Thanks for 25 Great Years!

May 24^th not only marks a royal birthday; this year it marked the 25^th birthday of the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.  To reflect and celebrate, teams of the Foundation’s Sunshine Squad toured around Guelph, Wellington and Dufferin to visit over 70 community members and organizations that have been involved with and supported the Foundation over the past 25 years.

The visits’ purpose was to thank the different people for their role in the organization’s growth but what came out of it was incredible story after incredible story of how the organization started, grew, and flourished from different vantage points.  Pictures were taken with the Foundation’s iconic sunshine wearing a birthday hat and were pushed out through social media, showing just how many people have had their hand in the success of the growing organization. 

Burnham Insurance & Financial Services Ltd. is the Presenting Sponsor for the Around the World Gala, Adopt-A-Family donor, past golfer in Fore Our Kids Tournament and so much more!	The staff at Guelph Soccer, who partner with the Free to Play Program to help kids in low income households still be able to play soccer.	One of the founding members, Jeanne Forsythe.
Millennium 1 Solutions in Orangeville has supported the Food and Friends Program	Peter Barrow, past Board Chair and huge supporter.	Tim Horton's employees in Fergus.  Tim Horton's Smile Cookie Campaign has donated over $300,000 to the Food and Friends Program.

 See all of the pictures by clicking here!

The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington became incorporated in 1991. Founding Board Members were Don Drone, Jeff Watson, Paul Truex and Barbara Brownell. The charitable objects at that time were to provide scholarships for post-secondary education and to provide financial support for school trips and recreational activities for disadvantaged or impoverished children.  In 2002, the Adopt-A-Family Program originally operated by Family & Children’s Services officially became a program  of the Children’s Foundation. Later in 2008, previous programs for financial assistance evolved into the current Free to Play Program.  In 2009, the Food and Friends Program joined the Foundation after being managed by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. After several years of strategic and operational planning,  rebranding, establishing an emergency reserve fund and establishing key fundraising events, the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington is what it is now; helping over 25,000 children in 2015 by directing over $1.9 million through the Adopt-A-Family Program, Food and Friends Program, Free to Play Program and Scholarships Program. A complete timeline and interesting facts can be found by clicking here.