Community Partnerships - Newfoundland & Labrador
St. John's Community Centre Alliance
CCA Youth Achieve Annual Run/Walk/Wheel for Literacy
|
In 2012, the CCA began a Run/Walk/Wheel for Literacy as a fundraiser to support literacy programs in the five St. John’s Community Centres. CCA and its member centres have long recognized the impact literacy has on an individual's success throughout their life and saw the vital need to help youth enhance their literacy skills. Fry Family Foundation has sponsored the event since 2012 and makes a donation for every person who crosses the finish line. In 2021, the Foundation was presented with the Peter Gzowski Award which is given annually by Peter Gzowski Invitational in memory of Peter Gzowski to recognize contributions to adult literacy in Canada. Pre-Covid, the event often took place around the Mundy Pond trail and was always a great celebration of the community coming together.
|
|
|
|
In 2020 and 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the CCA decided to put a new twist on the Annual Run/Walk/Wheel for Literacy. Individuals, Families and 'Bubbles' were encouraged to go on a walk organized by their community centre and complete an Alphabet Scavenger Hunt! Froude Avenue participants walked around Mundy Pond. MacMorran Centre took their group on a field trip to walk the Manuels River Trail. Buckmasters Circle Centre also incorporated painted rocks into their scavenger hunt. Each form completed gave participants a snack bag and chance to win a prize. In lieu of participants crossing a finish line, form completion also resulted in a donation to the CCA Youth Achieve Literacy Program from the Fry Family Foundation. It was great to see such creativity and community spirit displayed by the participants and organizers.
This new format of each Centre doing their own Community Event has been so successful that the 5 separate events have continued, with the 2023 walks including over 500 participants! |
Food Now Fundraiser
In 2019, the CCA teamed up with Mary Walsh and friends to host the Food Now Fundraiser. The goal was to raise money to provide meals and grocery gift cards to those who need it. Kim White, General Manager of the CCA said, "We have witnessed many people unable to access food or support services in our city, including children, families, seniors and persons living with disabilities. At the start of the pandemic, our work moved to focusing on identifying challenges for the residents in our neighbourhoods and finding solutions. Many food programs and food support services in the city were put on pause because of the pandemic. The Alliance realized that we needed to step in and help." It was a collaborative effort between the CCA, its five community centres and a downtown restaurant. FFF is proud to have supported this initiative. Read about this Facebook Live event here.