As a leading organization working toward the goal of a bigger, bolder Canada by 2100, Century Initiative congratulates the Srinarayanathas Foundation. Today's announcement adds another strong voice to the call for a plan to help secure Canada's social and economic future. Working together, we have a unique opportunity to seize this moment, imagine new possibilities, make the investments, and implement the changes needed for a more prosperous and influential Canada.

The generous support of the Srinarayanathas Foundation could not have come at a better time for Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The pandemic has impacted children with disabilities and their families at a disproportionate rate. Children with disabilities are at a heightened risk from CO-VID 19 and we were continuing to hear from our families of caregiver burnout, having access cut off to groceries and medications and the deepened financial burden that many had already felt. The Srinarayanathas Foundation’s funding helped to take care of our kids and families during these devastating times through programs like the Family Support Fund and COVID-19 Emergency Fund.

Our foremost priority at the University of Toronto Scarborough is to create an environment where the world comes together for mutual good through inclusive excellence, where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging, and is given an equitable opportunity to make their best contribution to our academic mission. The Tamil Chair represents an important expression of that priority, and helps us to strengthen our collective purpose, both academic and societal. On behalf of the University of Toronto Scarborough, I offer my heartfelt thanks to the Srinarayanathas Foundation for their generous and inspiring gift.

"The Srinarayanathas family has been an ideal partner for the work that we do with Tamil-speaking peoples in Sri Lanka. They came to our vision on and diasporas for development thesis from a place of deep empathy and understanding of the plethora of issues faced by marginalised communities in that country. This has allowed them to not only provide generous financial support for our programs but to also give their time by serving on our leadership team and work actively to progress forward on our foundation’s goals."

With the introduction of Filipino Heritage Month at the provincial level, there is a larger recognition of the contributions Filipinos make towards the fabric of Canadian society. But more than being resilient and essential, Filipinos are powerful leaders who have a place in making decisions for our own communities. Through the Filipino Youth Fellowship, we are actively re-imagining and building a future where Filipinos are represented and empowered to lead in places of power. Even more important is the opportunity to bring our kapwa values to civic engagement, and (un/re) learning our positionalities and responsibilities as uninvited settlers on Turtle Island. As such, we do not take lightly the support of the Srinarayanathas Foundation. The future is bright and hopeful knowing that diverse communities can uplift one another in solidarity.

COVID-19 and the disruption it has caused to the education system demands a global organization of efforts focused on easing the impact and challenges of the overnight transformation the education sector has been subject to. We firmly believe students should have a voice in the solutions to consider and develop. Hence, we are running this global challenge and the response has been nothing short of overwhelmingly exciting – over 120 teams from 21 countries and counting. Clearly education accessibility is an issue, and our youth are ready to take on the challenge. Muraly’s kind donation sponsoring the winning prize could almost be a life changer for some students!

Opening the doors for racialized youth to be seen and to be heard in spaces where decisions are made is important. But having our youth be a part of the structures that make those decisions is even more crucial. We are extremely grateful to the Srinarayanathas Foundation for investing into this cause and coming on board as the Community Champion for our Tamil and Filipino Youth Fellowship Initiatives in 2021.

The Srinarayanathas Foundation has played a crucial role in the fulfillment of the Canadian Tamil Chamber of Commerce’s #OwnSpace Building project. On behalf of the Chamber, I would like to thank the Foundation for their generous contribution and for being a part of this milestone event in the Chamber’s history.