$2.8 million to fight poverty in Laval

Centraide injects $2.8 million to fight poverty in Laval

La Maison des enfants le Dauphin de Laval and Travail de Rue Île de Laval (TRIL) are added to the some thirty Laval agencies receiving support

Laval, June 12, 2012 – Thanks to the generosity of its donors, Centraide will increase its impact in Laval this year by investing $2,792,466 in 27 community agencies. That’s $357,619 more than in 2011.

The number of Centraide-funded agencies in Laval jumps to 27 with the addition of  La Maison des enfants le Dauphin de Laval, which promotes the well-being of children aged 12 years and less in Chomedey, and Travail de Rue Île de Laval (TRIL), which does street work with youth aged 12 to 21 who are marginalized and at risk of homelessness. These two agencies will each receive a grant of $50,000.

Following a thorough analysis of social needs, Centraide is also investing an additional $257,619 in 12 community agencies to reinforce their services to disadvantaged youth and families in Laval.
These social investments were announced this morning at the Centre de bénévolat et moisson Laval during an event organized jointly with the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Laval, and attended by the Mayor of Laval. Participants included the leaders of businesses that held a Centraide campaign last year and the heads of community agencies that are receiving support thanks to this campaign.

“We are very grateful to be able to count on the support of, among others, the business community and some fifty organizations in Laval that actively participate in Centraide’s campaign,” said Centraide of Greater Montreal President and Executive Director Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire. “We want to show them that, thanks to their donations and those of their employees, we can help Laval’s community agencies take up new 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, certain Laval neighbourhoods have higher concentration of needy families and youth. For example, Chomedey, Laval-des-Rapides and Pont-Viau account for about 60% of Laval’s low-income residents. Laval’s social needs are both complex and changing, especially because of the strong growth in its immigrant population. As a result, the agencies must adjust their services to ensure better living conditions for vulnerable people.

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 great possible long term impact. These choices are based on neighbourhood profiles that provide a better understanding of local social issues and help to identify the most promising investment leads.

About Centraide

Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors that is representative of the community. Over 500,000 people in difficulty in Laval, Montreal and on the South Shore receive help and comfort from the agencies and projects in Centraide’s network, which is supported by 50,000 volunteers.

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For more information:

Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator

514 288-1261, ext. 242, gagnona@centraide-mtl.org