The Samuel Family Foundation is dedicated to helping people improve their lives and reinforce their commitment to family, community and society. We focus our efforts on building and developing successful communities by increasing access to education, health and employment opportunities for everyone through:
From the earliest days of the Samuel family business, social responsibility has directly shaped every aspect of our enterprise. Based on his philosophy of giving back and improving our community, third-generation owner Sigmund Samuel was responsible for developing the Canadiana Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum and the undergraduate library at the University of Toronto. Building on this tradition, the Samuel Family Foundation was established by fourth-generation owners Ernest and Elizabeth Samuel in 1993, with a focus on the arts, education, and healthcare, which included support for the Royal Ontario Museum and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
In recent years, the Foundation’s mandate has expanded to include poverty eradication, human rights, climate change, youth and older people’s empowerment, and universal design. The Samuel Family Foundation also works closely with several key partners and collaborators on its Social Connectedness Program. Designed to overcome social isolation and create a greater sense of community, this core Samuel Family Foundation initiative focuses on grassroots knowledge and programs to build caring communities and advocate for inclusive policy change.
The Samuel Family Foundation is also a proud partner of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness (SCSC) Symposium on Overcoming Isolation and Deepening Social Connectedness. Together, the Foundation and the SCSC have convened four Global Symposia on Overcoming Social Isolation and Deepening Social Connectedness. The most recent 2022 Global Symposium was held in Toronto, Canada, and brought together 160 community activists, policymakers, researchers and youth from across Canada, and the world. Seventy-five partner organizations were represented from ten countries. The theme of the three-day event was Imagination and Action: Building the Right to Belong. The gathering featured uniquely intersectional conversations and had a keen focus on practical solutions to building social connectedness and belonging in our communities.
As a proud partner of the Samuel Family Foundation, The Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness welcomed fourteen fellows as part of the Social Connectedness Fellowship Program during the summer of 2022. The Social Connectedness Fellowship Program empowers students and recent graduates to carry out innovative research to inspire local and global action to build community and belonging.
Fellows from this year’s cohort joined from Canada, the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Throughout the summer they worked with their respective partner organizations on research projects that address issues related to social isolation and belonging.
Learn more about the fellows and read their research reports here.
Joanne Kviring
Interim Executive Director
joanne.kviring@samuel.com
180 John Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1X5
The Samuel Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding requests. We work to nurture, develop and sustain key partnerships dedicated to overcoming social isolation and building social connectedness.
