In This Issue
Focus on United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin
 One of the major funders in the region is the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin. Our local UW agency representatives are working hard to raise our profile in Dufferin, and with good reason. Did you know that UW spends $100K annually on 5 of our local non-profits (including us), but only raises $40 – 50K? This shortfall is due to a number of reasons; one being a lack of workplace campaigns in larger organizations. Another reason is that when UW campaigns take place in workplaces outside of Dufferin, and a Dufferin resident participates, they are not often aware of being able to divert the funds towards their own community.
Unless specified, place of residence information is not used to divert the funds. United Way supports DCAFS, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dufferin Parent Support Network and Volunteer Dufferin as well as HCIA. What you should also know is that United Way spends much less than the industry average on administrative costs. Fundraising costs are 20 cents per dollar raised, well below Canadian benchmarks of 26%. Quite a feat considering all that they do. Take a few moments to check out the United Way site to see more about ‘how you can make a difference’.
The Food File
Everyone loves fresh and local food and our fabulous folks at Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance are not taking much time off despite the fabulous temperatures. Here is a look at what’s happening during those hazy lazy days of summer.
The Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance is hard at work finalizing the inputs of all the stakeholder information sessions towards the drafting of the first Headwaters Food Charter. Food Charters are primarily for the purpose of guiding policy and indicating what the community priorities are with regards to the food system. Our wonderful partners at Public Health have been leading the charge on this project. Huge thanks go to Ishan Angra, Lisa Needham and Jennifer McCorriston from Guelph Wellington Dufferin Public Health for their huge commitment to this project. Key participants from the HFFA Hub team include Janet Horner of Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance, Ruth Armstrong from the Town of Orangeville, Sandra Dolson from The Town of Caledon, Chris Gerrits from Township of Amaranth, Marci Lipman from Dufferin Farm Fresh, and Diana Morris from the Dufferin Board of Trade. Once a draft is produced there will be opportunity for the public to weigh in. Stay tuned for details on how that will be rolling out in the fall.
Farm to School: Our super foodies Jennifer Payne and Nicole Hambleton are just barely catching their breath after a very successful and busy season of Farm to School and Food Club, and have already begun planning for September. To keep up with all of this, check out the newly minted Headwaters Food and Farming site. Special thanks need to be extended to our good pals at the Children's Foundation for their ongoing project and financial support; Guelph Wellington Dufferin Public Health (again!) for their nutritional inputs support of the Family cooking classes, as well as Everdale Farm for their expertise in the learning modules.
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Impaired driving remains the leading cause of criminal death in Canada. If you plan on drinking or consuming drugs, plan to not drive. 
