Assistance Fund looking for new DG

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Despite another impending management change at the West Island Assistance Fund in Roxboro, Johanne Despatis, the president of the board of directors, said everything at the charitable organization “is under control.”

Last week, a call for applications for the executive director position – which was held by François Gince for about the last year and a half – was put out. A minimum of five years experience and skills in community organization financial management are among the requirements listed on the job posting, which will stay open until April 23.

While the West Island Assistance Fund has experienced financial difficulties and administrative setbacks over the past two years, Despatis said things are now back on track.

“Everything is under control at the moment,” she said, adding finding a new executive director is part of the organization’s long-term development plan. The West Island Assistance Fund recently also sold the building which used to house the friperie (second-hand clothing store) in Ste. Geneviève, but continues to run the clothes depot and the Bric à Brac used furniture and household items store in Roxboro, and the food bank as well. “All donations are always appreciated.”

According to Despatis, March was a busy month for the West Island Assistance Fund: they provided funding for camps during March break for 16 families, supplied 18 families with clothes, and helped 276 families through the food bank.

Despatis pointed out the Curves branches in Beaconsfield and Pointe Claire donated over 6,000 pounds of food through their recent food drive, which helped keep their shelves stocked.

“People are very generous, and our volunteers are exceptional,” Despatis said. “We count on donations.”

Heather Holmes, director general of West Island Community Shares, which supported the Assistance Fund with $21,000 this year, said she is not worried about this latest management change.

“We have confidence in the group. They provide essential services that we feel are very important to support. And, quite honestly, they’re moving forward with a very good process,” she said. “They’re redefining themselves. They’re looking at clarifying their mission and what their core purpose is…We have quite intense confidence in them.”

For more information on the West Island Assistance Fund, call 514-683-0456.