I joined Minister Liz Sandals and My colleagues from the County, including Warden George Bridge, to celebrate an announcement of funding of over $138,000 for Circles Guelph Wellington and Bridges Out of Poverty program!

An exciting time for this organization that can use these funds to help determine their best next steps while finding out what is working and what might need tweaked to make the biggest impact on those in poverty in our community. Thanks to Deb Matthews ministry for these funds.

I have met with the program administrators [Louise Brooks and Elaine Weir] early in my term as Mayor. I Was very impressed with the program – I even mentioned it in my annual State of the City address as a “call to action”.

I also recently had the chance to film a short video that featured Elaine Weir from the administration side, and Amanda Livermore, a person who has gone and is still going through her journey out of poverty.

Last Wednesday night I attended the official launch of Circles GW.

One thing I’ve learned about the Circles program is that it’s different. It’s a community-based program that brings people together to build relationships (people who are in poverty, and people who are not in poverty).

It’s an innovative way to help those who are struggling with poverty, to overcome it and live out their dreams.

It’s not a short-term fix – it’s a long-term process of building people up!

Congratulations to the entire team at Circles Guelph Wellington, and thank you once again to the Province of Ontario.

Cam