Publications

A groundbreaking event this morning (Friday, October 14th, 2022) celebrated the Vision SoHo Alliance taking possession of the Old Victoria Hospital Lands and the start of construction for the single largest affordable housing development in London’s history.

Minomode-zewin nunge-gehwin is a food bank designed to work as a drop-in with a “take what you need” approach. Leveraging the strong relationships Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC) has with local farmers, hunters and gatherers means that there will be a focus on traditional Indigenous food and health.

Food for All will increase the GCCRC’s ability to sustainably provide healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to communities in London. The project will also have an employability aspect to it, with community members being involved in transforming perishable food into meals for people experiencing food insecurity for little to no cost.

London Cares Homeless Response Services received a $350,000 Community Vitality grant over three years to help fund staff costs for the permanent supportive housing program for housing deprived people. “This grant will allow us to provide overnight staffing for supportive housing to allow people who are living on the streets, with the most complex needs, have access to appropriate housing with 24/7 support.”

The Building New Futures Together program will see Pathways Employment Help Centre partner with Chippewas of the Thames First Nation to offer 10-week Construction Technologies Training on-site, overcoming barriers that currently prevent members of the First Nation from taking part in training of this level, and resulting in the building of new affordable housing.

Wayne is a giving guy. He’s always been that way and still wants to be that way when he’s gone. Recently, Wayne took the decision to take his giving one step further by making a bequest to LCF in his will, maximizing the legacy he’ll be leaving.

Samantha Joel and James Marchment are not your typical big-time philanthropists. They’re young and early in their careers, and their fund is relatively small. And they’re just fine with that. “It’s never too early to give back if you can. This is a great way to handle our giving,” explains Sam.

Beckett was a technology whiz, a kid who built his first computer at age 11. He was captain of his school’s robotics team and volunteered with a junior robotics team and a computer camp for kids. He was an animal lover who once rescued a llama that had run away from a petting zoo.

As a volunteer at the city art gallery, Judith had an opportunity to interact with art and artists as the London Regionalism movement led by Greg Curnoe and Jack Chambers gathered steam. Eventually that experience led to a job at the London Regional Art Gallery (LRAG) as director of public programmes, and then as chief curator.

Nearly 6,000 Londoners are on the waitlist for social housing. With low vacancy rates, and rising rental prices, a safe, adequate and affordable home is simply out of reach for too many in our community. The Vision SoHo Alliance plans to help address this issue by building the single largest affordable housing development in London’s history.

London Community Foundation is grateful to be one of 21 community foundations across Canada taking part in the Fund for Gender Equality, a new collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund supported by the Government of Canada.

Dr. Tatiana Zdyb’s childhood was far from typical. Tatiana was homeschooled with her brother and sister in Toronto by her parents, and due to a belief that women should not be educated, they refused to support her post-secondary studies.

Ron Dawson is a life-long Londoner, growing up on Richmond Street North across from the old Richmond Dairy during the Great Depression.

“It was a pretty tough time – lots of people suffered immensely during the Depression,” recalls Ron. “People would go up and down the street, begging for food, or work, or anything at all really. It wasn’t easy for most people, but luckily we managed to get by.”

Dr. Gordon Sellery grew up and went to school in Toronto, eventually studying medicine at the University of Toronto before traveling to England for post-graduate work. Upon his return to Canada, he spent a year with the Grenfell Medical Mission in northern Newfoundland and Labrador.

“I had a very interesting experience traveling the coastlines by dog team or a ski-equipped airplane looking after the medical needs of small fishing communities,” recalls Gord. “I worked with a lot of wonderful people up there who lived off the land, without much disposable income. I donated books and things like that to the local school to help out the community whenever I could.”