A community working together to help keep our neighbourhood safe, our children nourished and nurtured, families strengthened and individuals empowered.
Hello Friends! Don’t forget to sign your child up to receive a backpack and school supplies for the next school year! The cut-off date to sign up is Friday August 2nd. You can pick up an application at Onward Willow Neighbourhood Group or Shelldale Family Gateway.
Backpack pick-up day is Thursday August 22nd between 2pm-5pm.
OWNG has received an amazing amount of support this year! The neighbourhood group was the recipient of the $500 Acorn Prize from the Oaktree Foundation in April and to quote them we “won by a landslide!” Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to vote for us. A very special thanks goes out to the wonderful folks at Willow Road RBC who have helped in supporting the centre with RBC Team Grants and all their volunteer time at our community events. This year we also celebrated the very first free community fridge in Guelph, located at OWNG! This was made possible by the generous people from Road to Zero Waste, who continue to supply our neighbourhood with fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Staff at Onward Willow have joined forces with the Shelldale Outreach team so we can better support our community members — we’re all pretty excited about this as it helps provide more collaborative support to those in need.
One of the most exciting things that happened so far this year is that we wrote a grant and won the $5000- Seedling Prize from the Oaktree Project! The funds will be used to start programming around a clothing/textile recycling and re-purposing project where we’ll be making new items out of old fabric. This will help alleviate the landfill disposal of the 1000s of pounds of unusable fabric we receive each year. We hope to begin programming in the Fall. Anyone interested in being part of this can e-mail: onwardwillownsw@gmail.com.
Sundae Fundae was a great success this year with almost 100 people coming out to enjoy sundaes, the Inflated Ego Balloon Entertainer, caricatures from Taylor’s Tunes, a slip and slide and a fun community get-together! There were tons of happy kids! There is also an ongoing craft day every Wednesday through the summer months onsite at OWNG with Shauna, our Neighbourhood Group Assistant. There will be a fun craft happening between 11am-1pm for kids ages 6-13 yrs. Come out and get creative!
Finally, many, many thanks go out to Homelife Group for the Easter Food Drive; Wild Rose Consignment Boutique for their ongoing clothing donations; to Apple Salon for raising more than $2000- for OWNG through their annual cut-a-thon fundraiser; Kelly Caldwell for the generous sponsorship of our kid’s activities at the Marketplace & Fair and a HUGE thanks to all our dedicated volunteers! You are the heart & soul of the neighbourhood group!
Hello Friends!
Onward Willow NG will be closed over the March Break with the exception of Friday March 15th: we’ll be open between 10am-3pm. On Monday March 18th, we’ll be re-opening with regular hours. Looking forward to seeing you all again!
Mondays: 10:00am-3:00pm
Wednesdays: 10:00am-3:00pm
*Thursdays: by appointment Only
Fridays: 10:00am-3:00pm
Tax clinics are being held at Shelldale Family Gateway, in partnership with Onward Willow NG & the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition, on the following dates. Appointments are required and can be made by calling Shelldale directly at 519-824-8498.
Please see tax clinic dates below and requirements for accessing this no-cost program.
Qualifications to attend a free tax clinic:Simple tax return within the following income levels:Family size Total family income
1 person $35,000
2 persons $45,000
3 persons $47,500
4 persons $50,000
5 persons $52,500
more than 5 persons $52,500 plus $2,500 for each additional person
Onward Willow Neighbourhood Group Centre will remain closed next week from Monday March 4th through Tuesday March 15th due to unforeseen circumstances. We anticipate opening back up as soon as possible. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Please reach out to admin@guelphneighbourhoods.org for more information. To make an appointment to visit the clothing cupboard, or any of the centre’s services, please reach out to onwardwillownsw@gmail.com. Unfortunately, we’re unable to accept any donations during this time without an appointment. If you require a food hamper, some additional options include Hope House, Chalmers United downtown, and The Salvation Army on York Road. We look forward to seeing you upon reopening!
A huge thank-you to ETFO (Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario) and to ETFO Local for selecting Onward Willow Neighbourhood Group as a funding recipient to support anti-poverty work in Guelph and for the special funding bonus from our local ETFO. What a great surprise! We’re so grateful for the support!
