Local Man Gives Generous Donation to Build Peterborough Animal Care Centre

Glenn Stonehouse has made a generous gift of $300K to the fundraising campaign for the Peterborough Animal Care Centre on Monday.

Photo Courtesy of Peterborough Humane Society.

The building is the Peterborough Humane Society’s innovative animal wellness facility designed for our community set to break ground in 2021.

Stonehouse, owner and president of Wildfire Golf Club and One Fine Food, has made a generous gift of $300,000 to the fundraising campaign for the new centre. The local business owner shared that his philanthropic focus always comes back to two key causes, underprivileged children and animals.

“A couple of years back, I had the opportunity to be involved with the Peterborough Humane Society (PHS) learning about their goals and development in animal wellness,” said Stonehouse. “Through these discussions, I got a close view of the inner workings of PHS and the great work the organization is doing in our community, which is why I was excited to be a part of this very important build”.

A project of future kennels for the Peterborough Animal Care Centre. Photo Courtesy of Peterborough Humane Society.

Growing up on the family farm in Owen Sound, Glenn developed a deep love and respect for animals early on. He always had dogs in his life from working dogs on the farm, show dogs and as companions. Glenn came to the Peterborough area 25 years ago when he bought a cottage on Stony Lake and fell in love with the area.

“We’re simply blown away by Glenn’s generosity. His commitment to the health and wellness of our community and the animals within it is going to make a huge impact on the future of animal wellness,” said Shawn Morey, Peterborough Humane Society’s executive director. “In recognition of Stonehouse’s gift, the Dog Adoption Program at the new Centre will be named the Glenn Allan Stonehouse Dog Adoption Program. Thanks to Stonehouse’s support, while dogs are waiting to find their forever families, they will benefit from top-level care during their time at the Centre.”

Stonehouse walks his dog through his 6,800-yard golf course, the Wildfire Golf Club in Lakefield. Photo Courtesy of Peterborough Humane Society.

The dog kennels at the new centre will not only be larger but also have indoor/outdoor access, providing the dogs with more space and freedom to enjoy outdoor and indoor spaces as they choose.

The kennels will be grouped in pods to reduce noise and stress upon the dogs. Sliding guillotine doors will allow the kennels to double in size, should the need arise. Beyond improved kennel space, the dogs will benefit from access to greater opportunities for enrichment and socialization.

While Glenn’s generous gift brings PHS closer to its goal, the Peterborough Humane Society still needs support to cross the finish line and build its new Centre. Fundraising for the new centre has raised $7.5 million of the $10 million goal since the donation.

Community members interested in making their own impact on the future of animal wellness and help build the new Animal Care Centre are encouraged to visit ourpetproject.ca and contact Alex Tindale.

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"Porch Pirates for Good" Community Food Drive to Benefit Kawartha Food Share

Hoist the mainsails because the porch pirates are coming to get your treasure for Kawartha Food Share.

(from left to right) Susan Dunkley, Lois Tuffin, Ashlee Aitken and Megan Murphy taking the “Porch Pirates for Food” gimmick to another level. Every $1 donation gets $6 of food purchasing power for the food drive. Photo Courtesy of Megan Murphy.

“Porch Pirates for Food” volunteers will collect non-perishable foods and/or money left in front of houses for Kawartha Food Share as a food drive campaign on Saturday, Apr. 10.

The event is a twist on the infamous “porch pirate” term where thieves steal delivered items from your doorstep but applying a positive spin.

Beginning at 9:00 a.m., residents are encouraged to leave their donated items in a bag outside their homes either on their porch, driveway or steps in a visible manner for volunteers to pick up.

Any donating businesses will be collected on Friday and can e-mail Susan Dunkley at susan@suzihomemaker.ca to participate. Pickups will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The business goal is to collect 20,000 pounds of food said Dunkley in the press release.

Kawartha Food Share warehouse volunteers have been reduced from 50 to 10 to comply with the COVID-19 pandemic. All food is sorted and inspected before being redistributed to the public. Photo courtesy of Megan Murphy.

This is the third food drive campaign run since the COVID-19 pandemic last March. The Spare-A-Square food-raiser drives — in reference to last year’s toilet paper shortage — collected 41,267 pounds of food and over $5,000 in monetary donations according to a press release.

“The need for food has increased by 20 per cent since the pandemic,” says Megan Murphy, event organizer. “I am so excited and so grateful for all of our volunteers and our drives and every community member who was able to leave stuff outside. It’s been a horrible year but this is a way to stay safe and connected.”

Despite no official goal for the community food drive, Murphy would like to see roughly 9,000 pounds in food donations to a grand total of 50,000 pounds from prior collections.

Money can be donated with the goods or online at Kawartha Food Share’s website. Photo Courtesy of Megan Murphy.

On average, 8,700 people are using food banks every month in the City and County of Peterborough with 35 per cent of local food bank users under the age of 18.

If you would like to make an online monetary contribution, you can go online to Kawartha Food Share’s donation page.

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Winter Coat Collection For United Way Peterborough's Coats For Kids Program Starting May 8th

United Way of Peterborough & District’s Coats for Kids and Grown-Ups Too program strives to ensure that children and their families will be warm during the winter by providing clean, gently-used winter wear to children, youth, and adults in Peterborough City and County.

This program provides much needed relief to local families as one in six children in Peterborough lives in poverty. Families continue to deal with sharply rising costs of living and simply don’t have the means to purchase clothing to stay warm during the harsh winter months.

United Way Peterborough file photo

Coats for Kids is possible due to the generous support of Peterborough residents, community organizations, and program partners.

Since 1986, individuals and families have donated gently worn winter wear which is then cleaned at no cost to the program by local dry cleaning providers. Grainger Cleaners, Kent Cleaners, Lakefield Cleaners, and Windsor’s Dry Cleaning Centre have been active and committed program partners since the program began 29 years ago.

United Way Peterborough file photo

This year, winter coat collection will take place Monday, May 8th to Saturday, May 13th at the following locations:

-> Kent Cleaners – 183 Lansdowne St E
-> Grainger Cleaners – 885 Lansdowne Street W
-> LakefieldCleaners – Moody Plaza, Lakefield
-> Windsor’s Cleaners – Parkhill Plaza, Monaghan Rd
-> Windsor’s Cleaners – Kawartha Hts Plaza,1600 Lansdowne St
-> Windsor’s Cleaners – Riverview Plaza, Water St & Marina Blvd

United Way Peterborough file photo

Other community partners such as Global Point Logistics and McWilliams Moving & Storage have ensured that cleaned coats can be stored.

United Way Peterborough & District invests in a network of essential services to help children and families in need, seniors, and individuals struggling with life’s challenges. The Coats for Kids program is just one of many ways UW helps those in need in the community.

To learn more about the United Way, follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Help A Peterborough Woman's Little Brother With His Spinal Surgery Fund

Sean is an 11-year-old who was born with a severe chromosome disorder, as well as autism...

Sean

Sean has gone through countless surgeries and procedures each year of his life to help his health. He is currently recovering at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto from his latest and most serious surgical procedure—unteathering his spinal cords.

Despite his serious condition, Sean remains positive—full of strength and hope.

His older sister Jordan Slavik—who lives in Peterborough and is married to friend of PTBOCanada Brandon Slavik—is trying to get the word out about a GoFundMe campaign that has been started to help with the expensive cost of Sean's home care in Newmarket that will be needed for months after he gets home from the hospital.

My wife's lil bro had spinal surgery yesterday & we're looking for help going on-http://t.co/VBtRkwVwDR Your help is beyond appreciated!

— Brandon Slavik (@slavikPTBO) May 16, 2015

The money raised will go towards assisting with hospital bills, medication costs, and nurses that will be required nearly around the clock when Sean returns home.

Spread the word on your social media channels, and give what you can here. The campaign is attempting to raise $5,000, and almost $1,000 has been raised so far.

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Best Thing Ever: Peterborough Girl Sarah Edge Celebrating Her 10th Anniversary With New Heart By Hosting Blood Clinic

Sarah Edge was only six weeks old when she first begin experiencing heart problems. By the time she was 15 months, and her health in severe decline, she was placed on a heart transplant waiting list. Her family was afraid Sarah would not make it, and she was down to only 15 pounds. After weeks on the waiting list, Sarah’s mother received the miracle call that the family had been waiting for: A heart had been found!

At 18 months old, Sarah received the heart transplant she so desperately needed. Throughout her treatment, she also needed 66 units of blood products to help beat the odds that were not in her favour.

Ten years later after her miracle heart transplant and the generosity of blood donors, Sarah is giving back. In celebration of her post-transplant anniversary, the 11-year-old from Peterborough hopes that the blood donor clinic she and her family are organizing will bring out donors willing to help save the lives of children like her.

Sarah’s Celebratory Clinic is Tuesday, November 5th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at  Peterborough Blood Donor Clinic (55 George St. at the corner of George and Perry St.). Members of the community are encouraged to come out and support Sarah and other children in need of blood and blood products, as well as organs. Call 1 888 2 Donate (1-888-236-283) or go online to Blood.ca to book an appointment to donate blood. In addition, it takes only minutes to register to be an organ or tissue donor. Visit Beadonor.ca to find out how.

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Riverview Zoo Holding Sloth Mania Fundraiser For Calgary Zoo

Riverview Park and Zoo is proud to announce a fundraising event in support of the Calgary Zoo’s 2 By 2 Rebuild the Zoo campaign. In June, Calgary Zoo suffered an estimated $50 million in damage due to a devastating flood when the Bow River overflowed its banks. The flood caused severe damage to most of the zoo and forced 34 animals out of their permanent exhibits. Within days after the flood, a call for help to CAZA (Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums) went out. Riverview Park and Zoo was selected to take Calgary’s two-toed sloths, Porsche and Ferrari.

“Sloth Mania” will be held on Saturday, October 19 from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm and will feature an afternoon schedule of special "Meet the Keeper" activities (including two sessions with the sloths), a barbeque, face painting, etc. There will also be raffles that  include opportunities to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Park and Zoo as well as an up close and personal feeding encounter with Porsche and Ferrari. Donate online at here.

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