The Vital Role of Community Partnerships in Empowering Charities

The Guelph team has successfully completed its first year as a chapter of Bags of Promise. As we were new to the community and still in the process of establishing connections and contacts, community partnerships were vital in our chapter’s success. As a team, we are so grateful for the help of Kate and her team at Your Downtown Guelph Friends (YDGF). Being new to the Guelph community, it was important to engage in community outreach first. Effective community outreach allowed us to connect directly with the people we aimed to help, and also allowed us to deeper understand their needs and challenges. Kate, having plenty of experience working with those in the Guelph community, helped us to understand the needs of these people. Community partners, like Kate and her team, had a deep understanding of the local area, and its challenges.

Their insights and knowledge helped us to craft specific outreach strategies that resonated with Guelph’s unique characteristics and needs. With her help, we were able to create a specific list of items that were in need for youth experiencing homelessness. We were also able to create a list of community members and businesses that we could reach out to who could help us collect donations. With the Guelph team being a small team of six, it was amazing to have the help of Kate’s team when we were packing the bags. A task that seemed extremely overwhelming for six people became such an enjoyable process with their help.

Additionally, partnering with established community organizations such as YDGF significantly increased our visibility and reach, which led to a greater awareness of our charity’s missions and goals. Creating community partnerships ultimately contributes to our long-term success as a relatively new charity. Long-term success for a charity often depends on its ability to maintain support and engagement from the community. By establishing strong partnerships, we are more likely to maintain a sustainable model for growth and impact. 

Overall, we are so extremely grateful for all of the support we have received throughout our first year as a chapter of Bags of Promise. We truly could not have reached our goals without the support from community members and partnerships. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. The Guelph team will be hiring service officers in the fall to help out with future initiatives and expansion of the Guelph chapter. If you are interested, keep an eye out for postings on the BOP website at www.bagsofpromise.org, and on our instagram, @bagsofpromiseorg.

Written by Bags of Promise - Guelph incoming president, Bryn Curran.