A Bunch Of Kenner Students Did Freeze Flash Mob At Lansdowne Place To Raise Awareness About Domestic Violence

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton and United Way of Peterborough & District have joined forces with women’s shelters across Ontario to take part in the annual Wrapped in Courage campaign. This year’s campaign was launched with a powerful Freeze Flash Mob Tuesday morning (October 16th) in the food court at Lansdowne Place.

About 50 Kenner students gathered in the food court along with YWCA and United Way staff, supporters, volunteers and board members, holding up signs to onlookers with alarming stats showing the toll domestic violence takes.

“Wrapped in Courage is an amazing advocacy project that makes a real difference for women and children right here in our community,” says Lynn Zimmer, Executive Director of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton. “Proceeds from every scarf sold [see info below on how to purchase them] in Peterborough stay local to help women and children in desperate need of shelter and support.”

“The courage of a woman alone is not enough,” says Lisa Smith, Director, Philanthropic Impact with United Way of Peterborough & District. “United Way is proud to stand in solidarity with women who have experienced violence and to partner with the YWCA for the Wrapped in Courage Campaign again this year.”

Together, YWCA and United Way invite everyone to purchase and wear a purple Wrapped in Courage scarf in support of local women and children fleeing violence. Scarves are available for $20 at Lansdowne Place at the customer service desk, and at YWCA and United Way from October 18th to November 18th.

For more info on YWCA, go here.

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Why The Creepy Clown Hoax Is Stupid And Police Are Taking It Seriously

PTBOCanada have heard of local creepy clown sightings on social media platforms such as Snapchat, so we reached out to Peterborough Police to get their take on this stupid hoax that has spread across Canada and North America and only serves to frighten people.

"We are aware of and keeping an eye on the 'creepy clown' hoax that is circulating on social media. While we have had no official reports or sightings made to our Service, there are many rumours circulating in our area," Lauren Gilchrist, Communications Coordinator at Peterborough Police Service, tells PTBOCanada. "We emphasize that these are just rumours."

Clowns are supposed to make kids and adults happy, like this poster...

Happy clown poster via zazzle.ca

Right now, the creepy clown phenomenon is ruining it for the good clowns who bring joy to people's lives.

Peterborough Police say they have a zero tolerance stance on this type of behavior aimed at shocking and disturbing children and the public all in the name of a joke. People need to be aware that their behavior and the intent of their actions while wearing the costume will dictate police response and action.

Police remind the public that, depending on the person’s intent and behavior, criminal charges could apply. These charges could include the following:

-> Disturbing the peace
-> Public mischief
-> Trespassing
-> Enticing/luring a child
-> Uttering threats
-> Criminal harassment
-> Assault
-> Assault with a Weapon
 
"We encourage parents and caregivers to have serious conversations with their children or teens about the impact and consequences of this sort of hoax and the possible criminal consequences," Gilchrist tells PTBOCanada.

If anyone is concerned about their safety at any time or wants to report a suspicious person or activity, police encourage you to call 9-1-1 in an emergency or their non-emergency line at 705-876-1122.

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The Canadian Canoe Museum Needs Your Help To Win Important Community Funding

The Canadian Canoe Museum has successfully submitted a project into the 2016 AVIVA Community Fund, an initiative that has been investing in charitable community initiatives across Canada since 2009.
 
The museum has applied for resources to purchase a van, trailer hitch package, vehicle wrap and enclosed trailer. These items would see the museum’s award winning, on and off-water programming become more accessible to schools, community groups, outreach events and the general public.

This new equipment would transport children to summer paddling camps. It would also allow the museum to travel to schools and other locations off-site to deliver educational programming and workshops, transport the museum’s public paddling fleet for use on-water, and allow for transport of artefacts to exhibits at partner museums.

From October 11th to the 28th, you can vote online here to help the museum become a finalist in the competition. Each registered participant has 18 votes they can use at any time and can vote for the same idea more than once and/or for multiple ideas.

The 15 ideas that receive the most votes in each of the two funding levels (small and large ideas) will become finalists. Winners are picked from the finalists by a panel of judges and announced on December 6th, 2016.

Judges will rank ideas based on the following criteria: longevity and sustainability, votes, impact, originality, likelihood of success and submission quality.

Here's how you can help: Invite your friends, families and coworkers to also vote for the project. There will also be a voting kiosk set up in the museum’s lobby.

Spread the word on your social media channels!

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A Bunch Of Immaculate Conception Students Just Showed How Anyone Can Have Great Impact

It doesn't matter who you are. Anyone can make a difference and have a great impact on the lives of others.

Students at Immaculate Conception School gave further proof of this with a Thanksgiving food drive they did in Peterborough's East City.

The grade 6/7 and 7/8 students began the food drive by delivering notes (see note below) to 300 homes in the neighbourhood of Immaculate in East City.

They then returned to gather up all the donations.

The students collected and organized all the food on Tuesday (October 11th), and in total an amazing 1,250 pounds of food was donated.

The food was dropped off at St Vincent de Paul this morning.

"We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our little East City community," teacher Mitch Champagne tells PTBOCanada. "This is a great example of servant leadership and shows how many people, each contributing a little, can come together to make a big difference."

Many hands do God's work. #Ptbo #PVNCserves pic.twitter.com/bPOC9an3cc

— Mitch Champagne (@MitchChampagne) October 7, 2016

Well done Immaculate Conception students!
 

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Peterborough Female & Male Rowers Bare-All In Calendar To Combat Homophobia

Members of the Peterborough Rowing Club are back at it again this year, inviting you to “take one for the team” with their bare-all take on combatting homophobia in competitive sport.

Last year’s semi-nude men’s calendar saw hundreds of calendars sold and thousands of dollars given to Egale Canada—an organization committed to reducing stigmas around sport for LGBTQ youth.

Female version added to calendar this year

This year, there is an addition to the calendar with a female version focusing on body positivity and sisterly-love. This classy, 14-month gold mine of athletic men and women make it all-too-easy for you to help put a stop to homophobia.

The calendar—aptly named “Gentlemen of the Otonabee” and “Ladies of the Otonabee” for the 6 km stretch of the river that runs by their rowing club in Peterborough—features 28 sculpted, dedicated athletes.

“It’s about building an ally base,” says one member of the rowing team who participated in the photoshoot. “Sport should have no sexual orientation. For us, your crew is like your family, and you need to be able to trust that your family will back you up.”

$5 from the sale of each calendar will be donated to Egale Canada, a subset of the Canada Human Rights Trust. The calendars sell for $20 online, and can be purchased here.

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