Province gives nearly $1M to North Bay and area organizations

The provincial government is giving 11 North Bay and area organizations a combined total of just more than $920,000 to help them offset the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant is funded by the province’s Resilient Communities Fund.

"Non-profit organizations are a crucial and valued part of any community, especially here in Nipissing," said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.

"Countless people rely on their services every day, and even facing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, they still deliver."

Local recipients include the following:

• $150,000 for Hands the Family Help Network

• $132,500 for the Near North Palliative Care Network

• $117,300 for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 455 Callander

• $109,800 for Serenity Hospice

• $91,900 for the Elite Alpine Ski Cross

• $90,900 for the Northern Ontario Curling Association

• $79,000 for the Municipality of East Ferris

• $72,300 for Laurentian Ski Hill

• $57,000 for the Near North Trails Association

• $13,900 for the Discovery Routes Trails Organization

• 6,700 for the Municipality of Powassan

"At Hands, we take our role as an essential service provider very seriously, and the needs of our clients and families are at the core of everything we do," said Andrea Roberts, Hands theFamiliyHelpNetwork.ca CEO.

"With this funding, Hands will ensure we are able to maintain in-person service that is effective and safe for our clients and employees, and we will strengthen and enhance our IT strategies to continue to provide highly effective virtual service for our clients."

The Nipissing Serenity Hospice, which opened in January 2020, had plans slowed or halted by the pandemic, including in areas of grief or bereavement.

“This funding will allow us to develop and implement a robust and comprehensive grief and bereavement support program to assist our residents and their loved ones through their end-of-life journeys and beyond,” said Gil Pharand, executive director of the hospice.

"The very generous funding provided will allow us to bring these plans to life and support the Nipissing and East Parry Sound districts."

The Near North Palliative Care Network will use its portion to hire three staff for one year and sustain the same number of its clients served.

"This translates into around 5,000 individuals in northern Ontario who will have an end-of-life or grief journey completely changed for better, with the support of our volunteers and increased staff," said Monica Do Coutto Monni, executive director of the Near North Palliative Care Network.

In total, the Ontario government is providing $95.8 million this year through the Resilient Communities Fund to help 1,100 non-profit organizations across the province recover and rebuild.

The fund provides grants of up to $150,000 to eligible non-profit organizations to cover a broad range of needs.