This achievement could not have been realized without the incredible financial support of our partnering financial institutions, Foundations, corporate and individual donors, the Foundation & Society Boards of Directors, and the Society’s Staff and Management. We also celebrate the extraordinary grant-funding partnerships with New Beginnings, Beauty is Me, Windsor Public Library, Hiatus House and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, ensuring the delivery of the most mpactful, evidence-based and life-changing programs funded by this campaign.

These partnerships empowered youth to build life and work skills through mentorship and job placements. They provided access to books and inspired the love of reading in our Kinship Service children and families. They allowed for direct financial support to youth for enhanced wraparound mental health & academic success. Community Leaders and Mentors gathered to empower black and biracial youth to create cultural connections and embrace their identity through enriching activities and learning opportunities. They also contributed to investing many hours of support and education in working intensively with caregivers to help them face their life challenges, overcome their trauma experiences, build effective parenting skills, and develop the resiliency they need for brighter days ahead, for themselves and their children.

The collective contributions of our donors and community partners assured the Foundation that the fundraising goal would be more than matched with earnest compassion and a steadfast commitment to support a movement focused on uplifting our most vulnerable children, youth, and families. Although we wrap up the campaign, its success will endure and continue to inspire hope. We are sincerely grateful to Keith Negley, Editor and children’s book Illustrator, for the beautiful image that he created to brand the campaign. The image will remain on the front façade of the building, representing a caring community that honours the children, youth, and families who bravely face the many obstacles in their way, to embrace new possibilities filled with light and hope for tomorrow.

As a result of a Community Impact Grant of $15,000 from the WindsorEssex Community Foundation, the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Foundation (WECAF) is able to launch the “Growing a Love of Learning” program.   This is a collaboration between WECAF and the Windsor Public Library.

 The ”Growing a Love of Learning” program will provide children and youth living in kinship homes with a personalized book library, which will include books tailored to their reading interests, reading level, learning needs, and identity to offer children and youth more opportunities to engage in reading with materials that they enjoy; help children and youth gain confidence in their reading skills; promote equity, accessibility, and ownership of reading materials; and encourage Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society (WECAS) kinship families to read together more often.

In partnership with the Windsor Public Library, a library learning event will be held at a library branch midway through the program.  Kinship caregivers will have the opportunity to listen to and interact with a keynote speaker with expertise in reading/literacy as well as receive information about resources in the community and the programming they can access.

Cheryl Sprague, President of the WECAF comments, “The Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Foundation is very appreciative of this generous grant from the WindsorEssex Community Foundation that will inspire learning and reading amongst many of the children, youth and families that WECAS serve.  Promoting a love of learning at an early age can only plant the seeds for an enriching tomorrow”.

Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society (WECAS) is thrilled to now support more than 20 additional individuals build work-life skills for the future thanks to a RBC Future Launch donation. This donation builds on RBC’s ongoing commitment since 2018, now totalling $250,000, supporting the Capturing a Future Through Life Opportunities, Leadership and Experience program.

This comprehensive job skill training program provides hands-on employment experiences that align to the participants’ interests, development opportunities and skills.  The goals are to provide youth with basic and essential skills to job search, how to prepare for and interact in an employment setting, and how to expand these skills and opportunities into career aspirations.

“We are thankful to RBC for this enormous support of youth.  This program has not only provided tangible knowledge and resources, it has served to ignite hope, and momentum within youth to pursue future aspirations.  In many cases, the program has been awe-inspiring as youth gain confidence in themselves and their abilities to achieve success”, says Derrick Drouillard, Executive Director of WECAS.

The youth that WECAS serves face challenges such as poverty, unemployment, addictions and mental health challenges.  Many do not have the means or preparedness to consider traditional post-secondary options.  This program provides them with the tools and resources to begin an employment search as well as an opportunity to have hands on-experience in an employment setting that corresponds with their individual interests.  The success rate has been high as youth have obtained full-time employment or have determined what they would like to pursue in terms of a vocation or further education.

“We’re excited to be working with WECAS to help bring RBC Future Launch to life through their incredible skills development program,” says Fran Savoni, Regional Vice President, Windsor Kent County, RBC.  “When experience is so important to getting a job – but so hard to gain, young people are left feeling uncertain about their futures. We hope that through our partnership with WECAS, RBC Future Launch can help young people get those all-important first jobs and break the ‘no experience, no job’ cycle.”