June 25th, 2025
Community Engagement and Fundraising Update
By: Kerry Cressman, Avishka Juta and Lisa Stanley, Community Engagement Team
It’s been another exciting year for the Community Engagement Team! We’ve enjoyed engaging with people & families connected with EAFWR, direct support people, volunteers, sponsors, donors and the wider community.
After two successful online auctions in 2021 and 2022, we were thrilled to bring back our Bidding to be #BetterTogether online auction! From April 22 to May 3, 2024, over 613 bids were placed on 91 auction items. We raised a total of $6,055 for our Community Development initiatives focused on growing our core values of belonging, community, equity, and relationships in Waterloo Region. #BetterTogetherWR includes our auction bidders, donors, and our event sponsor, Josslin Insurance. Thank you for your participation and support!
Sunshine and smiles were in the air at our Walk-or-Wheel Kickoff in September 2024! New to WOW this year were our activity tables, where participants learned about EAFWR’s programs and offerings, and enjoyed activities like face painting, bubbles, scavenger hunts, planting seeds, and life-size Jenga. After the kickoff event, we loved seeing our community take part in activities and challenges at home and in the community over the two-week period, as well as collect pledges in support of inclusion and belonging. We raised a total of $13,286. Thanks to our community for your support. Mark your calendars for WOW 2025, happening this September!
All-Brite Glass and Tint’s bi-annual Chip in for Charity event continues to be a favourite in the community! We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new people at our June and October events. 2024 marked our first year having the Chip in for Charity event at two locations – Kitchener (31 Manitou Drive) and Waterloo (615 Davenport Rd), All-Brite’s new location. Thank you to Terry Aivaliotis and his team for their continued generosity and support of EAFWR and our Community Development initiatives.
We were honoured to have a Grade 10 Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) research project done about EAFWR by Sophie, granddaughter of EAFWR’s founders Helen and Keith Heimpel, and her classmates, Lea and Hailey. Sophie, Lea and Hailey presented their project to a team of jurors at their school and won $5,000.
We were thrilled to have them share their project with us at our October 2024 Board of Directors meeting. It was incredible to celebrate their work and witness the next generation of philanthropy and giving. The $5,000 was used to fund an innovative partnership with the Kitchener Public Library to offer Youth Hub, a drop-in program for people of all abilities.