Family Counselling and Support Services for Guelph-Wellington’s 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was a rousing success, celebrating the work this agency has done within the Guelph and Wellington community. We were honoured to recognize the achievements of staff and board members. Also presented was a Community Partner Award to Ted Michalos and Hoyes, Michalos and Associates for his generous private and corporate donations over the past several years. This funding has allowed FCSSGW to provide programs such as: Bright Futures Scholarship Program, Starting Over, Financial Literacy in the Schools and workshops for to train community partners in understanding poverty and financial literacy.
FCSSGW’s 2016 AGM was hosted by Community Living Guelph Wellington, a valued community partner. The 60+ in attendance heard from Executive Director, Joanne Young Evans and the FCSSGW Board of Directors about the 2015-2016 fiscal year’s achievements. The highlight of this year’s meeting was keynote speaker Rick Osborne and one special young man who shared their stories of resilience in the face of trauma.
Stories like those heard at this year’s AGM bring home the importance of programs in the Guelph community, such as the Peaceful Alternatives for Male Youth at Risk program. This program offers a support group for youth ages 12 to 17 who have witnessed or experienced domestic violence, with no cost to the participants. This program helps youth to identify appropriate ways to express their emotions and to develop peaceful alternatives to aggressive behavior. The first year of this program was generously funded with a grant from IODE. Joanne shared that FCSSGW is seeking permanent funding to continue to meet the need in our community to address youth who would benefit from peer and professional support in learning alternatives to violence.
By the end of the evening, there were more than a few tears and plenty of laughs leaving clients, staff, directors, funding and community partners inspired and better informed about the essential programs FCSSGW offers to the community of Guelph and Wellington County.
Check out Guelph Today for the article featuring our event and keynote speaker.
