About Us
Ontario Children’s Foundation is an all-volunteer endowment. Its Board of Trustees and Board of Managers are comprised of business people, teachers, bankers, doctors, and others who all live in Ontario County. They work confidentially, along with school districts and health and human services to identify and assist children who face financial, physical, emotional, and education challenges that may not be readily addressed through other means.
These challenges are not always obvious. Local children with unmet needs are the only work of this community-based association that has existed since the Civil War. These needs include, but are not limited to:
Children who need summertime supervision and instruction, but whose families cannot afford day camps or programs
High school students lacking funding for college and college expenses
Students attending vocational programs who cannot afford required equipment and supplies
Children of families with no health insurance coverage
Children in need of specialized equipment and services that are not otherwise covered such as hearing aids and counseling services
Children whose parents cannot work full time due to a lack of adequate and affordable child care
Our History
Inception.
The Ontario Children’s Asylum, as it was known in 1863, at the time of its inception, was founded by a group of philanthropically-minded citizens of Canandaigua, who were greatly concerned about the welfare of orphans and half-orphans of the Civil War soldiers. Led by Mrs. Caroline B. Cook, they established the Ontario Orphans Asylum, whose certificate of incorporation stated that its objective and business was the protection, relief, and education of orphans and destitute children in Ontario County.
Early Years.
During its early years, the Ontario Asylum was maintained by the contributions, life-memberships, and donations of provisions and clothing of interested people, plus some appropriations from the supervisors of the County and a few special grants from the State Legislatures. Funds for an endowment were provided by numerous legacies, the first of which was received in 1864. The largest were the legacies of Commodore James Glynn, received in 1901, in the amount of $66,000, that of Mrs. Josephine Granby Borden of $100,000 in 1980, and $100,000 from the estate of Arthur S. Hamlin, treasurer of the Board of Trustees for over 40 years, in 2003. As a result of these legacy gifts, along with proceeds from the sale of the orphanage, the Trustees have, through the years, built the endowment from which the society derives the majority of its income today.
A Name Change.
The name of the organization was changed in 1931, from the Ontario Asylum to the Ontario Children’s Home. After seventy years of operation, the Home was closed down in 1933, due to the new policy of the Ontario County Department of Public Welfare of placing children under their care, into private boarding homes, now known as Foster Care homes. In 1941, this program was turned over completely to the County Department of Public Welfare, and at that time, the Ontario Children’s Home began its program of scholarship aid, special needs aid, and health benefits for children throughout the County.
Incorporation.
By 1948 this program was sufficiently organized so that the certificate of incorporation was changed to state that the object and business of the Ontario Children’s Home was the “protection, relief, health and education of children in need of assistance in said County of Ontario.” The program of scholarship aid, health benefits, and special needs, which has been helpful to many children over the years, is being continued under the supervision of the Board of Managers.
Management Structure.
Ontario Children’s Foundation is comprised of two boards: the Board of Trustees traditionally consisted of seven men, who serve as the legal representatives of the Corporation and oversee the endowment. The twenty-four-member Board of Managers carry out the business and purposes of the Corporation and pay out all monies for the expenses of the program. At its Annual Meeting in October 2013, the Trustees voted to elect the President of the Board of Managers as one of the seven Trustees, thus creating a liaison between the Trustees and Managers.
Annual Giving Program.
In 2006, the Board of Trustees initiated an Annual Giving Program to solicit contributions from residents of Ontario County because the yearly earnings from the endowment fund were not sufficient to meet the required annual distribution to the Board of Managers. At that time, the name “Home” was changed to “Foundation”, officially becoming the “Ontario Children’s Foundation”. Reflecting the fact that a brick and mortar “home” had not existed for many years, and that the endowment supports the Foundation, the name was an appropriate update.
Trustees & Managers
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Richard Hawks
President
Paul Hudson
Secretary
Matt Hoose
Treasurer
R. Randall Farnsworth
Martin Muehe
Mark Sheppard
Deborah Wilbur
Richard Appel
Trustee Emeritus
BOARD OF MANAGERS
Deborah Wilbur
President
Karen Blazey
Secretary
Dawn Priolo
Treasurer
Delia Ackerman
Sally Alling
Teresa Berley
Mary Brady
Lisa Carey
Bonnie Cazer
Caroline Chapman
Janice Driscoll
Nancy Finkle
Melissa Gaspary
Kris Guererri
Sandi Heacock
Gail Kass-Smith
Susan McGowan
Kay Muscato
Lee Ogden
Ellen Polimeni
Tarry Shipley
Cathy VanVechten
Christine West
Help Us Help Children
Begun during the Civil War, Ontario Children’s Foundation remains an effective and viable assistance program today, in part due to generous donors. Please, if you can, Help Us Help Children!
Contact Us
ontariochildrensfoundation@gmail.com
Ontario Children’s Foundation
P.O. Box 82
Canandaigua, NY 14424