About Community Development Halton
Community Development Halton is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the community and promoting social welfare, community engagement, and overall development within the Halton region.
Our mission involves research, community development, planning, and promoting volunteerism to improve the quality of life for all residents of Halton. We work with community nonprofit agencies, municipal and regional government, and local grassroots organizations to build vibrant and inclusive communities where all people prosper.
Our initiatives include community-based research, needs identification, education, training, volunteerism, community engagement, age-friendly initiatives, and policy analysis for systems change. We are committed to creating and implementing programs that foster growth, collaboration, and positive change within the Halton region, with a focus on community, volunteerism, diversity, equity, and social justice.
Our principles include independence, community accountability, knowledge-based action, citizen participation, inclusiveness, and empowerment. Our organization is led by an executive director and a dedicated team of staff members and board members. We also value social development and social change and are active on various social media platforms.
Remembering Kristen Harding
It is with heavy hearts that Community Development Halton (CDH) Team and Board of Directors shares the difficult news that our newest Board member, Kristen Harding, passed away on August 3rd. Kristen had just been appointed to the Board and was to be welcomed at our Annual Celebration in September. No longer able to share that new beginning, we want to share a bit about Kristen, her connection to our organization, and her care for the Halton community.
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Over the course of the past couple years the CDH team was blessed to get to know and work alongside of Kristen. She embraced our team and enriched it as we worked with her on SB Partners 50th Anniversary Legacy project where Kristen was the Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing. Together we told the stories of grass roots leaders, the essential and often unsung nonprofits, and local businesses in Burlington that make the community vibrant, through a special magazine and community celebration.
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Kristen then asked us if she could work with a SB Partner colleague, to develop and deliver what would be a very well-received, three-part series on nonprofit financial literacy for our CDH Educates program. Kristen also championed CDH's new Developing Community Roots initiative to make sure that new and/or emerging nonprofits in Halton would have the opportunity to connect and have access to capacity building resources, so that they might thrive.
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All these activities revealed a part of Kristen’s heart to us. She valued and sought to uphold civic engagement and shine a light on those often unseen in our community, helping to strengthen their voice.
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Kristen also shared a lot of herself with our team. She was a master in her craft, writing for everyone, making stories accessible, teaching us along the way. She was present and attentive to the task at hand, action-focused but never losing sight of the big picture. And, she was fun, easy to be with, making you feel welcomed and valued. She had plans for herself and the community.
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Kristen was a community organizer at heart, our kind of people. We were thrilled to have Kristen start her journey as a member of our Board of Directors. We know that Kristen's contribution would have made a significant difference.
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Kristen impacted everyone she walked along side of. That smile. That laugh. Her skill. Her desire for a connected community will be her legacy in Halton. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to have known her. Our love goes out to her family and all those who knew Kristen.
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To learn more about Kristen, please find the beautiful words and wishes shared by her family here: Obituary information for Kristen Harding
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