Centraide injects close to $47 million to fight poverty in Montreal, Laval and on the South Shore - Nine agencies are newly welcomed into Centraide's network

MONTREAL, June 19, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Thanks to the generosity of its donors, this year Centraide will inject $46,647,000 in 373 community agencies and projects to fight against poverty in Greater Montreal, which is home to the largest number of disadvantaged people in Quebec. That's about $3 million more than last year.

Centraide supports a vast network of agencies that fight poverty on many fronts: by helping children, youth and families in difficulty, promoting food security, encouraging students to persevere at school, and supporting immigrants, isolated seniors and people with disabilities or mental health problems.

Centraide's social investments break down as follows:

• $44 million ($44,001,758) to 364 agencies and projects already supported by Centraide, to enable them to continue their excellent work in helping disadvantaged people.
• $2.2 million ($2,195,242) in supplementary grants to 92 of these agencies and projects to strengthen the services they offer to vulnerable youth and families, and to meet new needs.
• $450,000 to welcome nine new agencies into its network. These include two agencies in Laval (Dolphin Children's House and Travail de Rue Île de Laval) and seven agencies in Montreal (Mountain Sights
Community Center, Relais Côte-des-Neiges, J'apprends avec mon enfant, Station Familles, Parrainage civique les Marronniers, Corporation de l'Étincelle and the Weredale Foundation). Each agency is receiving a starting grant of $50,000.

"We are very grateful to our donors and volunteers who actively supported last year's Centraide campaign," said Centraide of Greater Montreal President and Executive Director Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire. "Thanks to them, we can help more community agencies take up challenges in order to do even more to support people who are vulnerable and excluded."

According to the data on poverty and social needs analyzed by Centraide, several neighbourhoods have a higher concentration of vulnerable individuals and families. In these neighbourhoods, social needs are both complex and changing. Centraide must therefore support a diversified network of agencies that stand out in their respective communities by effectively promoting mutual aid and social involvement in order to give the less fortunate a new start in life.

Centraide's funding choices reflect the know-how and experience of its 60 allocations volunteers, who are representative of the community and who spend over 2,000 hours every year studying the agencies' grant applications so as to ensure that each social investment will have the greatest possible long term impact. As well, the neighbourhood profiles produced by Centraide are invaluable tools for better understanding local social issues and identifying the most promising investment leads.

Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors that is representative of the community. It serves the Island of Montreal, Laval and communities on the South Shore. More than half a million people in difficulty receive help and comfort from the community agencies and projects it supports. Centraide's vast network involves over 73,000 volunteers, 50,000 of whom work in the community agencies. To find out more about Centraide of Greater Montreal, go to www.centraide-mtl.org

There are 18 autonomous Centraides in Quebec, each managed by an independent board of directors that is representative of the community it serves.

Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator
Tel.: [phone], ext. 242, [email protected]

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