CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Centre Wellington Community Foundation just received the largest single donation in its history.
Russel Cox, founder of Cox Construction Ltd., donated $500,000 on May 3 to establish the Russel Cox and Family Fund.
“We are immensely grateful to Russel Cox for his incredibly generous donation to support our community,” said foundation executive director Raymond Soucy.
“In our discussions with Russel and his family, Russel clearly defined his desire for the Russel Cox and Family Fund to help improve the lives of children in Wellington County.”
Russel Cox stated, “My family and I have had the pleasure of employing many people from Wellington County over many years.
“During that time, we understood that helping children and their families experiencing difficulty could significantly impact their long-term well-being and prosperity.
“My hope is that this endowment with CWCF will help improve the lives of children in Wellington County.”
“The sheer size of Russel’s donation will let us do new types of granting and even look at doing multi-year granting,” stated board chair Randall Howard.
“It will help us and our local partners try new ideas to tackle community needs.”
The fund was established to support children, youth and their families with a significant focus on food insecurity.
Funds will be granted within Wellington County, focusing on where Centre Wellington Community Foundation has community knowledge and relationships to ensure maximum community impact.
While the bulk of the money will be invested, $19,000 in project grants have been awarded.
The list of recipients includes Scientists in School, Strong Start, Elora Environment Centre, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre Wellington, Upper Grand Learning Foundation, New Growth Family Centre Inc, Junior Achievement South Western Ontario, The Elora Singers, Community Resource Centre of North & Centre Wellington, Elora Centre for the Arts, Centre Wellington Food Bank, and Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.
