ROOTS Community Fund | Trillium Mutual Insurance
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At Trillium Mutual we are proud of our strong legacy of community support over many years. We are committed to the sustainability of rural Ontario and we realize we have an opportunity to support programs that will foster the success of this responsibility.

The Trillium ROOTS Community Support Fund will ensure that we continue to provide meaningful assistance in the future. We have established a new and fresh approach that is designed to improve the levels of consistency of support over time and provide an independent and objective process to review all requests.

The Trillium ROOTS Council is a body within our Governance Model that will accept, review and recommend levels of support for applications received from the communities in which our policyholders live and serve.

Mental Health Resources

Trillium ROOTS Community Fund focus areas include

Agriculture

Agriculture applications must benefit sustainability and development of the agriculture industry in Ontario

Mental Wellness

Mental Wellness applications must be single-time projects/programs, with a focus on rural and/or agriculture, that do not receive government funding

Healthcare

Healthcare applications must be capital in nature

Emergency Response

Applications must be capital in nature

Environmental/Sustainability

Applications must be capital in nature

2023 ROOTS Council meeting dates

Requests for funding are reviewed quarterly. We appreciate as much lead time as possible. The greater the advance notice we are given, the better decisions we can make regarding your application. The quality of your application and timing of the application is also very important. Only applications received prior to the published deadlines will be reviewed at the next regular meeting of council. All applicants will receive a timely response following Council review. 2023 Annual Budget: $245,000. 2023 average quarterly budget: $61,250

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Quarter 1 - March 23rd, 2023

(deadline for applications is March 9th, 2023)

Quarter 2 - June 8th, 2023

(deadline for applications is May 25th, 2023)

Quarter 3 – September 14th, 2023

(deadline for applications is August 31st, 2023)

Quarter 4 – December 6th, 2023

(deadline for applications is November 22nd, 2023)

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ROOTS Council Members

Carrie Robertson

Chair

Carrie graduated from the University of Guelph in 2003 with a degree in both Political Science and French. After spending 12 years working in the agriculture industry, she made the switch to steel and is currently employed at Vicwest in Stratford.  She enjoys learning, is fascinated by culture, and loves to travel. She is honoured to have had the opportunity to participate in various exchange programs through The Rural Ontario Institute, and Rotary International.  Carrie and her husband Alex reside in Wellesley, and they can both be found at the curling rink as many days per week as possible.  She loves the Olympics, animals, reading, music, and a smorgasboard of physical activities.

Jennifer Isber-Legge

Jennifer and her family operate Legge Beef Farms north of Chesley. She is currently the Volunteer Services and Special Event Coordinator for the Alzheimer Society Grey-Bruce. Jennifer previously owned and operated a business doing fresh floral designs and wedding invitations and holds a diploma in agriculture from the University of Guelph. Her community involvement includes working actively with the Bruce County Beef Farmers, reading grants for Community Foundations Grey-Bruce, and previous roles with Minor Hockey, Breakfast Club, the Chesley Medical Centre Fundraising Committee, and as the Beautification Chair for the Bruce County IPM. Jennifer enjoys hiking, gardening, photography, travelling and being a soccer/hockey Mom.

Karen Galbraith

Karen and her husband Steve started Legacy Holsteins near Atwood.  Over the years the herd has performed well being recognized nationally for superior genetics and top production.  Legacy Holsteins is transitioning with partners Geoff & Sally McMullen to continue the dairy heritage into the future.  Karen graduated with a DVM and MSc (Capacity and Rural development) from Guelph. International development in the dairy industry connected her with Kenyan Kids Canada of which she is founding director.  Other board involvement included Perth Care for Kids, Trillium Mutual, Four County Labour Marketing Board, and Atwood Presbyterian church. Continuous lifelong learning is a passion that she practices through traveling, hiking, gardening, quilting and reading.

Derek Mendez

Derek and his wife Shelly-Ann migrated their family from Trinidad & Tobago to Canada in early 2010 and have been residents of Listowel ever since.  Derek is Vice President at Molesworth Farm Supply Ltd. responsible for innovation, technology, manufacturing, logistics, regulatory compliance and project management.  He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, holds a B.Sc. Management Studies from the University of the West Indies, a Post Graduate Diploma in Port Planning and Management from the University of New Orleans, a Masters’ Certificate in Business Analysis from York University and a Certificate in Python Programming from Cornell University. Derek formerly volunteered in the positions of Board Chair at Community Living North Perth, Co-Chair of the Habitat for Humanity Listowel Project, and basketball coach for the Municipality of North Perth.  Derek provides support around race relations and equity to various organizations, and is involved with numerous Boards at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels.  He sits on the North Perth Police Services, Agricorp, the Ontario Agri Business Association, and the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada boards.  Derek enjoys developing software, basketball, riding, hiking and continuous learning.

Doug Yeo

Doug lives in the Clinton area and is a retired educator who was raised on a mixed farming operation. He taught in schools in Huron County at the K-8 levels as a classroom, resource and special education teacher.  During his teaching career he obtained a BA from WLU and a M.Ed. from UWO.  Over the years he has volunteered by being a board member for Big Brothers, Habitat for Humanity, the municipal recreation board, church boards, the Bayfield Agricultural Society and just finished his role as Past President of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS).  In his years on the provincial board of the OAAS he spent a great deal of time on the governance committee and convention seminar committee.  His interests include gardening, photography and reading about history.

Blair Freeman

Blair is a Dairy and Cash crop farmer residing near Chatsworth ON. Prior to being in primary production Blair worked as a Territory sales manager for a major input supplier.  Blair graduated from the University of Guelph with a BSc in Agriculture and currently holds a Certified Crop Advisor designation.  Blair and his wife Brett have two young children.

Eligibility

ROOTS would like to hear from you regarding your funding needs!  We are always accepting applications to help fund organizations making a difference across Canada. (Preference given to rural Ontario applications)

 

Ineligible Categories – ROOTS is unable to provide support in the following areas:

Professional and Fundraising Fees

Completed Projects

Endowment and Scholarship Funds

For-Profit Organizations

Housing Co-Operatives

Individuals

Initiatives Outside of Canada

Private Clubs, Foundations and Schools (except when they are engaged in a project that benefits the community)

Sports activities such as (but not limited to) golf tournaments, runs, races

Political Parties, Ridings, Associations and Candidates

Conference, Symposium or Workshop Associated Fees & Expenses

Organizations that Discriminate in Any Way Against Any Race, Gender, Ethnicity and/or Sexual Orientation

Religious or Sectarian Programs or Purposes, unless engaged in a capital project benefiting the community

Statues, Monuments, Signage, Art Work or Beautification Projects

Trips or Tours and any related expenses

Private or Commercial Vehicle Purchases and/or Leases

Third Party Fundraising Initiatives

Send in your application today

Please consider your application as the Trillium ROOTS Community Fund will only support one project/initiative/program per organization every three years.

Previous sponsorship support by Trillium Mutual Insurance may not guarantee approval of your application.

If you require more information with respect to Trillium ROOTS Community Support, please contact Sam Vadera at 1-800-265-3020 or email roots@trilliummutual.com.

2023 Annual Budget: $245,000. 2023 average quarterly budget: $61,250

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What people have to say about us

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Grey County Ag Services Logo

Grey County Agricultural Services

Grey Ag Services provides education & training for the agricultural community and as COVID regulations were lifted, we found a need for hybrid presentation of our programs. Unfortunately, the equipment we own limits our ability to deliver in that way. With the support of the ROOTS Community Fund, we will be able to purchase the equipment needed to offer hybrid education programs.

This will allow us to provide training and outreach no matter how individuals participate, which will expand our reach and improve accessibility. With better access to education, community members can adapt their farm businesses and enhance their quality of life. We are so, so grateful to the Trillium ROOTS Community Fund for their support of our program!!

Emily McKague - Grey Agricultural Services Assistant

AgScape logo

AgScape

More than anything in the world, food connects us; we all have memories of recipes that we made with our grandparents or the first time we tasted fruit straight from the tree.

With the help of the Trillium ROOTS Community Fund, AgScape empowers all young leaders to understand their roles in our agriculture and food systems as a vehicle for social, economic, and environmental change. Our in-classroom and virtual Teacher Ambassador Program and educator resources inspire every Ontario student to look to the future and see themselves as a soil researcher, an agricultural robotics engineer, or even a farm photographer, and know what steps they need to get there.

Thank you for your enthusiastic support – we couldn’t do it without you!

Mira Lyonblum - Executive Director

Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association Logo

Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association

The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association board and members wish to thank the Trillium Mutual & the ROOTS Community Fund for their generous support for the Mobile Soil Technology Suite (MSTS). Promoting soil health is central to our local activities at OSCIA and the MSTS is helping us continue our commitment to promoting farm practices that increase soil resiliency and sustainable production.

Warren Schneckenburger - President

Honey Bee Research Centre Logo

Honey Bee Research Centre

Honey Bees play a key role in agricultural productivity and ecosystem sustainability by providing pollination services to crops and wild plants. The University of Guelph’s Honey Bee Research Centre is a leader in research and education with the goal to help bees continue this vital work. The recent ROOTS donation will help assist them in raising awareness of the vital issues impacting bees and their importance to our agricultural industry.

OSHaRE logo

OSHaRE

OSHaRE is extremely grateful to receive a generous grant from Trillium Mutual’s ROOTS Community Fund. The funding will be used as part of our capital project to build a location for Grey Bruce Food Share; a hub where Food Rescue/food donations from local grocery stores, businesses, farmers and producers are taken, sorted, and shared with local nonprofits and charities across Grey Bruce.

In 2022, over 200,000 lbs of food was diverted from the landfill and used to help feed individuals and families. Your gift will help us grow to meet the need!

We are so excited to have Trillium Mutual as one of our partners in this exciting project.

Colleen Trask - Executive Director

Listowel Ag Society Logo

Listowel Ag Society

Currently the fencing at the Listowel Agricultural Society Fairgrounds is in poor shape.  Going forward, in order to ensure the safety of event attendees, especially children, the fencing needs to be replaced. Along the track, the current fencing on either side of the grandstands is inadequate in providing a barrier to slow down foot traffic from entering the track area. Trillium’s ROOTS Community Fund donation will help block off the area where truck & tractor pulls, livestock shows and other entertainment events take place.

Elizabeth Johnston - President