Working together on local projects

From April 16 to June 16, 2024, Desjardins Ontario Credit Union issued a call for applications to provide financial support for meaningful projects in Ontario. This year, the selection committee chose 19 projects to share $500,000 in funding from the Community Development Fund (CDF).

The selected projects are in line with one or more of the CDF's main priorities:

• Health and healthy lifestyles
• The environment
• Education
• Economic development
• Humanitarian work and community services

The third edition of the Working together on local projects campaign ended with 90 submissions. Thank you to all the organizations that submitted projects. There are so many wonderful initiatives in our province, and it was a pleasure to learn more about them.

Sudbury and Northern Ontario

Project: Financial assistance for families
Organization: YMCA of Northeastern Ontario

Due to the post-pandemic recovery and the rising cost of living, there's an increasing need for financial support for families. The YMCA will use the funds to assist families in need with YMCA memberships, camps, swim lessons, early learning and after-school programs, youth programs, community programs, employment and settlement services, and educational programs.

Project: New museum artifact display and storage facility
Organization: Little Claybelt Homesteaders Museum

The small heritage museum has begun construction of the new 630-square-foot outdoor agricultural artifact storage and display building but needs support to complete the project. The funds will allow the Little Claybelt Homesteaders Museum to continue to grow and expand their collection of artifacts while ensuring their safe storage on a long-term basis.

Project: Sailboat fleet replacement
Organization: Navy League of Canada, Ontario Division, Sudbury Branch

The Sudbury Branch of the Navy League of Canada is looking to replace their 40-year-old sailboat fleet by purchasing 5 boats for use by the cadet corps in the Greater Sudbury area. The Cadet program aims to help young Canadians learn life skills including citizenship, teamwork and self-discipline. It's open to all Canadian youth regardless of income, origin, cultural or other socioeconomic factors.

Project: Summer collaborative mural project
Organization: Live Love Louder (L3)

Live Love Louder works with community advocates, neighbourhood groups, municipal representatives, and housing officers to help beautify shared community living spaces with cooperative murals and interactive games in subsidized housing communities around the City of Greater Sudbury. These projects bring neighbours together, dispel prejudice and foster lasting bonds through a shared sense of achievement, and transform dull spaces into lively, vibrant, and joyful ones.

Project: Community-led action to address stormwater pollutants
Organization: Junction Creek Stewardship Committee

This project aims to continue work started in a previous study by the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee. The funds will support activities such as capturing stormwater pollutants in storm drain filters, conducting community creek cleanups, engaging youth in stormwater awareness and stewardship activities, and providing educational materials to the public, promoting freshwater-friendly practices and the reduction of stormwater pollutants.

Ottawa region

Project: CACIA, Cap sur la Croissance
Organization: Conseil Économique et Social d'Ottawa-Carleton (CÉSOC)

The project is a key strategic initiative to support and strengthen francophone entrepreneurship among minority groups in Eastern Ontario. Its main objective is to create an inclusive and prosperous environment by providing comprehensive support to francophone entrepreneurs, through targeted initiatives, such as one-to-one coaching, enabling them to develop and grow their businesses.

Project: "Lire et faire lire" in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
Organization: Association lire et faire lire Ontario (ALFLO)

The Lire et faire lire program has 2 objectives: to instill a love of reading and a taste for books in children in grades 1 and 2, and to foster links between generations. Children have the chance to take part in small group reading activities, discover a wide range of French-language children's literature and forge ties with an older member of the community.

Project: Back-to-school supplies drive / Youth Career Skills training program
Organization: Leading Ladies Canada

The goal of the project is to empower black women, youth and children through various programs and initiatives such as community outreach and education. The Back-to-School Backpack Drive supports disadvantaged young people by providing them with essential school supplies, promoting educational equity. The Career Skills training program offers vital job-readiness assistance, enhancing the employability of marginalized groups and helping to eliminate racial disparities.

Project: Creating a sustainable local food system in rural Northwest Ottawa
Organization: Deep Roots Food Hub

With the collaboration of various local partners and organizations, Deep Roots Food Hub helps manage a community space where small local farmers can obtain space to store their harvests and make healthy, locally grown food more accessible in West Carleton's retail stores and restaurants. Deep Roots also participates in the expansion of the Good Food Box, a program that offers affordable fruits and vegetables once a month at various locations throughout Ottawa. Educational workshops on topics such as cooking, nutrition, gardening, canning and preservation are also offered to the community.

Eastern Ontario

Project: Expanding horizons with the Hippocampe Beach and all-terrain wheelchair
Organization: Community Living Glengarry Inc

Community Living Glengarry provides services to approximately 85 adults with a developmental disability. They operate 5 group homes that support 33 people. They'll use the funds to purchase a Hippocampe Beach and all-Terrain wheelchair. This special needs buggy has additional attachments (balloon wheels, skis) that can be used to access difficult terrains such as beaches (sand/water), parks, snow and hiking trails. The purchase will allow individuals to participate in new leisure activities and discover new horizons.

Project: Revitalization of the St-Albert boards
Organization: Groupe communautaire de St-Albert

The St-Albert Community Centre Park Subcommittee of the St-Albert Community Group is looking to replace the 30-year-old rink boards at Jean-Maurice Lavergne Park. This purchase will provide multi-generational users with an improved experience at one of the Nation Municipality's busiest parks.

Project: "Soulève-Moi" Campaign
Organization: Résidence Prescott-Russell Foundation

The Résidence Prescott-Russell has been welcoming members of the community who need a home with long-term care assistance since 1906. The aim of the Soulève-Moi campaign is to purchase Maxi-Sky systems. This lightweight, portable lift enables caregivers to safely transfer patients/residents from one place to another using a remote control and with little physical effort. The fundraising campaign's goal is to ensure the long-term future of the project, including the construction of a high-end building.

Project: The Nation on ice
Organization: The Nation Municipality

The funds donated to The Nation Municipality will go towards improving the St-Isidore arena. A new brine tube refrigeration system, a new cement floor, new boards, and acrylic sheet glass are needed to ensure a sustainable and safer environment for all arena users and visitors.

Project: A new delivery truck
Organization: Saint-Vincent de Paul Society

The funds donated to the Saint-Vincent de Paul Society Food Bank will go towards the purchase of a new delivery truck so that it can continue to offer temporary food aid to people in need in North and South Glengarry County. The organization makes an average of 10 deliveries a month and helps more than 45 families a week.

GTA and Southwestern Ontario

Project: Band Aid Program
Organization: MusiCounts

MusiCounts specializes in youth music education, making it inclusive, sustainable and accessible to Ontario youth by providing musical instruments, materials and resources. MusiCounts' Band Aid Program provides under-resourced schools with grants of up to $20,000 worth of musical instruments, equipment and resources to keep music education alive for the kids who need it most.

Project: "De fil en aiguille"
Organization: Centre communautaire francophone Windsor-Essex-Ken (CCFWEK)

The Centre offers free sewing courses giving participants access to traditional and modern sewing techniques. Whether beginners or more experienced, participants will be able to learn and practise hand or machine sewing, pattern making, crochet or ancestral techniques such as beading practised in Canada's communities. Special emphasis will be placed on sustainability. In an era of disposable clothing, courses at CCFWEK will emphasize textile recycling, garment repair and creating with recycled materials.

Project: Furniture Bank's sustainability partnership with IKEA Canada
Organization: Furniture Bank

Through its social employment trucking service, Furniture Bank picks up IKEA Canada's donations every day to enable thousands of people in Toronto to furnish their empty apartments, thereby significantly reducing waste, and carbon emissions. In addition to the environmental benefits of diverting furniture from landfills, this partnership transforms empty homes into stimulating, personalized environments that create a sense of belonging and stability, a service that improves both people's psychological and financial stability.

Project: 2024–2025 school year program
Organization: Lay-Up Youth Basketball

Lay-Up Youth Basketball offers free, year-round basketball programs for Toronto youth ages 6 to 14 in Toronto's inner-city neighbourhoods. Their programs are designed to combine youth development with an elite basketball experience and support youth in developing the skills needed to fulfill their potential and positively impact their physical, social and emotional well-being. They provide all necessary equipment and food, removing all barriers to allow participants to learn, develop, and meet new friends.

Project: GrowForever
Organization: Play Forever

GrowForever will be an urban farm aimed at increasing food sovereignty and providing educational opportunities. This farm will serve as a food hub, supplying fresh produce to local school breakfast programs and food banks. The project will feature a Growcer modular vertical hydroponic farming system, designed to support youth education in agriculture, food security, and sustainability. Students, under teacher supervision, will learn about controlled environment agriculture while growing greens for sale, distribution, or use in school food services.