An Ontario Trillium Foundation seed grant will grow this fall to create a business not only will financially sustain the Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County, but also bear fruit in the lives of women wanting to learn job skills.

Announced Tuesday, the $225,000 grant will enable the agency to hire staff to develop a new auction business, which will also provide a training and life skills for women struggling to find a permanent job, whether due to years of being out of the work force, a lack of education or a lack of social skills that keeping a stable job requires.

“A woman may have been abused or been homeless. How do you get phone calls form prospective employers? How do you clean yourself up? How do you pull a lunch together every day – since you can’t afford to go out.

“The good news is for the agency,” said Elizabeth Fry Society executive director Paula King, noting fundraising is quite challenging for small organizations like hers, as the hospital and other health care agencies continue their major campaigns.

“But the best news for the women. Women who have not had access to employment training or higher education or how to get along, they’re not going to make it in an employment setting. We’ll fill in those blanks. We’ll help those who can’t get to first base with an employer.”

The new program will incorporate job skills – such as inventory control, displays, advertising, and customer service – as well as desirable skills such as CPR, first aid, tow-motor licence, and workplace health and safety training. As well, the women will learn to budget, how to get and keep a job, how to relate well with coworkers and how to enjoy their leisure time.

Creating an auction house will enable the women to learn the basics of retail and customer service; auctions require a range of skills -- from running a computer to making an attractive display, explained Barb Richards, who owns her own auction business and is life coach and consultant for the project.

“If an item looks like junk, customers will think it’s junk. If they can imagine it in their house, they’ll value it and pay more for it,” she explained.

“(The program) combines the best of both worlds – a not-for-profit so needed in this community and it gives women a second chance. It’s not just providing training; it’s about making a profit and making it financially viable.

“Without the Trillium grant, it would have been very tough to start. They provided the first step,” Richards added.

Doreen Burns, 37, is inspired by the program’s possibilities. New to Barrie after spending 10 years in prison on a drug charge, she said she – and many women like her – need up-to-date work skills and an opportunity to show they’ve turned their lives around.

“A lot of women don’t have an education, so unfortunately some turn to prostitution,” she said, noting a lot of immigrant women get into the sex trade to make ends meet.

“This is a new start,” she said of the new skills program.

“I want to learn. I’m willing to learn and want to excel in my life. That is what motivates me. It’s never too late.

“What makes the big difference is the support. We’re fortunate to have an organization like Elizabeth Fry.”

Barrie MPP Aileen Carroll said the program is a long-term investment in the lives of women.

“For many years, this organization has provided an exceptional service for local women in transition. The program we are making available with this government funding is an exceptional opportunity for these women to break into new areas of employment with long-term potential. This is exactly the kind of program we should be doing,” she said.

In the works for several years, the as-yet unnamed auction house is expected to turn donations of old items into cash and skills for women starting in October.

“We think it’s an excellent out-of-the box idea,” said King.