Services in Action has enjoyed the privileged of working with incredible people around the world. Here are a few of the projects we’ve worked on over the years
African Friends Service Community
AFSCO has been a partner of ours for many years. Most recently they shared with us a project they were part of to enhance a local school. They wanted to upgrade the school in such a way to encourage girls to attend. One of the hindrances they faced is adequate sanitation during menstruation. The project included improvements to the washrooms, better lighting, running water, and an incinerator. We helped AFSCO secure the funds for the incinerator, and within just a few weeks, the improvements were complete
Community Change & Transformation Initiative
Our work together began in 2019, with COTI looking for help marketing themselves. We helped them build up their social media feeds, we also helped with a grant proposal. COTI was preparing a grant proposal for one of their programs and we conducted background research to bolster the application. Most recently, COTI had the desire to serve their community with a sewing project. The focus of the project is to make reusable menstrual pads for the females in their community, while teaching young adults to sew. In January 2022, COTI made news as they handed out 600 menstrual pads to their community.
Partners for Resource and Community Connect
Initially, our work began helping PARC-Uganda connect with volunteers and some website support. Eventually, it came time for PARC-Uganda to rebrand and create a new website to tell their story, so we sat down together to make this happen. PARC-Uganda provides support to their community in many ways, through education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and support for sustainable local projects. It is important that people get the support they need to reach their full potential. We created this website for PARC-Uganda so they can present their work to their online community and we design graphics for them to share their progress. Take a look at all they do here: parc-ug.org
In 2020, along with most of the school around the world, the Shine Preparatory School, founded and managed by PARC-Uganda was closed to mitigate the spread of COVID. In order to reopen, the school needed a water tower to be constructed so they would have a reliable source of water. Services in Action raised the funds needed for this project.
Community Action For Rural Women’s Empowerment (CARUWE), Recently we were contacted by CARUWE, an organization founded by women, run by women, to support women in Uganda and the DR Congo. A new website was a the top of their wish list. They had out grown their previous one and wanted a refreshing, sophisticated website that would reflect their organization. And voila, www.caruwe.wordpress.com.
We created this website so CARUWE can tell their story, share their work, and connect with their community and supporters; which was easy to do, given just how innovative, well organized, and responsive CARUWE’s team is!
Kalamba Community Development Organization
In 2013, the Executive Director of the Kambala Community Development Organisation, Fredrick Bombo contacted Services in Action to establish a partnership. For the past year, we have shared success stories, challenges, and ideas to improve the communities we serve. One goal for KCDO was to build a website that would help them share their story. That’s something we could help with. In just a few weeks we built a website that showcases their work, programs, activities, and goals, all free of charge! Take a look at their website here: www.kcdo.webs.com. Contact us for more information on how we can help build a website for you or improve on your existing site.
ArtBridges/ToileDesArts
Tiffany has the great privilege of working with ArtBridges/ToileDesArts for the past few years getting their membership program up and running. It is exciting for ArtBridges because the membership program helps expand their network with community arts initiatives in Canada. Membership also means that their community believes ArtBridges can help represent their interests. Memberships take organizations to the next level and also create a greater sense of community.To ensure ArtBridges was in the best position to launch a Membership Program extensive research was conducted reaching out to organizations nationally and around the world to learn about other community arts networks. During this time we learned that community-engaged arts initiatives are doing incredible things for communities and individuals; the leaders of these initiatives are eager to share what they’ve learned to drive community arts initiatives to new places; and through collaboration, active participation, and support ArtBridges can be a valuable resource for community-engaged arts initiatives. Membership helps projects like ArtBridges have a stronger voice.
If you are part of a community-engaged arts initiative, check out the ArtBridges website.
Chibolya Education and Health Organization
CEHO has taken on the immense task of building a school for the children of Chibolya, Zambia. As they complete the final stages of construction, they are looking for support for the three teachers who have been hired to teach the one hundred primary level children. After an exhaustive and unsuccessful search for professional development material and resources for the teachers, Services in Action asked some teachers in Canada for their advice. With a pile of great books, and websites, we were able to give CEHO’s teachers some great information on reading, writing, mathematics, classroom management and early childhood development. Because of the nature of this project, this is a work in progress. We will be working closely with the teachers of CEHO to continue helping them find the resources that are best for them and their students.
Clemency Uganda
Back in the Spring, the children of Clemency Uganda received a long awaited package. It contained 13 basket and volley balls, 9 team shorts and 9 shin guard covers. Clemency Uganda’s sports program allows orphaned and other vulnerable children of Jinja to participate in games, develop their skills, promote mental and physical well-being of children, and promote the participation of girls in sport and school.There are many people who contributed to this achievement. We would like to thank the Country Day School who donated the equipment, our Advisory Committee Chair, Sonya Barbezat, who was able to secure a significant discount with a courier company, and friends of Services in Action for topping off the cost by funding the remaining kilometres of the journey.
The Wish List Partnership
One of our ongoing initiatives is with a Toronto based junk removal company and local shelters and community centres. Each day the junk removal company picks up unwanted items from businesses and homes. When they come across items that are gently used, they refer to the wish-list provided by local shelters and community centres. If the item is not needed right away, they can put it in their storage facility.One of the most difficult steps for charities managing in kind donations is finding a truck to pick up or drop off items, something the junk removal company can do very easily. And what’s in it for the junk removers? They can reduce their dump fees and the amount of waste they send to landfills.
The Welcome Centre
The Welcome Centre offers new immigrants assistance settling in to their lives in Canada. Although the staff provide employment counselling, language classes, accreditation information and other integration services, they are often asked questions related to immigration. Frequently newcomers want to know more about PR status, visa requirements, or family sponsorship. So the staff at the Welcome Centre wanted to know more about the immigration process in Canada and know where to go when they had questions. They searched for immigration training courses and came up empty. Canadian laws require lengthy and intense training for licensed immigration practitioners who work for profit, but not for settlement workers. Finding a course on the basics of immigration in Canada is almost impossible.
After some searching and explaining, Services in Action was able to find a great immigration specialist. This trainer was able to tailor a four hour seminar about the different streams of immigration and how to navigate the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration website. The Welcome Centre provides settlement services for many new immigrants each year; this added training for the staff will have a great impact in the lives of their clients.