Série F01-S110 - The Hope Project series

The Hope Project ran from 2009-2010 in London, with the first meeting about the project in March, 2009. It was funded by a donation from the Congregation, and provided grants of between $20 and $200 to people with ideas to bring hope to their communities. The project was run by Sr. Catherine Stafford and Helene Diesbourg and was based on a similar project run by Sr. Catherine in Edmonton in 1995-1996. The project in Edmonton was sponsored by the Hope Foundation and involved the administration of small grants ($20-$100) to be used to spread hope. A project was also run by Sr. Yvonne Parent in Windsor. The Windsor project started in 2009 with a grant of $10,000 from the Congregation, which was disbursed in 2010. Funds were requested for 2011and $2,000 was received from the Congregation, with instructions to seek funding from four business partners. It was not possible to find partners, and so the Windsor project came to an end.

In London, Sister Catherine and Helene visited with contact people at local agencies who recommended applicants who then took part in the application process. The local agencies received the applications. Some of these agencies had strong connections to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The agencies included Cross Cultural Learner Centre, My Sister’s Place, and St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre. My Sister’s Place, originally Home for Women in Need, was run by the Sisters. The Cross Cultural Learner Centre is connected to the Congregation through the Sisters’ donation of the Refugee House behind the St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre. The Hospitality Centre is a soup kitchen run by the Sisters. Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, Crouch Community Resource Centre, and the London Intercommunity Health Centre were other agencies which accepted applications for the Hope Project.

Over the course of The Hope Project in London there were 50 funding requests, with total project expenditures of $7,455. The types of projects that were funded included supporting the purchase of YMCA memberships, musical instruments, pet care, health or dental care, and household supplies.