Sherbrooke, August 27, 2020 - Centraide Estrie and the Eastern Townships Community Foundation are proud to announce that they have supported 69 projects for a total amount of $ 1,383,317 as part of the Estrie budget of the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). The complete lists of projects funded by Centraide Estrie and the Eastern Townships Community Foundation are available on their respective websites at www.centraideestrie.com/covid-19/ and
http://www.fondationcommunautairedelestrie.com/.

Let’s remember that the ECSF was announced by the Government of Canada on April 21 and is administered in collaboration with United Way Centraide Canada, the Community Foundations of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. This fund aims to support organizations that adapt their front-line services to meet the needs of vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past three months, Centraide Estrie and the Eastern Townships Community Foundation have therefore received and analyzed dozens of projects meeting various needs such as food aid, mental health support and educational success. It should be noted, however, that the two organizations had different decision-making processes and criteria.

“Centraide Estrie had $ 783,167 to invest through ECSF. Thanks to these funds, 44 community organizations received financial assistance to continue their valuable work. The projects are currently underway and most of them will end in the winter of 2021. A huge thank you to all these organizations and to the Government of Canada for allowing us to keep our communities strong”, explains Mr. Yves Jodoin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Centraide Estrie.

“The Estrie Community Foundation distributed an amount of $ 600,150 in grants to 25 charities in the region. These cultural, community and educational organizations will thus be able to adapt and continue to help the populations most affected by COVID-19. This experience allowed us to see the many needs and challenges of the community, but also the solidarity, creativity and commitment of all those working in Estrie community action”, affirms Véronique Bisaillon, vice-president of the executive board of the Eastern Townships Community Foundation.

“The need for the services of charities and non-profits is greater today than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, they face a shortage of donations and a lack of volunteers. The Government of Canada is pleased to support these organizations through the Emergency Community Support Fund so that they can continue to help vulnerable Canadians during this crisis,” said the Honorable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Family, Children and Development.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our community organizations have been on the front lines and have suffered the full brunt of the consequences of COVID-19 on their activities and services to the population. Federal government assistance, deployed through this emergency fund and administered by solid partners such as Centraide Estrie and the Eastern Townships Community Foundation, aims to recognize the decisive contribution that our local organizations have to the community in this regard during these difficult times. Our support across the country is reflected in the region by significant investments of nearly $ 1.4 million for some sixty organizations from our region, here in the Eastern Townships,” concludes the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

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For media enquiries, please contact:
Kimberly Luce
Constituency Assistant
Office of the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, MP for Compton-Stanstead
Cell: 819-571-8926