About Us
Rural Response for Healthy Children is a charitable organization serving Huron and Perth County families. Our work helps foster a healthy community of trusted adults where children and youth thrive. We offer workshops, programs, services and supports that address specific concerns affecting family well-being in our community.
Our team offers education, support groups, activities, and workshops for parents/caregivers who are:
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Experiencing life transitions (pregnancy, new parents, starting school)
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Managing relationships between parent/child/school/community
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Coping with vulnerable situations (addictions, disabilities, domestic violence, financial challenges, illness, single parenting)
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Looking to enhance their positive parenting skills
Our team also provides education, support groups, and activities for children and youth with a focus on:
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Personal safety at home, in the community, and online
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Disability awareness
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Social and emotional learning; including self-regulation and social skills
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Peer support groups; including for grandparents raising their grandchildren, and families where one or more child has a disability or mental health diagnosis.
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Vision
A responsive community that supports, nurtures & strengthens families and children.
Mission
Helping families and children to create an environment of well-being through community engagement and capacity building.
Values
Responsiveness
Responding to the needs of our clients and community
Making Connections
Networking to provide the best help for our clients
Capacity Building
Empowering others to achieve their full potential
Caring
Fostering a culture where people are heard and feel valued
Fairness
Working towards fairness in all our interactions
Accessibility
Overcoming barriers that stand in the way of assistance
Board of Directors
The governance Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers from the community. These volunteers are vital to the development and growth of the organization due to their work with funders, staff, partners, and participants.
​Karen Kan • Chair
Jessica Van Raay • Vice-Chair
Judy Lambers • Treasurer
Shannon Lewis-Beattie • Secretary
Wendy Hutton
Kerri Lyn Grainger
Christina VanPoucke
Terry Hogg
Michelle McRobert
Chantale Potts
Staff
Members
We could not do what we do without our dedicated team of full-time staff.
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Katrina Clarke • Executive Director
Nicole Bedard • Administration Coordinator
Alex Robinson • Communications Specialist
Jill Robertson • Parent Support Worker
Susan Cowman • Parent Support Worker
Kristi Michel • Child Support & Education Worker
Community Reports
We prepare project and community reports to support transparency and accountability to the community and funding organizations. These are our most recent reports, please feel free to reach out to us for older editions.
Project
Reports
Funding
As a charitable organization, we deliver education and community well-being programs funded by government and foundations. Individual and local group donations leverage the work we do, and allow us to deliver additional initiatives.
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Rural Response for Healthy Children is thankful for over thirty years of funding from Public Health Agency of Canada. Additional financial support for current programs is provided by organizations such as Employment Development Services Canada, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the McCall MacBain Foundation. We are also grateful for donations from local groups and individuals that help our programs reach more families in our community.