Family foundation recognizes Friends

 When John Ames rallied his family into forming the Ames Foundation, no one envisioned the kind of work their organization would one day accomplish. They certainly did not see any connection to Friends Of Children, which was already operating in the philanthropic scene.

No, the Ames Foundation was started in 2009 specifically to help those on the autism spectrum. But like Friends Of Children themselves, which started with one focus but grew to have a much bigger one, the Ames Foundation evolved to include all children and youth at risk.

Eventually the two charities would meet each other.

The introduction was made by Janet Ames. John was her brother. Also joining them for the operation of the foundation were Andrew and Michael Ames (John’s children), Debra Ames (John’s wife), and Becky Citra (John’s other sister), along with administrator Carol Harrison.  

The organization was an extension of Ames Tile & Stone, today the biggest distributor of ceramic tile and stone in Western Canada. It was founded in 1912 by Cyril Ames, then carried on by his son Jack (father to John, Becky and Janet), and today is led by Andrew since the 2015 passing of John, making it a fourth generation family business.  

“We started supporting Friends in 2017,” Ames said. “The majority of our charities are in Greater Vancouver. I researched charities in northern BC and was immediately struck by Friends because they operate on a shoestring budget. I knew we could really make a difference.”

Each board member for the Ames Foundation gets to champion causes of particular personal impression. Janet said, “I’m proud that Friends is one of my charities.”

She added, “The Foundation prefers to donate to smaller ‘grass roots’ organizations that work directly in a community and receive little to no government funding.”

The Ames Foundation is funded entirely by the contributions of the board members and from Ames Tile & Stone’s company donations.  

Currently the Foundation donates to 47 organizations – three in third world countries and the balance in Western Canada – which provide stability to children and youth such as food, housing, clean water, medical services, education, and counselling. This overflows to assisting families as well.  

Friends Of Children is honoured and thankful to be among them.