Founder, Barry N. Waldman will receive the award Friday, October 16, 2009 in Toronto. This national recognition carries with it a $5,000 cash prize. EPIC has been a finalist in its category for the last three years and won in 2007.

From the Donner Foundation Press Release announcing the finalists:

The Donner Awards are Canada’s largest recognition program for non-profit social service agencies, established in 1998 to recognize and encourage best practices in non-profit management and to increase public confidence and support for Canada’s non-profit sector. The awards, administered by the Fraser Institute on behalf of the Donner Canadian Foundation, will be presented October 16th at a celebration in Toronto. Additional information is available at www.donnerawards.org.

This year, 582 non-profit social service agencies from across Canada applied for the awards. Participating
organizations are ranked on their performance in 10 key areas, including management and governance, the use of staff and volunteers, innovation, program costs, and outcome monitoring.

The top organization in each of seven categories of social service delivery will be awarded $5,000 while the $20,000 William H. Donner Award for Excellence will be presented to the highest performer overall.

This award was presented to EPIC for the excellence of the Youth Peer Program and its adjunct projects: Parents PEACE and Give Right Back. Thanks to our outstanding staff who make it all happen: Barb Donovan, Elizabeth Broderick, Brian Dwyer, Noella Fitzgerald, Susanne Donovan, Emile Conn, Kayla Wood, Catherine Ross, and (last year) Jen MacNeill. We love our staff!

We never forget that the staff is there to support and facilitate the volunteers in their selfless service to the kids. The relationship between the high school and university youth and their younger peers is where the magic happens. Recognition also needs to extend to Barry Waldman who volunteers his time to make all of this happen. Thank you volunteers for the hours and hours of dedicated work.

Thank you, too, to The Law Foundation of Nova Scotia for its continued and vital financial support.

North Sydney — A non-profit society that assists young, motivated learners by providing the resources and support system they need to enhance their education is getting national recognition.

Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society, based at the Southside Learning Centre* in Sydney, is a finalist in the child care services category for the Donner Foundation Awards for Excellence in the delivery of social services. The awards will be presented in Toronto on Oct. 19.

North Sydney resident, Barry Waldman is the founder and supervisor of the society.

After wading through the award application process, he was pleased to hear the society had made it on to the short list when it was officially released Aug. 2.

“We’ve felt all along that there have been substantial results for the program,” Waldman said from his home, Tuesday.

“There are lots of tutoring programs out there and there are lots of mentoring programs, but most of the ones that we’re familiar with that try to combine both fall on the wayside. They just have a difficult time sustaining funding over a long period of time.”

EPIC, which used to be known as the Youth Peers Program**, at one time depended on federal government funding to provide its services to youth, but it now receives annual grants from the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Waldman said the foundation has been a constant champion of helping youth through difficult times in their lives, whether its due to social or academic reasons.

“That’s our bread and butter support. It seems to be a pretty stable source (of funding) and they are very pleased with what we do so that looks like it’s going to be ongoing,” he said.

Young people between the ages of eight and 18 have to be referred to the society through 20 different agencies from Island Community Justice, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board, the Children’s Aid Society of Cape Breton-Victoria, and Addiction Services among others.

During the school year, they attend an after school program one day a week at the Southside Learning Centre* where they are paired up with a slightly older person who acts as their mentor/tutor. The volunteers are high school and university students who the young person can look up to for guidance.

The 2.5 hour session begins with an hour of school work followed by an hour of socializing through educational games, art or music. A half-hour snack break is sandwiched between the two activities.

“We find there is an unusual level of receptiveness that develops in the kids because they are being helped by a cool kid, by someone else they look up to and that’s similar to them and talks something like they do,” Waldman said. “In the very least case it’s a positive experience for the kids. And for the most substantial case it seems to be life-changing.”

There are 28 non-profit groups nominated in nine categories for the Donner Awards, of which more that 600 groups applied.

The winner in each category receives $5,000 and the top prize given out is the William H. Donner Award for Excellence worth $20,000, which is presented to the highest performer overall.

EPIC is one of only two non-profits from Atlantic Canada nominated. The other is Alice Housing of Dartmouth, nominated in the provision of basic necessities category.

cshannon@cbpost.com

Thank you, Chris for an excellent article.

Corrections:
* EPIC is not based at the Southside Learning Centre. EPIC’s Youth Peer and Parents PEACE Programs are located in the Ashby Complex along with the Southside Learning Centre (run by the School District) and several other community agencies. This space is donated to EPIC as an in-kind contribution from the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board. Other than the location, there is no association between the Southside Learning Centre and EPIC or its programs.

** EPIC was never known as Youth Peers Program. EPIC is the umbrella organization that administers and supervises the Youth Peer Program (at one time called Youth Peers).

Youth Peer and the Parents PEACE programs are short-listed along with two other programs for a $5,000 Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Child Care Services.

Barry is already busy compiling documents in order to complete the second stage of the award evaluation process.

If EPIC is chosen as winner of its category, it will be among eight other category award recipients to be considered for the overall William H. Donner Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services. This winner is awarded an additional $20,000.

Applying for this award has been a strenuous but valuable process for this organization. We are very excited that EPIC has been selected as a finalist and look forward to hearing the results announced at a special 10th anniversary Donner Awards celebration in Toronto on October 19th, 2007.

More information on: The Donner Foundation