We’ve released our annual Community Impact Report which highlights our organization’s impact during April 2020 to March 2021.
The year April 2020 to March 2021 marked the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As was the case all over our world,Reception House was forced to adapt and innovate as the year progressed. Through it all, we continued to be the region’s most comprehensive refugee serving agency serving the most vulnerable group of newcomers – government assisted refugees (GARs).
We delivered programs and services via online instruction a swell as limited in-person delivery. Because of our gracious and passionate staff, energetic and compassionate volunteers and motivated supporters and donors, we were able to make a real difference and to reduce the pain of isolation that our newcomer clients felt as the pandemic added to the challenges more typically experienced. And while the pandemic restrictions reduced the pace and number of arrivals, those same restrictions magnified and intensified the needs of those already in our care.
Even in such challenging times, Reception House made great strides in areas such as program innovation with the launch of the Digital Engagement Project and the very successful Working Together Program, as well as in local advocacy for affordable housing and increased primary healthcare. We built internal capacity with investments in technology and in local partnerships.
And in this, our third and final year in our Strategic Plan, we have begun to review our impact and to apply comprehensive evaluation to our programs and services. With quantifiable data and impact stories from the last three years, we begin the visioning and planning of a new strategic plan which will guide Reception House Waterloo Region into 2022 and beyond. And so it is with deep appreciation that we thank you: staff, volunteers, donors and all those passionate about our mission. We hope you continue to walk with our organization and those who have arrived from around the world to be come part of a thriving and welcoming Waterloo region community.
-Chris Stanley, Board Chair and Lynne Griffiths-Fulton, Interim CEO