Stories

Just as we were getting settled in a post-pandemic world, our country is now unexpectedly caught in a full-on tariff war with the United States, coupled with the musings from the 47th President about Canada becoming the 51st State. This time, we can’t help but feel that “this time”, things feel uncomfortably ominous.

Type Diabeat-It is dedicated to ensuring Black and People of Colour understand what it means to live with diabetes by offering education and support. In 2024, the Miggsie Fund – Lawson Foundation, and London Community Foundation teamed up to contribute a grant of $33,100 to the project to support its growth.

There’s little doubt that 2025 is off to an uncertain start. The threat of tariffs on Canadian goods exported to the United States, the federal Liberal leadership race, the provincial election here in Ontario, and the recent decision by some global companies to step away from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. It’s a lot. Like you, I’m sure, almost every conversation I have touches on at least one of these topics, often with an underlying anxiousness about how London and Middlesex may be affected.

Following the 2019 Woodman Avenue gas line explosion in Old East Village (OEV) in London, a fund was established to support those affected. Built on strong community partnerships, the fund has been used between 2019 and 2024 to help individuals and households impacted by the incident. A grant program was also initiated to benefit the whole OEV neighbourhood.

Nada Abdallah, this years recipient of the J. Allyn Taylor Community Service Award for showing outstanding service to and leadership in their community, tells us more about her community work and goals for the future.

As Remembrance Day approaches and we spend more time thinking about the sacrifices made by all veterans, we revisit a small grant from earlier in the year that made a school trip to Normandy more memorable.

Vital Signs is a biennial report published by the Foundation that looks at some of London and Middlesex County’s more pressing issues through data and the experiences of experts and people of lived experience in our community. This year’s report highlights the need to accelerate equity-seeking work to create a community where everyone can thrive.

London Community Foundation was proud to support 33 charities and non-profits in London and Middlesex in 2023/2024 to help them adapt to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding, totalling $1.3 million, helped organizations improve the efficacy, accessibility, and sustainability of the essential community services that they provide.

SARI Therapeutic Riding is an organization that many London Community Foundation fundholders and donors will be familiar with. You might not know that SARI has held a Registered Charity Fund of its own at the Foundation for nearly 25 years, providing reliable unrestricted funding to support the infrastructure needed for SARI to sustain itself and grow.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, community service organizations across Canada faced significant challenges. Community Foundations of Canada, Canadian Red Cross, and United Way Centraide Canada collaborated to distribute a one-time investment of $400 million from the Government of Canada through the Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF). East Village Animal Hospital-London is one of the community groups that has made significant improvements thanks to the Community Services Recovery Fund.

The John Howard Society of London and District is a not-for-profit, community service organization dedicated to helping individuals and families at risk of conflict, or who have conflicted with the law in and around London since 1947. Having recognized the growing need for housing in and around London at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they took their first steps into housing services specifically for people coming out of incarceration in 2020.