Onward Willow wins the Seedling Prize from The Oaktree Project
July 12, 2019
October 7, 2016
GUELPH – Family and Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County (F&CS) was pleased to present both the Guelph Chamber Choir and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition with Awards of Merit at its September 21st Annual General Meeting. The Award of Merit is given to an organization or individual that the agency has worked closely with over an extended period of time to benefit the Guelph-Wellington Community.
An Award of Merit was given to the Guelph Chamber Choir in recognition of their collaboration with the F&CS Children First Fund on the annual Messiah Sing-Along fundraising event. F&CS first started working with the choir in 2013 after discovering that Handel repeatedly performed Messiah in London, England as a fundraiser for the Foundling Hospital, which was a child welfare organization. Thanks to the support of the Guelph Chamber Choir this has been a successful fundraiser that helps support the children and youth F&CS work with.
Gerald Neufeld, Conductor, Pat Eton-Neufeld, Administrator, and Brad Halls, Choir Board Chair, were on hand to accept the award. Gerald Neufeld spoke about how pleased the Choir is to work with F&CS on this annual performance. He said “About half of the members of the Guelph Chamber Choir have been or are involved in the field of education and have enthusiastically embraced the collaboration recognizing the importance of supporting the youth leaving care to pursue post-secondary education opportunities.”
This year’s Sing-a-long Messiah will take place on Sunday, December 18th; this follows the Choir’s Saturday evening performance of Messiah at the River Run Centre. For more information on Messiah and other Choir performances go to www.guelphchamberchoir.ca
An Award of Merit was also given to the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition (GNSC). The GNSC is a network of neighbourhood groups, sponsoring agencies and program partners that has been around for almost 20 years and has always had a close relationship with F&CS. The Neighbourhood Groups create community and promote building many caring and nurturing relationships around children, which can sometimes result in supporting kids in families that are experiencing troubles.
The Award was accepted by GNSC Executive Director Brendan Johnson who expressed appreciation for the recognition of the amazing work of the neighbourhood groups and the role they play in the well-being of our community.
Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County, also known as the Children’s Aid Society, works with families and communities to help keep children protected from physical, emotional, and sexual harm. It is a charitable, non-profit agency.
This article was originally posted in the Wellington Advertiser