WIAIH and its initiative to build the KIZMET Centre for young children and
parents has won the prestigious 2016 Community Cares Award in the Organization category.
Natalie Chapman, WIAIH’s Director and the driving force behind the KIZMET project accepted the
award on behalf of her team.
“We are so proud to be expanding our traditional mission so that our expertise can help all
families with young children in the West Island,” said Chapman. “The research is crystal clear that
investing in kids before the age of six can help to diminish, or even prevent, mental and physical
health problems which may only emerge later in these children’s lives.”
KIZMET, which will be broadly based on other family resource centres across Canada, will be the
first to serve West Island families, despite hundreds already successfully operating across
Quebec.
For WIAIH, it is the start of a new era. Going forward, the 58 year-old association intends to be a
hub of community involvement, a force for change and a powerful social advocate for needy
families with young children who have nowhere else to turn. The KIZMET Centre will also be an
ideal means for WIAIH to give back to the West Island community by sharing its wealth of skills
and experience, especially with pre-school children.
The Montreal Community Cares Awards recognizes community champions actively involved in
making Montreal a better place to live and work. The award was presented to Ms. Chapman and
her team at a Gala on May 12, 2016.
Established in 2012, the Montreal Community Cares Foundation looks to empower our youth by
developing their leadership skills through our programs, workshops and events, and by building
bridges between communities.
WIAIH is a community organization founded in 1958 whose mission is the enhance the lives of
those with intellectual handicaps or autism.
