Good Day to all our Friends of Shelldale Family Gateway. I hope this finds you and your families well and not going too crazy during these crazy times.
We here at Shelldale Family Gateway have been fortunate in many ways: we have managed to retain a number of our staff. We have also managed to create new innovative and adapted programs for our families in need and we have fortunately qualified for some of the government wage programs.
Our EarlyON Program for our children 0 – 6 years old continues to do well, as we have funding from the County. In fact, the County has been tremendously helpful in getting the “new” programs off the ground. We have virtual baby days, we have sing-a-longs and crafts every day on Facebook facilitated by our own staff. The EarlyON staff are well supported and doing a fantastic job in keeping children and their families connected!
Even with this good news, we are still finding ourselves in dire straits.
We are now down to only 2 full time positions in our Youth & Community Programs as this is all we can manage to pay for, even with the available government emergency funds. We are currently serving and helping over 100 families in our Community through our association with Onward Willow Neighbourhood Association food distribution. We have created our own unique “Discovery Bags”, which include activities, treats and surprises for our children and youth. The time and effort required to do this is enormous. It is not just a question of funding for the supplies, but of manpower. This is where we need your assistance in being able to pay our staff. Any contribution you can make will go to supplies and staffing; nothing else. Not overhead, not administration, nothing but staff and supplies.
Any help you can provide to Shelldale Family Gateway will go to our families, and they really need us and you right now, more than ever.
Stay safe and well –
Diana Boal
Executive Director
Shelldale Family Gateway
