Background

Founded in 1979, Townshippers’ Association has been at the forefront of community engagement for over forty years.

Townshippers’ Association’s projects address heritage and culture, community development, access to health and social services, support for seniors, and youth retention. The organization’s input is regularly sought at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels as well as by other stakeholders on a variety of issues affecting English-speakers in the region and across the province; our extensive knowledge base and recognized expertise is a result of the hard work and dedication of the organization’s staff and team of volunteers throughout the years.

Mission Statement

The mission of Townshippers’ Association is threefold:

  • To promote the interests of the English-speaking community in the historical Eastern Townships;
  • To strengthen the cultural identity of this community;
  • To encourage the full participation of the English-speaking population in the community at large.

Orientations

These orientations provide a more explicit expression of the mission:

  • Contribute to the vitality of the English-speaking community in the Historical Eastern Townships by working to retain existing community members, and attract new English-speakers to the region;
  • Ensure that the needs of the English-speaking community in the Historical Eastern Townships are considered at various decision-making levels across multiple sectors (local/municipal, regional, provincial);
  • Promote and encourage community development so that existing and future resources within the Historical Eastern Townships’ English-speaking community are maximized;
  • Promote and encourage the engagement of young people and the development of a new generation of active leaders in the Historical Eastern Townships English-speaking community;
  • Promote the English-speaking community in the Historical Eastern Townships as a valued and active participant in the community at large.

Principles

The principles which inform the Association’s operating method are:

  • Decisions are based on a combination of input obtained through needs assessments, community consultations, demographic analyses, evidence-based scholarly research, and other knowledge-gathering techniques;
  • Initiatives to be undertaken by the organization are analyzed within the context of its mission and orientations to ensure that they respond to the mandate of the organization;
  • Initiatives are evaluated in the context of their objectives and individual contribution agreements.