Thornhill, ON – On Friday, Reena held a BBQ to recognize the accomplishments of its Summer Employment Transition Program, and recognize the $484,300 Grow grant that it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) earlier this year to help grow the program over the next three years. Savi Singh, the Chair of OTF’s Simcoe-York Grant Review Team Chair, joined in the celebration to deliver OTF’s congratulations and officially present the organization with a plaque.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have organizations like Reena in our community. Their dedication to breaking down barriers for people with developmental disabilities enriches us all,” said Gila Martow, MPP – Thornhill.
Reena promotes dignity, individuality, independence, personal growth and community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities within a framework of Jewish culture and values. Reena was established in 1973 by parents of children with developmental disabilities as a practical alternative to institutions. Since that time, Reena has grown to provide support for 1,000 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
Reena will be building on the success of its Summer Employment Transitions (SET) Program foryouth in York Region with developmental disabilities, which is modeled after the Community Living Sarnia Lambton Program and has been operated successfully for four summers.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for making it possible for us to provide expanded employment support for people with developmental disabilities and their employers in York Region.” – Bryan Keshen, President and CEO of Reena
With the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Reena will be able to: Grow the number of employers from the current 20 (summer only) to 75 year-round over three years; Place more students into employment – the students supported are between 20-21 years-old and graduating from York Region District School Board. This past summer, Reena had 20 students and anticipates 75 over the next three years. And finally, it will help support students and employers using the model created by Community Living Sarnia-Lambton and implemented as a summer program by Reena for the past four summers with exceptional results
To learn more about Supported Employment Programs at Reena contact info@reena.org or (905) 889.6484.
An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities. www.otf.ca
