What do two not for profits in Waterloo Region- Anishnabeg Outreach and Monica Place- have in common? They both are committed to providing access for programing to underserved communities, they both have a vision for a more connected community and they both believe that they are stronger when working together. Most importantly, Anishnabeg Outreach and Monica Place are committed to championing and achieving reconciliation.
Anishnabeg Outreach and Monica Place are excited to announce their partnership through the addition, expansion, and integration of Anishnabeg Outreach’s virtual education platform the AONest. The AONest is a cloud-based learning management system where each user can find exactly what they need and uniquely design the AONest experience that works for them.
“When Jennifer approached us to learn how we have used the AONest to reach thousands of families across Ontario to provide education support, sports training, language skills and much more-it made sense to work together and explore how we could help Monica Place clients access this information too” said Stephen Jackson, CEO for Anishnabeg Outreach.
Through this partnership Monica Place is taking their current life skills and parenting content to integrate it into the AONest for clients to use. “Right now, our Life Skills Program is a paper-based process, and one that is so important for our young families – says Jennifer Breaton, ED for Monica Place, “our programs help young parents learn real world life skills, everything from how to make baby food, how to complete minor home repairs, and even how to do your taxes. Our programming is comprised of 11 modules and allows students the opportunity through our school to receive full credit for course completion through the WRDSB.” Together, Jackson and Breaton realized that some of this content could benefit families outside of Monica Place and are working together to utilize this opportunity for cost savings and enhanced outcomes by leveraging content, ideas, connections, and systems of both organizations. “Without Anishnabeg Outreach, a platform such as the AONest would be completely out of reach for an agency such as ours” says Breaton. “The partnerships AO has formed and the work that has been done is incredible.” Stephen is thankful for the partnership with and support of the tech industry who helped bring the AONest to life so it can benefit so many.
Monica Place will have access to additional and relevant content for their clients including content related to early years programming, training and employment supports, sports and Anishnabeg Outreach’s new virtual self-directed healing platform called My Virtual Healing Lodge. To meet increased demand and act on the current mental health crisis, My Virtual Healing Lodge is a self-directed program that provides the tools to help individuals address wellness and healing from a mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial perspective.
Jointly, Anishnabeg Outreach and Monica Place are committed to providing tools and resources to help vulnerable families overcome challenges and position them for future success. “It is partnerships such as this that make #KWawesome” says Jackson. “We are committed to supporting others and look forward to more growth and partnerships in the coming year.”
