About the Foundation
The Tamara Gordon Foundation was approved as a Registered Charity in December 2013. A Board of Directors consisting of a broad spectrum of the community came together and began working to identify volunteers, private and corporate donors, as well as partners in the post-secondary and non-profit sectors. The purpose of the Foundation is not only to provide financial assistance to students with physical disabilities in the achievement of their educational goals but also to help them in making the transition to employment as fully contributing members of society.
The Tamara Gordon Foundation provides financial awards ranging from $750 to $3,000 to physically disabled students enrolled in degree programs at post-secondary institutions within Ontario.
Applicants will be considered on the basis of their academic record, their community service, references and the completion of an application that includes an essay on the role that they can play in enhancing the experience of physically disabled students at their university/college.
OUR VALUES
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
The Tamara Gordon Foundation is a community-based, focused foundation designed especially to address the needs of persons with physical disabilities within Ontario.
ENCOURAGING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT
The foundation will seek to provide funding and other kinds of resources to support persons with physical disabilities who demonstrate personal initiative, creative striving and a high standard of performance in their quest to achieve their personal and career goals or in order to aid in their personal development.
AFFIRMING DIVERSITY
We affirm that all people are created equal and that all people including persons with physical disabilities are deserving of an opportunity to develop themselves, become self-sufficient, and make a contribution to their society and the world in which they live without discrimination or prejudice.
BUILDING AND ENHANCING RELATIONSHIPS
We believe that despite individual differences more can be achieved when we function as a community where each one helps the other than when we operate in isolation. We believe that a greater good would be accomplished and individual efforts would be enhanced when we operate as a cooperative whole rather than as isolated units or individuals. As a result, we will seek to bring together different individuals, community groups and organizations to pool their resources and expertise so as to maximize their efforts both individually and collectively.
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE, COMPASSION AND RESPECT
We believe that the bedrock of success is founded on a desire to achieve excellence in what we do and always striving to be the best we can be. We also believe that in order for persons with physical disabilities and other disenfranchised groups or individuals to be able to achieve the level of excellence they are capable of attaining they must have equal opportunities. We will therefore advocate on their behalf and work to increase opportunities for these groups, while at the same time heightening social awareness of their problems, targeting societal barriers that prevent them from accessing opportunities that are available to others and promoting compassionate and respectful dialogue and understanding.
VISION
The Tamara Gordon Foundation is a Charitable organization dedicated to positively influencing, empowering and improving the lives of persons with physical disabilities in Ontario by providing them with financial, social and practical resources necessary for them to achieve self-supporting status, experience equal opportunity to function as citizens of our community, live fulfilled lives and give back to the community. We will act to promote and protect their welfare by focusing on such issues as their rights, abilities, choices, respect and equal opportunities.
