| Acceptional Riders Therapeutic Riding Program The project will provide opportunity for new partnerships to recruit volunteers and reduce barriers for seniors and diverse populations to access free music events in the community. |
| The Salvation Army Chatham-Kent Ministries Pathway of Hope CK is a redesign and adaptation to our programming that is designed using strength-based approaches to help break cycles of poverty. |
| Sati Hall This program will provide mindfulness activities as recovery mechanisms for women under severe stress and other equity-deserving groups in the community. |
| New Beginnings ABI & Stroke Recovery Association Expanded vocational training, recreational programming, assistance with transportation and food security and personal support services. |
| Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority The project will reimage the Chatham-Kent Childrens Safety Village (now the C.M. Wilson Learning Centre) providing safety programming, adding environmental and indigenous programming, addressing admin/funding issues and resurrecting community support. |
Funded by the Government of Canada
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