The United Way of Bruce Grey and the Welcoming Communities Grey Bruce Committee are thrilled to announce an investment of $246,576.00 from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada in funding the Rural Pathways for Newcomer Women in Grey Bruce Project.

May Ip and Olga Gura have been hired as Pathways Development Workers to deliver the program in the region.

“This grant builds on the success of Making Grey Bruce Home and New to Grey initiatives that looked to create and build on the positive impact newcomers are making to our community” said Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director of the United Way. “If we can address barriers to employment for those most challenged – visible minority newcomer women – then we can positively impact others experiencing barriers to employment.”

“We are excited to launch a project that will focus on learning from newcomer women, employers and employment services to build pathways to employment that works in rural communities,” added Colleen Purdon, chair Welcoming Communities Grey Bruce.

Project Overview

“Rural Pathways for Newcomer Women in Grey Bruce Project” is an 18-month (August 2019 – December 2020) regional pilot project to develop, implement and evaluate new pathways to employment for visible minority newcomer women (VMNW) in a rural region without settlement services.

The Rural Pathways project is led by United Way Bruce Grey, in partnership with Welcoming Communities Grey Bruce, with the support of municipal, social service, employment and community organizations across the region of Grey Bruce, which recognize the need to develop specific strategies to support the pre-employment and employment needs of newcomer women in a rural community without settlement services.  It will engage community stakeholders to build a more coordinated approach that will support successful pathways to employment.

The pilot project will provide newcomer women with new skills and connections to prepare them for employment and increase their ability to participate in the Grey Bruce labour force.

For more information, please call the United Way at

519-376-1560.