NEWS RELEASE
FIDDLESTICKS COMMUNITY CENTRE
*************************
On Friday, Dec. 2, local MPP Brian Riddell met with the team at Fiddlesticks Community Centre to hear more about the $48,700 Community Building Funds – Operating Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) that was used to sustain key staff and maintain office infrastructure from October 2021 - October 2022.
The project ensured quality local programs and services could be offered throughout the pandemic.
“Fiddlesticks Community Centre is an invaluable resource to the families it serves,” said Riddell, MPP for Cambridge.
“This much-deserved and needed grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation allowed Fiddlesticks to continue to deliver important services and programs to its members, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.”
The operating grant was instrumental in allowing the community centre to adapt to the changing environment and requirements of COVID-19.
In addition to allowing Fiddlesticks to reach people in their homes with digital resources, this grant helped to cover operational costs of the community centre and the partial salaries of both the recreation supervisor and community engagement and volunteer coordinator.
By offsetting of these operational costs, the Ontario Trillium Foundation allowed programming to remain flexible, affordable and accessible in the Fiddlesticks Neighbourhood amid closures.
“OTF knows the importance of having dedicated staff in our centre to connect with the children and youth of our neighbourhood,” said Kim Fowler, executive director of Fiddlesticks Community Centre.
“Keeping kids connected is so important for their mental health. This grant allowed us to keep the lights on, to run both virtual and outdoor in-person programming and reach the youth in our neighbourhood where they were at every point in the pandemic.”
The Fiddlesticks Community Centre provides a foundation for quality social and recreational programs to encourage healthy lifestyles, volunteer participation and a sense of involvement with their community. To connect or learn more about what they offer in their neighbourhood, please visit the website at www.fiddlesticks.ca.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grantmaking in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities.
Last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund.
Visit otf.ca to learn more.
*************************