Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sarnia-Lambton

The agency provides quality guidance in the development of life skills to the children of our community through companionship with adult volunteers through a variety of mentoring programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters has something for everyone! Our mentoring roles range from volunteering with a child one hour a week in a school-based program to three to four hours a week in one of our community-based programs. Studies show mentoring helps kids stay in school, avoid risky behavior and experience first-hand the importance of helping others.Big Brothers Big Sisters facilitates life-changing relationships that inspire and empower children and youth to reach their full potential both as individuals and citizens. Agency volunteers are ordinary people like you willing to share their time with a young person.This is a rewarding experience for both the child and the adult volunteer.

Reach us at (519) 336-0460 or email michael.hurry@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Sarnia-Lambton is a United Way Member agency.

Brain Injury Association Sarnia-Lambton

The Brain Injury Association of Sarnia Lambton has been in existence since 1994. As a non-profit, charitable organization, we are dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with Acquired Brain Injury through education, support and advocacy. Our membership continues to grow with resilient survivors who have acquired a brain injury through various means, a car accident, multiple concussions, a violent attack, a work place injury. It is a known fact that survivors with brain injuries struggle with isolation, acceptance and understanding from friends and family, after their injury. Our services include an active Social Leisure program which seeks to reintegrate survivors back into the community. Such activities include weekly coffee at the local Coffee Lodge, card making and scrapbooking, Sarnia Sting hockey games, lunch outings, ceramic classes, bowling, and the theatre. Monthly support groups are offered for caregivers and the family to assist them in managing this new role in their life. We also offer a Peer Mentor program for those who would like to be matched with an individual who has also experienced a brain injury and can relate and support someone new through the process.

At this time, we rely on the generous donations that we receive from the community and our own fundraising events. These events include our annual Golf Tournament and our yearly Gift Wrapping program in Lambton Mall. For more information about our organization and services, please call 519-337-5657.

Community Concerns for the Medically Fragile

Community Concerns for the Medically Fragile (CCMF) is a parent driven local advocacy group for medically fragile children and young adults in Sarnia/Lambton County. CCMF was formed in 1989 with the primary goal of establishing a group home for medically fragile children. That goal was reached in 2004 when Standing Oaks opened its doors. It is located at 1212 Michigan Avenue, Sarnia.

CCMF continues to grow! In 2018 a 4 bed expansion was opened and Standing Oaks can now accommodate 9 residents. (8 full time and one respite bed) Our in house art and music programs have evolved into weekly sessions and our dance and social gatherings take place quarterly. In addition to assisting those living in our specialized group home, CCMF assists medically fragile young people in our community.

Call 519-344-2719 or visit the website for more information.

Inn of the Good Shepherd

The Inn's mission is to provide service with dignity to those in need of food, shelter and other essentials. The Inn has a food bank, soup kitchen, 2 emergency shelters as well as other assistance programs such as rent/utility bank, income tax clinics, back-to-school kits, winter coat night, mobile market, summer snack packs, children's birthday club and much more.

The majority of Canadians now work in part-time jobs, minimum wage and no benefits. So many of the families and households we serve are working 2-3 part-time jobs, with uncertain hours striving to make ends meet. An everyday life crisis - someone gets sick and needs medicine, a week with shorter hours, glasses or dental work, a car breaking down and needing to be repaired to get to those part time jobs, school supplies or even winter wear. Any incident or need like these puts that household in the very difficult position of having to choose between health or work and food or rent or hydro!

Homelessness has become a crisis in our community with more people living on the streets than we've seen before. Addictions and the severe shortage of affordable housing has compounded this crisis. Between our 2 shelters and overflow shelter programs we are temporarily sheltering over 80 individuals and families and are housing 80 people through transitional and rent supplement programs.

With the severe lack of affordable housing (average rents have doubled in the last 6 years) The Board of The Inn is excited to be undertaking 2 affordable housing projects - in a partnership with Habitat for Humanity a build of 5 tiny townhouses and a affordable housing build with 45-50 units.

The Inn's programs help provide that helping hand to get folks out of these difficult times.

Lambton Elderly Outreach

Lambton Elderly Outreach is a non-profit agency servicing 1900+ clients throughout Sarnia and Lambton County since 1970. Services offered allow for seniors to remain living at home for as long as they desire; they include: Personal Care/Home Help, Caregiver Respite/Support, Meals on Wheels, Home Maintenance, Crisis Intervention/Assistance, Housing Support, Diners Club, Fitness, Friendly Visiting, 55 Alive Driver Refresher Course and Transportation options for those with mobility issues for both medical appointments and social outings. The non-urgent stretcher transportation offers not-for-profit pricing for non-emergency patients requiring transportation from home to hospital, hospital to hospital or hospital to home. Funded in part by the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the United way of Sarnia Lambton; remaining funds are acquired from client fees for service, fundraising, donations, bequests and grants.

Life's Seasons Care & Support

At Life's Seasons, we provide confidential care and support for individuals, couples, and families; across the lifespan who are facing difficult seasons in their lives. Some of the areas of specialty and expertise offered at Life's Seasons includes, but is not limited to: Trauma Intervention, Self-Abuse, Foster care / Adoption, Separation / Divorce, Grief / Loss, and Parenting. We also provide training for professionals and volunteers who work with these individuals in various settings. We offer services from either a faith-based or a non-faith-based perspective for both In Office or Off Site Services.

Literacy Lambton

Headquartered in the Lochiel Kiwanis Community Centre in the heart of Sarnia's downtown district, Literacy Lambton's mission is to create and deliver exceptional literacy learning opportunities for the residents of Lambton County.

We help adults 18+ improve their reading, writing, math, basic computer, and digital skills through one-to-one, in-person, or synchronous virtual learning.

Beyond the adult program, Literacy Lambton offers Train Your Brain a FREE eight-week program which helps Grades three and four students work their math & reading muscle in a play-based evening format. Summer Reading Buddies matches volunteer BIGS with Little Buddy readers for half-hour weekly sessions through July and August at the Sarnia downtown library branch.

Baby Bookworms gifts every Lambton County baby born at Bluewater Health with a literacy welcome waiting in the hospital cribs. Inside handmade totes are board books, a keepsake log encouraging parents to read right from birth to the goal of reading 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, and resources empowering new parents with connections to community programs and services.

Literacy Lambton's service is amplified by passionate volunteers from our governance Board to frontline programs. Visit www.literacylambton.org or connect on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn @literacylambton. Literacy Lambton—formerly referred to as Organization for Literacy in Lambton—has been powering people's potential since 1989.

Registered charitable #135262012 RR0001

MADD Sarnia/Lambton

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Sarnia/Lambton has been working for the last 20 years in our community to stop impaired driving and support victims of this violent and preventable crime.

Our chapter started in 1999 when a local woman lost her son to impaired driving.

We are one of the most active chapters in Canada and have a very dedicated board and group of volunteers who work tirelessly to get our message out.

Spring is a busy time of year for us as we attend events across the city and county to raise awareness. We're also out at fantastic events like Race to Erase to ensure we have the funds to keep our organization strong.

In the fall, we hold important annual events such as a Candlelight Vigil on Sarnia's waterfront. We erect a White Cross display every winter at a different location as a powerful reminder. This year's crosses were outside the Sarnia Police station on Christina Street and drew a great deal of attention.

We also hold our annual voluntary toll day every November and conduct a Red Ribbon campaign over the holiday season. Each year, we bring our message to thousands by attending special events.

But we know more needs to be done. Our impaired stats are climbing and our community needs more education about the impact of cannabis.

We welcome all invitations to events where we can do more education. The more awareness, the safer we hope to keep our roads.

For more information, please contact our office at 519-339-9962, check us out on Facebook (madd sarnia/Lambton) or visit www.maddchapters.ca/sarnialambton.

We truly appreciate the opportunity to join in on this year's Race to Erase.

Noelle's Gift

Noelle's Gift is a registered charity with the mission to ensure every child in the Sarnia-Lambton area has the resources they need to grow up great. In the short time since our inception in 2013, Noelle's Gift has donated over $2,000,000 to a variety of children's programs and organizations in the local community. With your help, we hope to see that figure grow as we embark on this exciting new year. Noelle's Gift was established in January 2013, in honor of a beautiful, dedicated caring volunteer and school teacher named Noelle Paquette. We recognized that there are many marginalized students who are victims of circumstances beyond their control and they are in need of assistance. Noelle was always aware of others in need and she believed every child deserved an equal opportunity to becoming a "SMASH HIT" as she would often say to her students, friends and family. Donations have come from across Canada to help provide students in need but we are particularly thankful for the ongoing financial and emotional support from the people of Lambton and Kent counties.

St. Clair Child & Youth Services

St. Clair Child & Youth Services is the Lead Agency in Lambton County for infant, children, and youth mental health. We first opened our doors on May 1, 1971, and last year we celebrated 50 years of empowering mental wellness in this community. We are an accredited agency that provides high-quality family-centered mental health services for infants, children, and youth from birth through age 18. We strive to raise awareness of the importance of mental and emotional health and are advocates of reducing stigma. Our agency recognizes and supports the valuable contributions of youth and families in our community, and we recognize them as valuable decision-making partners. We provide young people with responsive, quality resources and treatment that meet their unique needs. In addition to our two locations, services are provided in homes, schools, community centres, medical facilities, and meeting places throughout Lambton County. During our last fiscal year, over 5000 individuals were served. Youngsters come to us for a variety of mental health concerns such as (but not limited to) behaviour problems at home or school, depression, anxiety, thoughts of self-harm, emotional challenges, and other mental health concerns. A significant majority of children and youth experienced harm to their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to see an increasing number of children and youth with high acuity. COVID-19 also challenged us in the way we were providing services, but our staff responded without hesitation, and we are now able to provide virtual services in addition to in-person. For more information on our services please check out our website: https://www.stclairchild.ca/

SWONT Conductive Education Trust Fund

S.W.O.N.T. Conductive Education has been offering a four-week summer program to children aged 2-16, with cerebral palsy and other motor challenges since 1999. Certified Conductor Teachers come to us each summer to provide this program. Two conductor teachers provide the program for a maximum of 8 children per camp. Summer camps are offered in Sarnia, Windsor, London, and Chatham. The cost of the program is approximately $2000 per child however parents are only asked to pay a $200 commitment fee and help support our fundraising projects. We are grateful for the opportunity to take part in the Race To Erase as a fundraising endeavor. For more information visit us at www.swontconductiveeducation.com or follow us on Facebook at S.W.O.N.T Conductive Education Trust Fund https://www.facebook.com/Helpingchildrenonestepatatime

Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia- Lambton Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that provides 24-hour emergency and short-term shelter. The 10-room shelter hosts 17 mothers and children, ensuring all essential items are provided, including private rooms and three meals a day. We are More Than a Shelter as we offer a 24 hour crisis support line, information sessions, Restorative Community Practice program, transitional and housing support, and counselling services to abused women and children of all ages regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. In 2021 over 1000 women and children were supported through our services. Our vision is a safe and supported community where all voices are heard, and everyone lives free of abuse.