Eight local organizations have received financial help from the Rotary Club of Sarnia to complete projects aimed at improving the quality of life within the city and surrounding areas.
The Rotary Club recently announced more than $50,000 worth of funding through its first round of 2022 Action Grants. The Women's Interval Home was one of the recipients and received $7,870 to complete renovations at its emergency shelter.
Fundraising and Marketing Coordinator Kyla Goodhand said the Women's Interval Home ran the Sponsor a Room campaign over the past few months to upgrade 10 resident rooms.
"We have 10 resident rooms and we also have a group access room. From the Rotary Club, the money that we got from them went towards renovating two of the rooms," she said. "We redid all of the flooring, we put a new bed and mattress in, we put a new dresser in, and we painted all of the walls."
With renovations underway, other community partner donors (aside from the Rotary Club of Sarnia) included Shoppers Drug Mart’s of Sarnia-Lambton, Kel-Gor Limited, Seaway Kiwanis Club, Adam Dumond and Mike Cullis (through their hike with the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation), RBC Social Impact Foundation, and the Sarnia Legion Branch 62.
Room renovations at the Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton. (Photo courtesy of the Rotary Club of Sarnia)
Goodhand said it's important for women and children to have a welcoming and safe space to be in when going through a crisis.
"Especially during the pandemic, we have had a lot of use out of our shelter and it's been a long time since we've been able to update and renovate things, so it was nice that we were able to do that now," she said.
In 2021, 124 women and 65 children were admitted into the emergency shelter.
“It’s a worthy project,” said Rotary Club of Sarnia President Mike Elliott in a statement. “We’ve not donated to the Women’s Interval Home in several years and this is a project we’re happy to contribute to.”
Those who experience abuse or know someone in crisis, are encouraged to call the Women’s Interval Home at 1-800-265-1412.
A list of other Rotary Club grant recipients included through this round of funding can be found below. Exact funding amounts were not specified, however, media contact Michael John Kooy said the amounts distributed to each group range between $5,000 and $15,000.
Kooy said about $50,000 worth of funding will be available during the Rotary Club's second round of grant funding. The application deadline is set for August 15. He said the Rotary Club typically receives 10-12 applicants per round of funding and applicants are welcome to reapply.
Guidelines and the application form can be found on the Rotary Club's website.
2022 Action Grant Recipients (First round)
- Alzheimer Society of Sarnia Lambton to complete outdoor patio space
- Hashtag Local Project
- St. John Ambulance Sarnia Lambton to help buy 10 manikins for CPR training
- Sarnia Lambton Suicide Prevention to support a community navigator role
- St. Joseph’s Hospice for a bath and shower lift
- Pathways Health Centre for Children for website redesign
- Safer Spaces Canada Project for its All Drag Empowering Youth Art project