Jaycees Brantford Non-Profit Homes officially launched the Bridge to Home fundraising campaign during its annual back to school barbecue held on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
The Bridge to Home Campaign is being held in support of 32 Bridge St. in Brantford, an affordable housing complex specifically dedicated to providing safe and stable housing for women and women-led families.
Once built, the four-storey mixed-use building will feature 24 affordable, long-term housing units with a mix of bachelor, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The ground floor will also house a social enterprise laundromat café and a community hub offering essential services such as a community kitchen, computer stations, counselling room and event space.
The overall goal of the community fundraiser is to secure $1.5 million in donations to help cover the $10.6 million construction cost of the building, and to increase awareness about the city’s urgent need for affordable housing.
During the event, Lily Wright, Jaycees’ community campaign chair, shared that the Bridge to Home team has already reached 60 per cent of its $1.5 million target, and is now opening the next phase of fundraising to the public through two different initiatives.
The first is 32 and You, a matching donation program running from October 15 to December 31, where any donation of $32 or more will be matched by a generous donor.
The second is 32 Days of Winning, a raffle with $7,500 in cash and prizes to be given away every day between December 31 and January 31. Tickets are $25 and will go on sale on November 1.
“We are excited to invite the public to join us in reaching our campaign goal,” said Wright. “With your generosity, we believe we will reach the community goal of $120,000, bringing us closer to our overall goal.”
Following the announcement, Laurie Macintyre, Jaycees’ executive director, invited various community partners, City councillors and local children to build two towers out of Jenga blocks.
“Together, we’ll show you the strength of our community when everybody contributes,” she said. “And you’ll notice as we build these two towers, there’s a gap. And to close this gap, we need leadership and collaboration.”
Kathy Ballantyne, campaign chair, Ron Underwood, honorary chair, and Wright, were all asked to place the final building blocks to bridge to the towers together, mirroring the campaign objective of building partnerships with the community.
“These pieces that connect the towers show that this campaign unites all of us together for a stronger, safer, more inclusive community,” continued Macintyre. “And when that last block is in place, the bridge to home will be complete, not just here, but through the work we’re all going to do together with our new project.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
