Another 16 organizations received community outreach and incentive grants in the second round of funding
By Dami Igbinyemi
The #ProtectMB Community Outreach and Incentive Grants in its first round funded 25 projects in communities that had a low vaccine uptake. With more than 700 organizations showing interest and more than 140 applications submitted, it is safe to say that everyone wants to do their part in getting back to normalcy.
Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson and Families Minister Rochelle Squires announced today that the Manitoba government is now awarding its second round of the #ProtectMB Community Outreach and Incentive Grants to more communities to further educate and protect Manitobans bring the total funding to nearly $600,000.
“As our vaccine rollout continues to expand, we want to make sure communities have the support they need to encourage Manitobans to be vaccinated for protection against COVID-19,” said Stefanson. “Our first round of this initiative went very well, with 25 grants awarded to organizations in those communities where we see lower vaccine uptake. Today, we are pleased to announce an additional 16 grants to help reduce vaccine hesitancy and encourage people to get immunized.”
This second round of grants includes 16 awards with up to $20,000 to Manitoba organizations, businesses, churches, and others who work in low vaccine uptake to help increase uptake. The province is encouraging new applications from rural and southern Manitoba, agencies that work with youth, as well as organizations that works with people with disabilities.
One of the organizations that will be receiving a grant in this second round is the North End Women’s Centre in Winnipeg. The centre has been actively increasing its uptake in the north end of Winnipeg and surrounding communities by delivering hundreds of vaccines through multiple clinics slowly but surely.
“Much of the work we do in the community is to help folks navigate complex systems,” said Kristi Beaune, director of organizational development, North End Women’s Centre. “The team at the North End Women’s Centre is so thrilled to be able to expand our efforts in protecting the community by getting more people vaccinated. By hosting pop-up clinics at our centre, it has definitely reduced some barriers and increased accessibility.”
New applicants are required to attend an information session and submit a proposal on how they are going to address the low intake in their communities. This funding can be used for staffing, outreach, other activities, and food. For more detail and to register please visit protectmb.ca.
Image source from Government of Canada Twitter
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