Community Concerns for the Medically Fragile

Community Concerns for the Medically Fragile (CCMF) is a parent driven local advocacy group for medically fragile children and young adults in Sarnia/Lambton County. CCMF was formed in 1989 with the primary goal of establishing a group home for medically fragile children. That goal was reached in 2004 when Standing Oaks opened its doors. It is located at 1212 Michigan Avenue, Sarnia.

CCMF continues to grow! In 2018 a 4 bed expansion was opened and Standing Oaks can now accommodate 9 residents. (8 full time and one respite bed) Our in house art and music programs have evolved into weekly sessions and our dance and social gatherings take place quarterly. In addition to assisting those living in our specialized group home, CCMF assists medically fragile young people in our community.

Call 519-344-2719 or visit the website for more information.

Goodwill EKL

Goodwill Industries - Essex Kent Lambton's mission is Changing People's Lives Through the Power of Work.

Our vision is You Donate - Someone Works

Goodwill has a passion for encouraging residents to reduce, reuse and recycle household goods. Every day, we collect thousands of donations in the form of used clothing and household items that are sold in our local retail stores.

Reusing and recycling consumer goods not only funds our mission to change people's lives through the power of work, but this initiative is also very good for the environment too! When consumers donate clothing and other household items, the products are sold in retail stores giving them a second life and keeping them out of landfills. In 2017/2018 alone, 241,463 donors gave their gently used goods and more than 3,661,017 LBS of product was diverted from local landfills.

We are committed to making a real difference in people's lives, their families' lives and the communities in which they live. We believe in the power of dignity that is earned with a paycheque, and our employment programs and services help people with employment barriers to gain confidence, life skills and independence. How do we do it? By operating stores that provide jobs and training within the retail environment; by channeling 89.1% of our revenues into job creation and placement programs, and by ensuring we operate ethically and responsibly.

This year through the Race To Erase event we hope to collect monetary pledges/donations to supplement our Goodwill Connections Program allowing us to put forth more of our retail dollars into our job creation and placement programs. Goodwill Industries EKL has been and is a proud supporter of Race To Erase and look forward to participating each year.

Huron House Boys' Home

Huron House Boys' Home was established in 1970 by a group of concerned citizens who saw a need in the community for a warm environment for teenage boys to live. The response from the community was so great that in 1972 a 12 member volunteer Board of Directors formed. They immediately purchased the 12 acre piece of property known as Our Lady of Sorrows Junior Seminary which they had been leasing from the London Roman Catholic Diocese.

Huron House Boys' Home continues to provide a safe structured residential environment for adolescent boys with complex needs in order that they may have the opportunity to make positive changes in their lives. Since our beginning we have helped more than 1,000 boys grow into strong community-minded men with careers they and the community can be proud of. Teachers, principals, child care workers, businessmen and mechanics are just some of the careers in which boys have been successful.

Today, Huron House Boys' Home is a well-established agency, highly regarded throughout Southwestern Ontario. Our program is diverse and unique, with very high success rates. Huron House Boys' Home is licensed annually by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services for the Province of Ontario and is an Accredited Children's Mental Health Facility.

Huron House Boys' Home Foundation, a separate arms-length foundation with a separate Board of Directors, was formed in 1997, has the responsibility to ensure the long term financial viability of the Boys' Home.

Inn of the Good Shepherd

The Inn's mission is to provide service with dignity to those in need of food, shelter and other essentials. The Inn has a food bank, soup kitchen, 2 emergency shelters as well as other assistance programs such as rent/utility bank, income tax clinics, back-to-school kits, winter coat night, mobile market, summer snack packs, children's birthday club and much more.

The majority of Canadians now work in part-time jobs, minimum wage and no benefits. So many of the families and households we serve are working 2-3 part-time jobs, with uncertain hours striving to make ends meet. An everyday life crisis - someone gets sick and needs medicine, a week with shorter hours, glasses or dental work, a car breaking down and needing to be repaired to get to those part time jobs, school supplies or even winter wear. Any incident or need like these puts that household in the very difficult position of having to choose between health or work and food or rent or hydro!

Homelessness has become a crisis in our community with more people living on the streets than we've seen before. Addictions and the severe shortage of affordable housing has compounded this crisis. Between our 2 shelters and overflow shelter programs we are temporarily sheltering over 80 individuals and families and are housing 80 people through transitional and rent supplement programs.

With the severe lack of affordable housing (average rents have doubled in the last 6 years) The Board of The Inn is excited to be undertaking 2 affordable housing projects - in a partnership with Habitat for Humanity a build of 5 tiny townhouses and a affordable housing build with 45-50 units.

The Inn's programs help provide that helping hand to get folks out of these difficult times.

Lambton Circles

Circles is a hands-on community strategy that helps hard working people transition out of poverty.To succeed, people need support, direction, education, financial skills, job training and most importantly, hope.

The Circles Campaign promotes the vision to end poverty in the County of Lambton by:

• Building intentional relationships across class and race lines;
• Identifying barriers that keep people in poverty;
• Implementing innovative solutions;
• Creating effective partnerships to help families;
• Changing the goals of the system to support families and economic change.

Everyone needs enough relationships, resources and reasons to thrive!

www.lambtoncircles.com

Lambton County Developmental Services (LCDS)

LCDS is a comprehensive social service agency committed to providing quality supports for people with developmental disabilities and contributing to the communities where we operate. We believe that sustainability, collaboration and innovation are important themes that strengthen our impact. We hope our supports and services, the way we do business and our presence in the community reflect those themes. We believe that all people should have the freedom and support to pursue their goals and dreams, and it is our mission to help make that happen!

We are very proud of our humble beginnings; in 1955 a group of parents whose children had developmental disabilities dared to dream of a life for their child beyond institutions. They began meeting in their homes to develop creative solutions that would provide the support they needed to help their children lead a life with choices and opportunities within their community. 60 years later, what is now LCDS, supports nearly 200 people and their families in that same mission!

Literacy Lambton

Headquartered in the Lochiel Kiwanis Community Centre in the heart of Sarnia's downtown district, Literacy Lambton's mission is to create and deliver exceptional literacy learning opportunities for the residents of Lambton County.

We help adults 18+ improve their reading, writing, math, basic computer, and digital skills through one-to-one, in-person, or synchronous virtual learning.

Beyond the adult program, Literacy Lambton offers Train Your Brain a FREE eight-week program which helps Grades three and four students work their math & reading muscle in a play-based evening format. Summer Reading Buddies matches volunteer BIGS with Little Buddy readers for half-hour weekly sessions through July and August at the Sarnia downtown library branch.

Baby Bookworms gifts every Lambton County baby born at Bluewater Health with a literacy welcome waiting in the hospital cribs. Inside handmade totes are board books, a keepsake log encouraging parents to read right from birth to the goal of reading 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, and resources empowering new parents with connections to community programs and services.

Literacy Lambton's service is amplified by passionate volunteers from our governance Board to frontline programs. Visit www.literacylambton.org or connect on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn @literacylambton. Literacy Lambton—formerly referred to as Organization for Literacy in Lambton—has been powering people's potential since 1989.

Registered charitable #135262012 RR0001

Noelle's Gift

Noelle's Gift is a registered charity with the mission to ensure every child in the Sarnia-Lambton area has the resources they need to grow up great. In the short time since our inception in 2013, Noelle's Gift has donated over $2,000,000 to a variety of children's programs and organizations in the local community. With your help, we hope to see that figure grow as we embark on this exciting new year. Noelle's Gift was established in January 2013, in honor of a beautiful, dedicated caring volunteer and school teacher named Noelle Paquette. We recognized that there are many marginalized students who are victims of circumstances beyond their control and they are in need of assistance. Noelle was always aware of others in need and she believed every child deserved an equal opportunity to becoming a "SMASH HIT" as she would often say to her students, friends and family. Donations have come from across Canada to help provide students in need but we are particularly thankful for the ongoing financial and emotional support from the people of Lambton and Kent counties.

PANDAS/PANS Ontario

P.A.N.D.A.S. (Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections) is an autoimmune illness affecting as many as 1 in 200 children with an average onset between 4 and 7 years of age.

P.A.N.S. (Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) is a broader term for the same autoimmune process that can be triggered by different bacterial and viral infections.

Children with these diagnoses experience a sudden change in personality after infection and can be left dealing with numerous physical and mental health issues including OCD, anxiety, tics, eating and sleeping difficulty, fine motor and behaviour regression, sensory sensitivities and more.

PANDAS/PANS Ontario is a not for profit organization that was founded in Sarnia and is governed by a volunteer board of directors.The organization aims to provide awareness and resources about PANDAS/PANS and to support affected families in communities across Ontario. Our services include family support, in person and online support groups, community awareness and educational presentations, and coordination of medical and educational resources. It is our mission to ensure that all children who present with the symptoms of Pandas or Pans are screened for infection in a timely manner and that these families are supported along their child's path to healing.

For more information or to learn more about PANDAS and PANS please contact us at 519.381.7120, visit our website at www.pandaspansontario.org or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

St. Clair Child & Youth Services

St. Clair Child & Youth Services is the Lead Agency in Lambton County for infant, children, and youth mental health. We first opened our doors on May 1, 1971, and last year we celebrated 50 years of empowering mental wellness in this community. We are an accredited agency that provides high-quality family-centered mental health services for infants, children, and youth from birth through age 18. We strive to raise awareness of the importance of mental and emotional health and are advocates of reducing stigma. Our agency recognizes and supports the valuable contributions of youth and families in our community, and we recognize them as valuable decision-making partners. We provide young people with responsive, quality resources and treatment that meet their unique needs. In addition to our two locations, services are provided in homes, schools, community centres, medical facilities, and meeting places throughout Lambton County. During our last fiscal year, over 5000 individuals were served. Youngsters come to us for a variety of mental health concerns such as (but not limited to) behaviour problems at home or school, depression, anxiety, thoughts of self-harm, emotional challenges, and other mental health concerns. A significant majority of children and youth experienced harm to their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to see an increasing number of children and youth with high acuity. COVID-19 also challenged us in the way we were providing services, but our staff responded without hesitation, and we are now able to provide virtual services in addition to in-person. For more information on our services please check out our website: https://www.stclairchild.ca/

SWONT Conductive Education Trust Fund

S.W.O.N.T. Conductive Education has been offering a four-week summer program to children aged 2-16, with cerebral palsy and other motor challenges since 1999. Certified Conductor Teachers come to us each summer to provide this program. Two conductor teachers provide the program for a maximum of 8 children per camp. Summer camps are offered in Sarnia, Windsor, London, and Chatham. The cost of the program is approximately $2000 per child however parents are only asked to pay a $200 commitment fee and help support our fundraising projects. We are grateful for the opportunity to take part in the Race To Erase as a fundraising endeavor. For more information visit us at www.swontconductiveeducation.com or follow us on Facebook at S.W.O.N.T Conductive Education Trust Fund https://www.facebook.com/Helpingchildrenonestepatatime

The Chris Dawson Foundation

The Chris Dawson Foundation supports a wide variety of organized events such as Race To Erase in order to strengthen the building blocks of our communities. The Foundation will support charitable events, through partnerships with charitable not-for-profit organizations, including those not housed at The Chris Dawson Centre, which will further community development. This partnership will consist of assistance through volunteering, organizing, participating, and promoting fundraising events. The Chris Dawson Foundation's mission is to celebrate the legacy of Chris Dawson in 4 ways: develop and manage Centres for not-for-profit organizations; participate in educational sponsorships; provide opportunities for children/youth to participate in extracurricular activities in which they do not have the resources to do so; and support charitable events which will further community development.

The Pregnancy Options & Support Centre

We offer compassionate support and education for individuals and families impacted by unintended pregnancy and related issues. If you have questions... We are here to listen. All of our programs and services are free, confidential, and are offered in a safe and non-judgmental environment regardless of age, gender, race, or religion. You are not alone. We are here to help. We are a Canadian charity, funded through businesses, individuals and local churches. Our donors believe in giving back to community in respectful, professional ways. Our financial donors feel passion about offering support to anyone in our community who wants compassion, encouragement and education through pregnancy and parenting.

Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia- Lambton Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that provides 24-hour emergency and short-term shelter. The 10-room shelter hosts 17 mothers and children, ensuring all essential items are provided, including private rooms and three meals a day. We are More Than a Shelter as we offer a 24 hour crisis support line, information sessions, Restorative Community Practice program, transitional and housing support, and counselling services to abused women and children of all ages regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. In 2021 over 1000 women and children were supported through our services. Our vision is a safe and supported community where all voices are heard, and everyone lives free of abuse.