There’s no doubt about it – we’re living in difficult times, and everyone is feeling it. But the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 are hitting our society’s most vulnerable people the hardest, and businesses have a role to play to help. That’s why the Ian Martin Meaningful Work Foundation is holding our values and mission strong and funding 8 community organizations in 2020 that not only are breaking down barriers to employment, but are pivoting their missions to life-saving initiatives in this time of great need.
We are beyond delighted to introduce our 6 grant recipients for 2020: Yonge Street Mission, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Citizens Foundation Canada, Home Suite Hope, Jake’s House, and Spectrum Works. These organizations join our roster of ongoing multiyear partnerships with Plan International Canada and Windmill Microlending. From providing equitable access to basic needs, education, and employment opportunities, these 8 organizations are transforming their communities in immensely impactful ways and we could not be more proud to partner with them!
Yonge Street Mission (YSM)
In a given year, there are at least 35,000-40,000 youth experiencing homelessness in Canada. Yonge Street Mission (established in 1896) is a vibrant, local development agency which is leading an inspiring movement that goes beyond meeting immediate needs by offering holistic programs and a pathway that can transform the lives of people living with poverty in Toronto, including street-involved youth, families in need, and adults overcoming multi-generational poverty.
Our work with the YSM provides access to a variety of programs and services that are especially in need during this current crisis, including access to healthy meals, counselling, care management, health and dental care, food bank, employment and housing support, daycare, life skills, literacy courses, and much more.
For more information, visit www.ysm.ca.
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB)
The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to foster sustainable business relations between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people and Canadian Business. Through striving to achieve this mission, the CCAB also aims to grow a diverse and prosperous Indigenous business community.
Our work with the CCAB will help Indigenous people receive economic reconciliation through the growth of Indigenous business via their Tools and Financing for Aboriginal Business (TFAB) program. The program provides Indigenous entrepreneurs with practical business tools, expertise, training and networks, enabling these entrepreneurs to strengthen and grow their businesses. Through the TFAB Program, Indigenous businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities have access to:
- A growing library of practical business tools and resources
- Interactive Business Skills Development Podcasts
- Growing catalogue of previous TFAB Podcasts
- Indigenous Business Networking Events held in cities across Canada
For more information, visit www.ccab.com.
Citizens Foundation Canada
Children, and especially young girls, are among the world’s most vulnerable populations. TCF Canada is committed to deliver quality education to children and offers a model for how education systems with similar challenges can achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
Currently, TCF operates in 700 locations across 61 districts in Pakistan, with over 1,652 schools providing quality education to 266,000 children. Their vision is to enable every child to become an agent of positive change. Agents of positive change are well-rounded, motivated, and capable individuals who will not only be able to steer themselves and their families out of poverty, but also seek to improve the future of their communities and nation at large.
Our work with the TCF focuses on providing vulnerable and underprivileged girls with access to secondary education, as well as provoding scholastic and other educational materials.
Together, we will help support the education of over 30 underprivileged girls this year.
For more information, visit tcfcanada.org.
Home Suite Hope
In the Halton region of Ontario, single parents spend approximately 45% of their income on shelter alone. Single parents face extreme barriers to employment that enables them to achieve financial stability and independence. Home Suite Hope unites a network of vital support services for single parents and their children to encourage and support them as they journey from poverty to stability.
Our work with Home Suite Hope will be focused on their Stablizing First Halton program, which helps remove barriers of poverty so single parents can move towards self-sufficiency. The program includes supports for:
- Stabilizing from homelessness to housed
- Learning life skills and professional development
- Obtaining college diplomas
- Maintaining market rent independently
- Transitioning off of Social Assistance
- Obtaining full-time Permanent Employment
- Breaking the cycle of generational poverty
For more information, visit www.homesuitehope.org.
Jake’s House
Jake’s House was established to provide meaningful support to families living with Autism across Canada. By spending quality time together, individuals with autism and mentors share meaningful experiences and build relationships, thereby fostering an increased sense of inclusion, confidence, and improved social experiences.
Our work with Jake’s House helps to support individuals on the spectrum throughout their lifespans through core initiatives, including:
- The Legends Mentoring Program, which features group mentoring workshops that provide youth with opportunities to learn skills, socialize and make friends
- Jake’s House Employment Mentoring, a program that supports the integration of young adults into the workforce
- Inclusive housing solutions, designed to address the growing housing gap in the autism community
For more information, visit www.jakeshouse.ca.
Spectrum Works
A staggering 86% of adults with Autism are unemployed. Established in 2017, the annual Spectrum Works job fair , which takes place in Toronto, Richmond, B.C. and Montreal, aims to break down barriers for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to give them the chance to find meaningful work.
The job fair aims to proactively connect some of Canada’s top employers interacting with people living with ASD, while breaking stigmas associated with people living with ASD. Many employers are not aware that individuals with autism can be productive workers, and they also lack awareness and confidence in terms of successfully integrating them into the workforce. The fair aims to change that through fostering connection and conversation while offering job skill workshops, resume/employment consulting, and on-site job interviews.
For more information, visit spectrumworks.ca.
In these trying times, community support is needed more than ever. Together with our grant recipients and partners, the Ian Martin Meaningful Work Foundation is continuing our mission to break down barriers to employment, and to lead with purpose towards a more inclusive economy for all.
Kate Siklosi is the Resident Wordsmith at the Ian Martin Group. In her spare time she's a full-throttle dog-and-cat-mom, an experimental poetry editor, and a fierce oxford comma defender (see what she did there?!).
Latest posts by Kate Siklosi (see all)
- Ian Martin Meaningful Work Foundation Announces 2020 Grant Recipients - May 11, 2020
- 2019 Ian Martin Meaningful Volunteer Program Highlights - February 6, 2020
- Ian Martin Meaningful Work Foundation Announces 2019 Grant Recipients - July 18, 2019
