It was a heartfelt thank you from The Children’s Foundation which held its donor appreciation luncheon at The Grand in Belleville on Tuesday.
In 2022, the Foundation helped about 500 children play on a sports team and more than 480 youth attend camp as well as awarding 50 youth scholarships and bursaries for post secondary education.
It was also a year of major change for the foundation as it welcomed several new team members including Melanie Cressman who took over as Executive Director only a few weeks ago.
She reminded donors about the profound successes their gifts enable.
” … the college or university graduate that starts from the scholarship or bursary program, or the mom who has gained the skills and confidence that will allow her child to stay in her custody through the support she got from the Helping Hands Program. Through your support you’re creating a sense of family for so many at-risk children who face struggles and have barriers within the traditional biological definition of the word.”
Cressman thanked the Board of Directors and staff for all their hard work, noting the organization was extremely short-staffed for a period of time but that everyone worked together to accomplish their goals.
Among the recipients of a bursary or scholarship through the Reach for Success program was Josh McBride of Trenton who told those in attendance he’s been travelling to Toronto multiple times a week to be with his mother, who has cancer, while attending Loyalist College.
“So with doing that, it’s been hard to put myself through school and focusing on my studies but since I’ve received the Peter Smith Memorial Bursary and Scholarships I will be graduating in April with a great average and a diploma as a PSW but will be attending paramedic or nursing in the following September.”
Josh McBride, a recipient of the Peter Smith Memorial Scholarship from The Children’s Foundation Reach for Success program, makes an address at the Foundation’s donor luncheon at The Grand in Belleville, January 31, 2023. (Photo: Alana Cameron, Quinte News)
The Children’s Foundation also offers young moms prenatal support, provides safe cribs for families in need and helps out families over the holidays with food hampers and gifts for children.
