Page 16 - CLH Foundation - Connected - Summer 2025

From Left To Right: Colleen Kelly-Berrichi — Executive Director, CLH DSS • Jill Dunlop — MPP Simcoe
North • Lisa Harrison — CLH DSS Board President • Margaret Tynan — Member Of CLH Community •
Samantha Loney — Ontario Trillium Foundation Simcoe-York Grant Review Team • Amanda Hilson —
Member Of CLH Supported Employment Program • Sarah Kitchen — CLH Foundation Board President.

OTF Grant is the Perfect Ingredient

for CLH Commercial Teaching Kitchen!

With the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), CLH Developmental Support
Services (CLH DSS) has built a fully accessible, commercial teaching kitchen at its 339 Olive St
program hub to provide training, job readiness and community connection for CLH-supported
individuals. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration in May 2025, MPP Jill Dunlop formally
congratulated the group on its accomplishments, made possible by a $149,000 Capital grant that it
received from OTF in 2023.

“Congratulations to CLH Developmental Support Services on this remarkable achievement and the
substantial funding received through the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said the Hon. Jill Dunlop,
MPP for Simcoe North. “This new inclusive, barrier-free teaching kitchen and café enterprise
will provide meaningful training and job readiness opportunities, while fostering stronger
community connection and inclusion. It’s a shining example of how provincial support can
help build a more accessible and empowered future for everyone in Simcoe North.”

Built to full accessibility standards and equipped with commercial-grade appliances
that meet public health and food service requirements, The Kitchen at Olive addresses
a broad community need for an accessible teaching kitchen, job readiness training, and
food service/hospitality training, especially for members of CLH’s Supported Employment
Program. It will also underpin a planned café enterprise serving the CLH community of
supported individuals, staff, volunteers and supporters. Revenues generated by the café and
through rentals will be put back into operating and programming the Kitchen.

In addition to assisting CLH DSS to secure the grant, CLH Foundation has pledged $50,000 to fully equip the kitchen with
commercial-grade cooking and kitchen equipment.

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