Nearly $100,000 distributed through district’s Community Grant Program

The District of Muskoka has given 25 applicants funding through its Pay it Forward and Community Enhancement Grants. 

Officials with the district explains the Pay it Forward Grant is for projects that support a healthy, vibrant community, building community capacity and leadership, creatively problem-solve to fill a community need, and foster volunteerism along and encourage community engagement: 

• Mamas on Missions is getting $2,300 for weekly or monthly meetings for mothers to “come together, connect, and recharge” through networking and guest speakers, among other activities. 

• MYVoice: Muskoka Youth Voice is receiving $1,500 to continue giving youth in the area “a voice that will be heard, generating real change in the mental wellness systems the serve them.” 

• Sewing Camp is being given a cheque worth $1,480 to offer free sewing programs for children and adults. 

• Free Stuff 4 Daily Needs will put $1,250 to use by continuing to provide everyday household items to families in need. 

• Family Council, Muskoka Landing has been allocated $1,000 to help set-up a one-day celebration of “cultural diversity and inclusion” with music, dance, and food. 

• Muskoka Purseveres will use $1,000 to continue providing purses filled with essential items to those in need. 

• Building 2SLGBTQ+ has obtained $855 to organize monthly meetings with a therapist or community facilitator for young adults who identify as 2SLGBTQ+. 

• Friends of the Mactier Library has been awarded $765 to create a graphic novel and writing boot camp for children and teens. 

The Community Enhancement Grant offers up to $10,000 to non-profit organizations that address poverty reduction, food security, housing and living conditions, education and training opportunities, volunteer and job development, or citizen engagement: 

• The Manna Food Bank have secured $10,000 to cover operating costs. 

• Mind-Aid has inherited $10,000 to help clients who need “therapeutic support, determine needs, professional recommendations of psychological or psychiatric assessments, suitability for publicly funded options, access to benefits or funding programs they may qualify for.” 

• Simcoe/Muskoka Family Connection has gained $10,000 for its Bed for Muskoka Kids program, which provides beds, mattresses, and bedding for young people in need. 

• The Salvation Army Huntsville Food Bank and Family Services has accepted $10,000 to cover operating expenses. 

• Canadian Red Cross has gathered $6,233 for its Kits for Tents program, which provides displaced individuals with essential hygiene kits and other items to “improve their situation while residing in tents over the summer months.” 

• Gravenhurst Against Poverty has collected $5,000 so it can continue to provide taxi cards to those in need. 

• The Rotary Club of Bracebridge has earned $5,000 to provide home cooked meals to the Manna Food Bank. 

• The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society – Muskoka Region has attained $4,915 for its mobile animal sterilization hospital clinics. 

• Food4Kids Muskoka has landed $4,800 to support expanding its operation to Bracebridge and Gravenhurst. 

• Muskoka Indigenous Friendship Centre has gotten their hands on $4,298 to provide more programming and services for its locations in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Huntsville, and Muskoka Lakes. 

• FaithWorks Ministries has procured $2,955 to support older seniors with 20-to-30-minute visits. 

• Community YWCA of Muskoka has retained $2,900 for its Girlz Unplugged program. 

• Enliven Cancer Care has scored $2,520 to expand its Nia program, which “is a form of movement that those with cancer find truly healing.” 

• Knox Presbyterian Church has been granted $2,500 for its emergency food box program. 

• The Alzheimer Society of Muskoka has landed $2,500 to support its volunteer recruitment and retention initiative. 

• The Meeting Place, Centre for Growth and Healing will utilize $2,000 to facilitate 12 weeks of psychoeducational, art-led, and therapeutic engagement programming with therapists and volunteers. 

• March of Dimes Canada will benefit from $1,765 and use it to continue providing its deliver hospital peer connections program to stroke survivors. 

Officials say they received 48 applications for the pair of grants this year which comes after a few years of lower-than-expected numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.