Johnston Group created the Advisor Charitable Match Program to team up with our advisors across the country who are supporting community initiatives that make a difference.
February 2024
Beep, beep! Matt Howell started volunteering with the local Children’s Safety Village in Belleville, ON, when his own kids were in grade school. It’s a safety training facility that includes a miniature village with some local landmarks, like the clock tower, where kids aged six to eight drive mini-jeeps down the streets to practice traffic rules from the point of view of a pedestrian, driver or cyclist.
Even though his children are now teenagers, Howell continues to volunteer because he feels passionate about keeping kids safe. The charity teaches kids about safety and injury prevention related to fire, home safety, Internet usage, electricity and more.
“As a charity that receives no financial support from any level of government, the Children’s Safety Village relies on donations to continue providing safety programming to children in our region. Over the past 20 years, more than 15,000 children and youth have been taught ways to stay safe on their streets, in their homes and throughout their communities, which in turn makes our community safer and more liveable. We couldn’t do that without this kind of generosity and support.”
Howell is a local advisor in central Ontario for Chambers Plan group benefits, and the Plan’s administrator, Johnston Group, was excited to match his contribution through their Advisor Charitable Match Program, which is designed to support local charitable organizations.
Now Howell is excited to be part of the organization’s capital campaign to build a new location, reimaging the site of a former school. The charity has outgrown the space and will be building a state-of-the-art, fully accessible facility with more classrooms so multiple programs can run at once. A new outdoor village will resemble what the city looks like today, with traffic circles and bike lanes that weren’t around 20 years ago.
Thousands of students have taken part in safety programs at Children’s Safety Village Belleville over the years and Howell is proud of the fact that accidents involving children have declined.
“It’s a little hard to ask for donations when people don’t hear of any safety incidents involving children. But our story is, there isn’t one!” Howell says. “No news is good news when it comes to children’s safety. What we do helps our kids be safe in the streets.”
