$71,680 received through Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund to Support Staff Wellness and Volunteer Initiatives

Windsor, ON – In 2023, Connections Early Years Family Centre received a $71,680 investment from the Government of Canada under the Community Services Recovery Fund for the Providing for Personnel project. The purpose of this project is to provide Connections’ staff, volunteers, and board of directors with the tools to optimize their work experience to increase engagement, retention, and support.

“I am continually impressed by the passion, dedication, and creativity of community service organizations, like Connections Early Years Family Centre. I am equally proud the Government of Canada has supported their important work through the Community Services Recover Fund. By investing in these organizations and their projects we can help create a more just and equitable society, where everyone has opportunities to succeed. I look forward to seeing the positive impact of this investment in Windsor over the years to come.”

– JENNA SUDDS, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

The purpose of the Providing for Personnel project is to help Connections address barriers to effective work practices identified during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the upcoming year of operation, physical/mental health resources and supports, technology, and updated system operation optimization will be implemented.

This project’s funding has allowed Connections to hire a full-time employee to enhance staff wellness and volunteer initiatives with the following activities: creating a volunteer recruitment and retention plan, creating a wellness plan for staff that establishes the timelines and goals over the next five years, continuing to build and develop a positive workplace, and evaluating new and ongoing initiatives within the wellness plan and the volunteer recruitment and retention plan.

“We value this recovery support from the Government of Canada. This funding has provided us the ability to enhance the workplace experience for Connections’ staff and volunteers by developing and initiating retention strategies and wellness practices.”

– BARB BROWN, Executive Director, Connections Early Years Family Centre

Connections Early Years Family Centre is committed to providing support, resources, and individualized services to promote the early learning and healthy development of families and their young children from ages 0 to 6. Connections has an EarlyON Centre that offers supportive programs that foster the well-being and engagement of parents and children.

They also offer the Be Back Soon Program, a no-cost short-term child care program for families to attend appointments, while their children are cared for by Registered Early Childhood Educators. Additionally, Connections is the lead agency of the Talk 2 Me Preschool Speech & Language Program, the Infant Hearing Program, the Blind-Low Vision Program, the Ontario Autism Program’s Caregiver-Mediated Early Years Program, and the W.E.R.E.C.E. Mentorship Program.

About the Community Services Recovery Fund

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits, and Indigenous governing bodies, as they adapt and modernize their organizations.

Media Contact

Barb Brown – Executive Director, Connections Early Years Family Centre
519.252.9696 ext. 202 | bbrown@connectwithus.ca