BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS RECEIVES $102K GRANT

CHARITY TO INTRODUCE NEW FUNDRAISING PROGRAMS

Over a dozen smiling faces gathered to celebrate a significant grant from the provincial government to a non-profit charity.

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones met with staff and volunteers of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dufferin and District to celebrate a $102,100 resilient communities fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. They were at their group outing at the Maple Syrup Festival in Island Lake on March 16.

"Big Brothers has been an important part of our Dufferin Community for decades," said Jones. "I am pleased to see that through an Ontario Trillium grant, they have been able to hire an additional staff member to meet the increasing needs to better serve youth in our community".

The grant will cover two years of operations and allow the charity to hire a new staff member to meet the greater demand for Big Brother Big Sister programs. It will also transition to new fundraising efforts in a post-COVID world. Thanks to Ontario Trillium, more children facing adversity will be matched with a caring mentor now and in the future.

"We're extremely grateful to receive the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant," said Nancy Stallmach, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dufferin and District "The impacts of COVID were profound on our agency. At the same time, we have seen more families access our programs as many children continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic. The Trillium grant will allow us to transition into new ways of doing things and help us serve more children in our local community. The grant has already allowed us to get our school programs back up and running and in-person."

Big Brothers Big Sisters enables life-changing relationships that ignite the power and potential of children facing adversity. To inquire about becoming a volunteer or to sign up a child for Big Brother Big Sister programs, visit www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/dufferin.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The agency invested nearly $209 million into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario's Community Building Fund in 2021.