Seed Grants
The Junior League of Toronto (JLT) allocates seed grant funding to community groups to assist in the development of innovative new programs. Seed grants are available to help fund initiatives that will provide essential services to the community. The JLT hopes that programs that receive seed grants will develop alternative funding sources that will allow them to continue indefinitely.
For information on applying for a seed grant, please see Apply for Assistance.
2010 Seed Grant Recipients
1. Elizabeth Fry Toronto
Over the past two years the agency has been responding intensively to the needs of women who have successfully left the criminal justice system and are moving on with their lives.
The seed grant will fund Peer Leadership training of 24 women as peer facilitators to co-facilitate 28 workshops about women and the criminal justice system.
2. Yonge Street Mission’s Evergreen Centre for Street Youth (YSM)
The JLT seed grant will provide funding for uniforms and equipment in two new innovative programs at YSM. The Midnight Martial Arts program, is aimed at high-risk youth on fridays from 11pm-2am. They hope to minimize high-risk behavior during those hours by offering structured recreation.
The Street Vents Self-defense program is geared to women in the sex trade or at high-risk of sexual exploitation. It teaches them how to respond from vulnerable positions, rather than merely from a standing position where escape is easier.
3. Community Home Assistance To Seniors (CHATS)
Currently over 40% of Canadian seniors don’t consume enough calories and protein on a daily basis. CHATS provides over 20 programs and services to help more than 6000 seniors and caregivers live well in their own home and community.
The Grant will allow them to introduce a Meals On Wheels Hot Meal Program with a moveable trolley system. It will provide a safe and high quality choice to meet senior’s nutritional needs.
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2009 Seed Grant Recipients
1. Warden Woods Community Centre ~ Toronto
The JLT contribution will support the Vesta Women’s Group, a community catering program run by the women that provides catering services for in-house events.
2. Women’s Centre of York Region ~ NewMarket
The JLT contribution will support WCYR’s poverty relief program, Bridging the Gap. Bridging the Gap workshop series will assist women in financial crisis or difficulty.
3. Pathways for Children, Youth and Families ~ Markham
The JLT contribution will help Pathways implement a recreational program, aimed at increasing self confidence, team spirit and healthy living in young women and men who are experiencing crisis in their lives.
4. Distress Centres ~ Toronto
The JLT contribution will help the Distress Centre implement a new program to assist the chronically mentally ill and socially isolated – the Caller Reassurance Program.
5. Home Suite Hope Shared Living ~ Oakville
The JLT contribution would provide Home Suite Hope with the ability to develop the ‘Living Lively – Nutrition’ program. This program would provide single men with cooking skills, improve nutritional knowledge, provide network and social support enhancement, relationship building, confidence building and enjoyment.
2008 Seed Grant Recipients
1. Community Youth Programs (link on title: www.cyphalton.com)
Community Youth Programs supports youth who are living independently and earning minimum wage while working towards high school graduation. Through its Damian Neary Fund, Community Youth Programs provides tangible and practical support to these youth. The JLT provided seed grant funding to assist Community Youth Programs in meeting the needs of their clients including providing food store vouchers, and assisting with expenses for prescription medication and urgent dental care.
2. Evergreen Centre for Street Youth
The Evergreen Centre for Street Youth is a branch of the Yonge Street Mission focusing on meeting the complex needs of Toronto’s large street youth population. The JLT provided a seed grant to support Evergreen’s Pimp Prevention Initiative, a mandated case management program that works with males between the ages of 16 and 25 who have been convicted of charges that include living off the avails, procuring, and/or operating a bawdy house. This initiative seeks to provide opportunities for change, to educate young men on how their behaviour negatively affects themselves and society, and to stop the exploitation of sex workers. Seed grant funding was spent on developing brochures, posters and program materials, and on additional supplies required to conduct workshops.
3. Hospice King-Aurora
Hospice King-Aurora is a not-for-profit charitable organization offering specialized services and support to those who live with life threatening illness and to those who are bereaved. Hospice King-Aurora serves the communities of King Township and south Aurora. The JLT provided seed grant funding to support the development of the “Just in Case...” program for bereaved children. This program involves the development and provision of a self-care take-home tool (the “Just in Case...”) to assist grieving children who have lost a loved one to death. It will include a number of safe age-appropriate items such as picture frames, craft-making tools, activity books and journals that children can use to deal with the day to day feelings that continue to occur throughout the grieving process. A trial of the program in the spring of 2007 was well-received by children participating in both the grieving children’s and teen’s support groups.
4. KidsFest Canada
KidsFest is a non-profit organization committed to eradicating the root causes of child poverty in Canada. Through education, KidsFest Canada provides the building blocks necessary for elementary aged children to break the vicious cycle of generational poverty. [Description to be completed]
5. Peace by PEACE Toronto
Peace by PEACE is a campus-based student engagement program that works to prevent the occurrence of youth violence and bullying in Toronto. Peace by PEACE brings together student volunteers from the University of Toronto and York University to teach conflict resolution to Grade 5 students. The JLT provided a seed grant to Peace by PEACE to help subsidize the cost of handbooks for students, teachers and volunteers.
6. Westhill Community Services
Westhill Community Services (W.H.C.S.) provides primary health care and community/social support for individuals, families, youth, adults and seniors. The JLT provided a seed grant to W.H.C.S. to assist in the development of a community/therapeutic garden at the Adult Day Centre. The Adult Day Centre provides essential programs for frail seniors and seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Research studies have shown that gardening can have many benefits for individuals living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and it is anticipated that the community/therapeutic garden will contribute towards W.H.C.S.’s clients’ emotional and physical health, and provide an enjoyable setting for outdoor group activities.
7. York Region Food for Learning
2007 Seed Grant Recipients
1. The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC)
METRAC works to eliminate all forms of violence against women and children. The JLT provided seed grant funding to support the launch of METRAC’s “Healthy Families: Violence-Free Homes” campaign. This campaign involved the development of greeting cards with messages about family violence and its impact on children, and information about resources that are available to assist children youth, women and families in crisis. Proceeds from the sales of the cards were to be used to support METRAC’s “Respect in Action: Youth Preventing Violence (ReAct)” program. ReAct is a peer-to-peer program that educates youth on how to deal with violence at home and how to end the cycle of violence in their lives.
2. Opportunity for Advancement
Opportunity for Advancement works, among other things, to reduce isolation among women living in poverty in the social housing community of Pelham Park and Symington. The JLT provided seed grant funding to create program materials in English and Spanish for a project aimed at reducing isolation for women living in Toronto Community Housing. This is part of a community development project that seeks to increase the skill capacity of women to reduce their isolation, to increase their confidence to develop strategies for their own lives, and to increase their ability to participate in their community.
3. Parent-Child Mother Goose Program
The Parent-Child Mother Goose Program (PCGM) provides a group experience for parents and their babies and young children which focuses on the pleasure and power of using rhymes, songs and stories together. Parents gain skills and confidence which can enable them to create positive family patterns during their children’s crucial early years, and give their children healthy early experiences with language and communication. The JLT provided seed grant funding to support a national conference of PCMG Canada to provide PCMG program teachers and colleagues opportunities to develop and enhance their professional skills and to network and share the experiences that make this unique program successful.
4. Scarborough Women’s Centre
Scarborough Women’s Centre facilitates the empowerment of any woman wanting to leave an abusive or isolating situation, so she can implement long term positive changes with confidence. The Young Women’s Outreach Team is focused on helping young women become aware of the issues they face such as abuse, healthy relationships, personal confidence and future planning. The JLT provided seed grant funding to support the development and distribution of training materials, resources and promotional materials to assist in peer volunteer programs. Peer volunteers help women learn that there are community resources such as the Scarborough Women’s Centre, there to provide support. By developing self-confidence, understanding the importance of staying in school, or the impact of abusive relationships, young women will be able to make positive choices in their lives that will better prepare them for their future
