Responsive Neighbourhood Small Grants Provide Over $3,500 to Fund Projects that Reduce Social Isolation and Increase Community Connection

We are pleased to have partnered with the Vancouver Foundation and the City of Abbotsford for the fourth year in a row to provide funding through our community’s spring/summer Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) Program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program pivoted to help fund small-scale projects that reduce social isolation while adhering to physical distancing guidelines. Now called the Responsive NSG Program, the program aims to:

• tackle and address social isolation
• build community strength and resilience, and
• foster community creativity and wellbeing

From sewing masks for the elderly to hosting online science cafes, successful recipients received a total of $3,665 in funds to roll out their creative projects that fostered community connection while ensuring the health and well being of all involved. Check out the successful projects below:
Sewing Masks
A local family made over 300 washable masks and handed them out to surrounding neighbours including local small businesses, health support organizations, grocery stores, and seniors. The grant recipient of this project said that “This has been such a good experience and seeing people brought to tears from something as simple as a mask has been very motivating for me. We are still continuing to make the masks and have even inspired some of our friends to start making masks as well. Overall, I’m very happy to have gotten this grant and have been enjoying the whole process”.
Yoga for a Healthy Community
A local certified Yoga Instructor, Alexandria Waycott, held weekly free online yoga classes for the month of June. The classes were hosted on the platform Zoom and saw over 30 new participants each week.
Online Science Café 
The Virtual Science Café is a series of online and informal talks, where anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science, research, and technology. These talks, followed by Q&As, are designed to engage the public in learning about recent research in science. The talks, which are given by experts in the field, provide an opportunity to stimulate discussion around some of the most exciting topics in modern science. The virtual cafes are available for anyone to participate in. To sign up today, click here.
Care Packages for Elderly and Youth
A group of Abbotsford teens put together care packages and handed them out to local teens in need at the Cyrus Centre.
An Abbotsford family with three small children put together care packages for local elderly neighbours. Along with essentials in the care packages, they included hand painted frames and small wooden birdhouses for each recipient to enjoy as a special personalized gift. The family then delivered the packages and enjoyed connecting with the seniors, while maintaining physical distancing.

 
Are you interested in applying for funding so that you can make a difference in your community during the COVID-19 pandemic? Good news! The fall cycle has opened up for applications. Learn more and apply today by clicking here.