Dufferin County Black Association

Sharing Recipient Stories

2022 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$4,300

Sharing our grant story

As we move into what is now the new normal, we have started to engage in more community activities in person.  We also continue to have tremendous success with our programs, and we could not have done it without the support of our community partners, volunteers, and sponsors.  Overall program Success:  in 2022 we have 11 scholarships to be awarded to students in our community and surrounding area.  We awarded 3 elementary school students in Dufferin County with bursaries.

We have been a strong voice for the community advocating on behalf of students and families on issues specifically impacting them around incidents of hate, and racism both in the school and in the community.  As a result, we have provided recommendations to our local schools and have partnered with DCAFS to higher 1 part-time staff to provide specific racial trauma support to our community. 

DCCBA continue to host our very successful Ask the Experts Sessions each month.  These sessions continue to provide tremendous value to members of our community.

We continue to be leaders and change in the space of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are proud to be an organization that is highly sought after to participate in conferences, business engagements and requests for training sessions.  

With respect to our commitment to expose Black youths in Dufferin County to meaningful learning opportunities, DCCBA was excited to pair 5 students with mentors in their interested field.

In the fall of 2022, we were able to partner with ADVANCE Canada to provide 6 students with the opportunity to participate in a 3 day fully immersive music program to learn about the music industry by hearing from speakers from live nation, MLSE and more about the different roles in the industry followed by a concert on day 2 and a career mapping session on day 3.

Grant Specific Impacts:

Financial Literacy:

Included in our Financial Literacy program for 2022 was education around, estate planning, the importance of a will, insurance and cash flow management.

Cultural Education: 

Part of DCCBA’s mandate is to provide inspirational and cultural exposure to the community we serve. This year, we were able to deliver just that with our Black History Month Celebration in partnership with the MOD, Black Authors, Black Voices in partnership with the Orangeville Library for Black History Month.  Live stream of the National Apology for the No 2 Construction Battalion in person.  Emancipation Day celebration and finally our in-person Remembrance Day Celebration in honour of our Black Veterans.  Again, all of these programs provided an education and cultural awareness piece to our community. 

We also supported the first annual Black Brilliance Program organized by students at CDDHS in Shelburne

Through our social media team, we have been able to share additional educational information around key cultural dates such as Juneteenth and Kwanzaa as well as information about key figures in our black community who have contributed to the fabric of Canada.

Marketing:

DCCBA continues to leverage the Welcome to Shelburne program to provide marketing materials about the organization for the benefit of new residents. Our marketing items were sourced from an organization in Dufferin County.

Closing comments

As the organization continues to grow, we will rely heavily on support from community grants, government grants and sponsors to be able to continue to provide valuable programs and services to the community.  We are actively seeking support from Strategic Consultants and Grant Writers to help us get to that next level and to be able to secure additional funding outside of Dufferin County.