Foundation awards $140K to programs for women

The Windsoressex Community Foundation is awarding grants totalling $140,000 to four local organizations supporting women, girls, two-spirit and gender diverse individuals in advance of International Women's Day on March 8.

The four organizations receiving funding include Women's Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor Inc., Windsor-essex Children's Aid Foundation, Welcome Centre Shelter for Women, and Windsor-essex Transgender and Allied Support.

“We are thrilled to support these four organizations who are working on the ground to advance gender equality in our community,” WECF board chairperson Tom Touralias said. “Our investment in their work is key to supporting women who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

WECF is among 21 community foundations across Canada granting $3.5 million to women's organizations, in partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and the federal government.

“We can work towards a just recovery by tackling systemic issues like racism, wage inequality, and gender-based violence,” WECF executive director Lisa Kolody said.

The grants are supplied for a variety of purposes, including piloting new initiatives, addressing community needs and recovering from the COVID-19 crisis. They strive to support women in areas such as food security, income inequality, racial injustice and domestic violence.

“As budgets get reallocated to public health and economic programs in the wake of the pandemic, these organizations are most at risk of losing funding,” Community Foundations of Canada president Andrea Dicks said.

“To create communities of true belonging and recover from this pandemic, we need to advance gender equality across the country.”