“The McGuinty government recognizes the numerous benefits that arts, culture and recreational programs bring to our communities,” said Minister Carroll. “These Ontario Trillium Foundation grants will have a powerful impact on local economies and improve the quality of life for Ontario families."

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. Ontario's 2008 spring budget boosted the Foundation's annual funding to $110 million from $105 million, which will be further increased to $120 million by 2009-2010.

The Province-Wide grants listed below were approved on June 26, 2008.

The ABC's of Safe Sleep c/o The Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths
$206,400 over two years to educate parents, caregivers and frontline staff on methods to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. An on-line certification course and five training sites will be established.

Actua
$527,500 over three years to deliver interactive extra-curricular science, technology and environmental programs to Ontario youth. These will be targeted to girls, Aboriginal youth and youth living in remote communities or disadvantaged families.

Algonquin Wildlands League
$250,400 over two years for a bilingual, Cree-English mining co-ordinator. First Nations will better understand the impact of development on their communities and be more aware of how climate change affects Ontario's polar bear.

Boxing Ontario Incorporated
$217,600 over two years for a project co-ordinator and training-and-volunteer development to help form new clubs for Northern Ontario, Aboriginal and low-income participants. A club-development program will be implemented for all Ontario clubs.

The Bruce Trail Conservacy
$325,100 over three years for staff, training and promotion to increase membership engagement, retention and support. A comprehensive land-stewardship program will be developed to ensure the lands are managed in an environmentally sound manner.

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
$212,600 over three years for skills, expenses and materials to produce seminars for lawyers and organizations and a referral database of lawyers. Access to legal information and services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) will then increase.

Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Ontario Division
$96,000 to purchase a customized, fully accessible mini-bus for the CNIB Lake Joseph Centre. The bus will be used to transport guests to and from the camp, and for various off-site activities during their stay at the centre.

Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance - Alliance canadienne du tourisme sportif
$214,400 over three years to offer sport tourism and economic-impact workshops for provincial sport organizations, municipal staff, and community volunteers. Communities across Ontario will be better equipped to bid for and host more sport events.

The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada
$540,000 over four years to deliver the artsVest program and engage municipalities and businesses to invest in arts and culture. Workshops, online tutorials and public events will also be organized across Ontario.

Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators
$25,000 over one year to organize Pulse Ontario. This youth dance conference brings artists, educators and students together in workshops, performances and films to create networks encouraging more artists to undertake school residencies in Ontario.

The Dominion Institute
$150,000 over two years for the Veteran Appreciation Project that trains educators and youth to document oral histories of World War II veterans. Stories will be preserved in an interactive on-line archive and will commemorate remembrance in Ontario.

Elmer Iseler Singers c/o Soundstreams Canada
$200,000 over two years for staff and artistic costs to tour “Pimooteewin”, a Cree opera. Free intergenerational arts education workshops will also be delivered to Aboriginal, Francophone and Northern residents across Ontario’s north.

Ensemble pour l'empathie a/s Racines de l'empathie
$106,000 over two years to produce and distribute a training DVD that will provide 15 Francophone schools in the province with the necessary didactic materials to initiate Roots of Empathy programs in their communities.

For My Homework Inc.
$76,400 over one year to create, launch and promote a free, on-line tool that provides all Ontario high school students and their parents with step-by-step written and audio homework help.

The Hearing Foundation of Canada
$210,000 over 16 months to develop, demonstrate and refine Sound Sense Two, a provincial strategy regarding a noise-induced hearing-loss-prevention program for high school students.

Hot Docs
$225,000 over three years to enhance operational capacity and expand “Docs in the Schools”, “Doc it!” and “Doc U” programs. Partnerships with schools, colleges and galleries will engage youth in documentary film screenings and production.

Media For Change c/o Family Service Thames Valley
$74,600 to develop an interactive web-based marketing tool for youth. It will enable them to develop anti-stigma campaigns associated with mental health, specifically barriers associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered communities.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada
$217,000 over two years to hire three Ontario community outreach facilitators. They will work with selected Ontario chapters to rebuild public confidence, recruit leadership-and-resource-development volunteers and provide fund-development guidance.

Music and Film in Motion/Music et film en movement (MFM)
$35,000 over 10 months to hire consultants, conduct an organizational review and create strategic and business plans. This will help to better serve Aboriginal, Francophone and Northern Ontario music and film professionals.

Neegoni Wabun Gi Gay Win Lodge Inc.
$90,800 over two years to build the administrative capacity of the Aboriginal healing lodge in Algoma. This will help the organization administer its grants and respond to requests for traditional healing. Another OTF grant supports this activity.

Ontario Crafts Council
$215,000 over three years to enhance operational capacity. This will improve service delivery, online programs and communications. Regional networks will be strengthened and partnerships and new markets developed for craftspeople across Ontario.

Ontario Land Trust Alliance Inc.
$300,800 over three years to build the organizational capacity of Ontario's land trusts by delivering Assessing Your Organization (AYO), a program that assists land trusts in achieving the Standards and Practices for Canadian land trusts.

Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
$415,700 over three years to enhance safety by developing, implementing and promoting a province-wide information, referral and support line for seniors at risk. The Seniors Safety Line will be accessible 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.

Ontario Peer Development Initiative
$196,200 over 18 months for staff and consultants to help build the capacity of consumer/ survivor organizations across the province. Workshops will facilitate knowledge exchange on best practices concerning peer support and self-help strategies.

Ontario Recreational Canoeing and Kayaking  Association
$93,000 over two years to develop a new strategic plan, improve the organization's IT capacity, and implement a new provincial kayaking program.

Oshki Aayaa'aag Bimaadiziiwin Foundation (Good Life for Young People)
$50,000 over six months for research and consultations with Grand Council Treaty #3 First Nations communities and Aboriginal groups concerning the establishment of this new foundation. An organizational structure and business plan will be developed.

Ovarian Cancer Canada / Cancer de l'Ovaire Canada
$70,000 over one year for a co-ordinator, materials and expenses to determine how Ovarian Cancer Canada can best support women with ovarian cancer and deliver educational and awareness programs to Northern Ontario communities.

Piano Plus
$117,000 over three years to build operational capacity and strengthen relationships with presenters through skill transfers, monetary incentives and online tools, enabling communities to host classical musicians in Ontario’s towns and rural areas.

Planet IndigenUs Mentorship Circle c/o Harbourfront Corporation
$275,000 over three years for the Planet IndigenUs Festival to mentor Aboriginal staff and interns in arts leadership skills, producing arts projects and establishing creative networks across Ontario.

Raising The Roof/Chez Toit
$100,000 over one year for staff and program costs to support the Youthworks initiative. The program will develop and disseminate a national strategy to reduce homelessness among youth aged 16 to 24 years.

Reach for the Rainbow Ontario
$295,100 over three years to pilot a decentralized model for the organization. Volunteer community advisories will be set up in three communities to increase recreational day and residential camps services for children and youth with disabilities.

Tallgrass Ontario
$130,000 over three years to increase the technical capacity of agencies and landowners in southern Ontario to recover tallgrass prairie and to build the overall organizational capacity of Tallgrass Ontario.

Tapestry and Canadian Diabetes Association c/o Tapestry New Opera Works
$200,000 over two years for artists’ fees and touring costs to develop and stage a tour of Get Stuffed. This 40-minute, community-informed music-theatre work will teach children aged 6 to 10 years across Ontario about healthy food choices.

Trillium Childhood Cancer Support Centre
$87,000 over six months for the purchase and installation of a generator at the Rainbow Lake camp facility in Waterford.  The generator will ensure a reliable source of power for the children with cancer and their families who attend the camp.

Weengushk Film Institute
$50,000 over 18 months to implement resource development strategies and support media education programs for Aboriginal youth from Ontario communities. Another OTF grant will support this activity.

World University Service of Canada
$70,600 over one year to conduct community consultations and build training resources and new partnerships in five communities across Ontario. This will increase the capacity of volunteer support to link student refugees to employment services.