The foundation's goals of creating and managing legacy funds, grant making to worthy community initiatives and providing philanthropic leadership, gave me the inspiration to discuss the possibility, of establishing a fund, with the entire Solcz Family. It didn't take much time at all to get the approval of the entire family. The WindsorEssex Community Foundation was a good fit for not only all of us, but also our company, Valiant Corporation. It was especially convincing to my father, Michael G. Solcz, who proudly served on the board of directors with some of the original founding members and saw how it could inspire others to become great corporate citizens. It is with great pleasure, pride, and distinct honor that Valiant chose the WECF as a method of creating a fund for children within Windsor-Essex. We look forward to building this fund year after year until such time that the fund, in perpetuity, will generate many grants so that children in need within our community can see some improvement to their personal challenges. That is the essence of the WECF. Legacy funds can be and are individually groomed to suit the needs of the donor no matter what your philanthropic desires may be. I personally will continue to promote the great efforts of the foundation and hope to inspire others to reach out and do the same.

Joe & Hazel Lacey Memorial Fund

I decided to establish a fund with the WindsorEssex Community Foundation in recognition of the tremendous example of generosity, sharing, and love my parents gave to us, their children, and to the community, their larger family. My father served in World War II and a couple of years after the war ended my parents exercised their entrepreneurial spirit and purchased a small confectionary store. Over the next 21 years it grew into a gas station, repair garage, and a three dock marina known as Lacey's Esso Service. It was a thriving business and my parents were generous with their success in the business, helping many people along the way.

Upon selling the business in 1968, my father worked as a rural route carrier for Canada Post and volunteered his time as a member of the Malden township planning board. Mom became the chief cook at a local nursing home in Amherstburg. For the next 16 years, until her retirement in 1986, there were many holiday occasions when we would find people at our table from the nursing home who had no family and no one to remember them. Mom's generous spirit filled the gaps in their lives by simply inviting them to share the day with us. Even after Dad's passing in 1989, there was no stopping mom. She volunteered her time at church and felt it was her duty to visit people in her apartment community who just needed to know someone cared. During the last couple years, as mom's energy and vitality began to wane, we as a family were reminded of her generosity by those she had reached out to over the years. With mom's passing in December 2008, I appreciate now more than ever, her spirit of generosity and it is my wish to carry that on through the community foundation.

I want to continue her legacy of reaching out to the community, to those in need.
Mom would like that.

Robert Lacey

This fund has added significantly to the Community Foundation. Not only is it a treasured memorial fund, but it is the first fund establised with us through the BMO Nesbitt Burns Charitable Giving Program.

The Essex Nature Fund

Building a stronger financial base for the Essex County Field Naturalists Club (ECFNC) has become much easier. Through a partnership with the WindsorEssex Community Foundation, individuals are able to make tax deductible contributions to the Essex Nature Fund at the Community Foundation, ensuring support for the Field Naturalists Club for generations to come.

The Community Foundation began supporting the efforts of the Little River Enhancement Group (Lil' Reg) in the early 1990's . Lil' Reg decided to establish the Essex Nature Fund with the Community Foundation when the Government of Ontario began matching, dollar for dollar, funds donated to community foundations by charitable groups.

The Essex Nature Fund is an endowment, which means that donations are invested and never spent. The interest earned on the fund is forwarded to the ECFNC each year, providing meaningful financial support for generations to come. As of September 30, 2009, the Fund has grown to $19,000 and we would like to see this reach $25,000 by the end of 2011.

Memorial donations have been key to the fund's growth. When an individual makes a contribution in memory of a departed friend or loved one the foundation mails a letter directly to the family, advising them of the gift and the impact it will have for the future. All donations to the Fund through the Community Foundation are eligible for a charitable tax receipt to use on the donor's taxes.

Whether gifts come from an individual, group, company, in memory of an individual or to celebrate a special occasion, contributions help build a source of financial stability for the Field Naturalists Club for generations to come.