Donate

Donations Can Now Be Made Online!

CanadaHelps is a registered charity that processes secure, online donations on behalf of Canada's 80,000+ registered charitable organizations. Within minutes of making a donation, an official electronic tax receipt will be emailed to you.

Make your donation over the phone:
You can make a donation over the phone by calling us at (519) 772-8787 and asking for our Business Office.

Or mail:
You can mail a cheque to us at 420 Weber Street North, Unit L, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 4E7

There are many other ways you can support Community Support Connections - Meals on Wheels and More as well:

    * Corporate Giving
    * Planned Giving
    * Give the Gift of Time! 

For more information, please contact our Executive Director Dale Howatt in one of the following ways:

Phone (519) 772-8787 x 203
E-mail: daleh@communitysupportconnections.org
Fax: (519) 742-5523

We are fortunate to be on the receiving end of generous donations and sponsorships from local companies throughout the year.  General donations receive a tax receipt, and can be put towards any area of our organization's programs and services, or directed to one or more of the areas we serve.

Sponsorship opportunities are available through various fundraising events including the Drive to Deliver Golf Tournament on Tuesday May 14th, 2013, Tacofest (date TBD), and the Mayor's Souper Sampler for Meals on Wheels on Saturday October 19th.

CSC also has a Third Party Fundraising Kit available for businesses and organizations who are interested in organizing an event to benefit our clients.

Please contact our Resource Development Coordinator Rosalind Horne at 519-772-8787 x 225, or rosalindh@communitysupportconnections.org for more information on how we may work together to help local seniors and adults with disabilities to live in their own homes.

Want to help by donating an item? The following items would help us to better enable seniors and adults with disabilities in Waterloo Region in various ways. Technology plays a large part in our ability to coordinate services and get the word out there about the valuable work we do for seniors on a daily basis. Your donation to any of the following would be appreciated:

•  Two point and shoot digital cameras for our offices and one professional camera kit for in-house photography
•  Office supplies
•  Electric Fans for our Community Dining Sites
• Microwave
• GPS units for our Meals on Wheels and Transportation drivers, even gently used!

Please click here for Frequently Asked Quections regarding Canada Helps. 

Aren’t the services funded by the government?

Some services are partially funded – but not sufficient to meet current and growing community needs.  For example, the Meals on Wheels program in Kitchener and Waterloo is funded to provide 52,000 meals, but in 2007-2008, we provided more than 61,000 meals. 

Government funding represents approximately half our budget.  It is tied to specific services and service delivery targets, whereas donations enable us to offer innovative services and respond quickly to emerging community needs.

Is there a fee for service?

Many of our services do charge a modest fee, however the fees paid do not cover all of the costs associated with the service.  Most of our clients live on fixed incomes, many of them below the poverty line.  Subsidies that allow these clients to get the services they need come directly from donors like you.

 Can I designate my donation?

Yes.  CSC will honour donor requests to fund particular programs or services in specific geographic areas.  Since community needs are constantly changing and we make every effort to respond to emerging gaps in service, we encourage donors to support the organization as a whole.

As a provider of home support services, Community Support Connections (CSC) collects, uses, discloses, retains and protects personal information and is a personal information custodian under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Policy:

[01]      CSC is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of all personal information which is entrusted to the agency. The privacy, confidentiality and security policy incorporates the provisions of Part 1 of PIPEDA and applies the ten principles of the Canadian Standards Association's Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information (CAN/CSA-Q830-96), which was published in March 1996 as a national standard of Canada. CSC will adhere to the following interrelated principles.

[02]      Any employee, worker or volunteer who does not adhere to confidentiality policies set by CSC may be subject to disciplinary actions and/or dismissal from the agency.

[03]      All employees, brokered workers and volunteers will read and sign a Confidentiality/Conflict of Interest Statement.

Principle 1 - Accountability for Personal Information
CSC is responsible for all personal information under its custody or control and has designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for the organization's compliance with the principles. The name of the Privacy Officer designated by CSC to oversee its compliance with these principles is available upon request. Other persons within the organization are also responsible for the day-to-day collection, processing and protection of personal information, and for complying with this policy. All employees, workers and volunteers will be required to complete a confidentiality agreement. 

Note:  This confidentiality agreement remains in effect for the length of time that the employee, worker or volunteer is associated with the agency, and any information obtained while involved with CSC must stay confidential after involvement with the agency ceases.

Principle 2 - Identifying Purposes for Personal Information
CSC will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time of collection. The purposes are:  to make decisions about the type of services required; to serve as a means to communicate with persons within the circle of care; to monitor provision of services and evaluate the response to services provided; to provide for administration, management, strategic planning, decision making and research; to allocate resources; to support and promote fundraising as it is related to CSC; and to meet legal and regulatory requirements.

Principle 3 - Consent for the Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information
Knowledge and consent of the individual is required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information.  CSC will seek consent for the use or disclosure of information at the time of collection or at the start of service as appropriate.

Principle 4 - Limiting Collection of Personal Information
The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by CSC. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.

Principle 5 - Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention of Personal Information
Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the person or as required by law. When personal information is to be used for new purposes, CSC will document these purposes.

Information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes or as legislated. Disposal of personal information will be done in a secure and confidential manner.

Note:  CSC employees, workers and volunteers will be informed of limits to confidentiality which include harm to self, harm to others, or risk of harm to a child. 

Principle 6 - Ensuring Accuracy of Personal Information
Personal information should be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

Principle 7 - Ensuring Appropriate Safeguards for Personal Information
Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, regardless of the format in which it is stored. The security safeguards will protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Principle 8 - Openness Concerning Policies and Practices
CSC will make readily available specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information through the web site and brochures.

Principle 9 - Individual Access to and Amendment of Personal Information
Upon request, a person will be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and may access, inspect, or copy (upon payment of cost recovery fee) his or her personal information, subject to legal restrictions. A person will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.

Principle 10 - Challenging Compliance with the Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Policy of CSC

A person will be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with privacy, confidentiality and security guidelines to the Privacy Officer of CSC. Complaint procedures will be simple and easily accessible. All complaints will be investigated and remedial action taken when appropriate including, if necessary, amending its policies and practices.

 Procedure:

 1.   Organizational  

• Employees, workers and volunteers will be screened using recognized screening procedures, as outlined in the Risk Management Policies of CSC. 
• Employees, workers and volunteers will be trained about security practices to protect personal information.
• Before disclosure of any personal information, employees, workers and volunteers will confirm the identification of persons requesting access, establish their right to access personal information and ensure authorization has been obtained.
• Access to records will be restricted to persons who have a need to know in order to provide services and ensure safety.
• Inactive files will be kept for a minimum of seven years and then will be destroyed in a confidential manner.
• When a set of conditions exist that would lead a reasonable person exercising reasonable care and concern to believe that failure to disclose information would constitute a danger to staff or volunteers, senior staff will make the necessary contact.

 2.   Technological

• All print-outs of client information will be disposed of securely when no longer required, preferably by shredding.
  Users will minimize or close software programs when away from their desks.
• Measures will also be taken to prevent unauthorized viewing of computer screens by setting the screen savers to end a session after 10 minutes of inactivity.
• Virus software will be updated routinely.
• Operating systems will be updated with patches as they become available from the vendor.
• Sensitive and confidential files will be encrypted for transmission purposes.
• Firewalls will be in place.
• A computer back-up system will be in place remotely and data recovery will be possible.

  3.   Faxing

• Faxing of personal information will be done only when urgently required. Personal information, that is not urgently required, will be sent by regular mail and marked as confidential.
• Personal information faxed to third parties will be sent in a secure manner, i.e. the person on the receiving end will be notified prior to sending the confidential fax.
• Fax machines will be located in non-public areas.
• A confidential cover sheet will be attached to all faxes with the following statement. “The attached fax/e-mail contains confidential information that must not be disclosed to anyone other than the intended recipient. If you receive this fax in error, please notify CSC Home Support at 519-772-8787 immediately.”  

4.   Physical Measures

• Archived records will be stored in a secured area, e.g. locked closet, cabinets, etc.
• Active records will be closed and placed in a locked filing cabinet when not in use.

5.   Passwords

• All users are responsible for their confidential passwords.
• Password characters will never be displayed on monitors, or available to anyone other than the Office Coordinator and Executive Director (e.g. post-it notes, etc).
• Passwords will be keyed in by the user each time the user signs on.
• Passwords should be a minimum of 6 characters long and include a combination of alpha and numeric characters.

The following individuals generously supported Community Support Connections - Meals on Wheels and More by purchasing our 2012 Menu Calendar, and won one of the monthly prizes! This kind of support is invaluable, and the mark of a truly caring community. Our sincere thanks go out to you for helping us to help people live at home with independence and dignity!

Early Bird Draw

Winner of 1 hour massage - Joan B of Kitchener

January winner of lift tickets to Chicopee - Sandra G of Kitchener

February winner of 1 hour massage - William H of Kitchener

March winner of tickets to Kitchener Rangers and Guelph Storm game - Jen B of Guelph

April winner of coffee and tea gift basket - Inez F of Kitchener

May winner of The Buff Mom Boot Camp - Kathleen F of Guelph

June winner of 2 golf jackets - Wanda O of Guelph

July winner of 1 hour massage - Kathy P of Guelph

August winner of $200 cash - Craig P of Guelph

September winner of $100 Shopper Drug Mart gift card - Sandra T of Guelph

October winner of book gift basket and $50 cash - Gwen G of Guelph

November winner of $200 cash - Barry T of Waterloo

December winner of snowshoes - Kim S of Waterloo