Ontario's Promise Workshop Wrap-up

On March 18, more than 65 business and community leaders, representing the private and public sectors, gathered at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London for the first Ontario’s Promise regional workshop. The theme for the day was Building Corporate Partnerships, focusing on the “how to’s” of planning and maintaining partnerships, and Investing in Children was proud to host the day.

A question on many people’s minds was how to build successful, lasting partnerships. Almost everyone realizes that a business’ resources and a non-profit organization’s experience are ideally suited to produce great results together. However, getting from the idea to a result is a stumbling block that everyone has encountered on the road to successful partnerships. The goal of the conference was to help the numerous partners in Ontario’s Promise understand each other’s needs and expectations, to create new partnerships and to keep all partners satisfied with the outcomes of collaboration.

A panel discussion featured four local community members with extensive experience in private-public partnerships. Piper Badgely of Westmount Shopping Centre represented the corporate sector, while Bonnie Schmidt of Let’s Talk Science spoke on behalf of non-profit organizations and agencies. Angela Abdallah of Quixtar Canada and Cynthia O’Neill of Junior Achievement represented a successful partnership between the for- and non-profit sectors.

The panel discussed their accomplishments working with others in the community, the trials and tribulations of making these partnerships work and the wisdom they have gained as a result.

Ontario's Promise is a non-partisan initiative that encourages all sectors of society to collaborate to benefit children and youth. For more information about Ontario’s Promise, visit the website at www.ontariospromise.com.