Peterborough County Launches Blankets for People 2024 Campaign

Peterborough County-City Paramedics (PCCP) is launching the second annual 'Blankets for People' campaign from Jan. 8 until March 15 announced on Friday morning.

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) KERRI KIGHTLEY, FOURCAST; CRAIG JONES, PETERBOROUGH COUNTY CITY PARAMEDICS COMMANDER OF OPERATIONS AND BRUCE THOMPSON, WINDSOR’S DRYCLEANIGN CENTRE CO-OWNER WRAPPED IN A BLANKET TO KICK OFF THE INAUGURAL ‘BLANKETS FOR PEOPLE’ campaign from last year. PHOTO BY DAVID TUAN BUI.

This initiative supplies essential blankets and sleeping bags to those in need during winter.

The campaign partners with the County of Peterborough, the City of Peterborough, One City Peterborough and Windsor’s Drycleaning Centre.

The County encourages residents in the greater Peterborough area to contribute new or gently used blankets and sleeping bags. Drop-off is available starting on Monday at Windsor’s Drycleaning Centre (655 Parkhill Rd. W.) in Peterborough. Donated items will be professionally cleaned by Windsor’s at no cost and delivered to the Trinity Community Centre at 360 Reid St. in Downtown Peterborough. Donations will be accepted until March 15.

Individuals seeking a blanket or sleeping bag can visit the Trinity Community Centre and approach the helpful staff without formalities. They will receive a clean blanket or sleeping bag without questions. Blankets will be available for pick up until March 15.

New this year is 'pop-up' drop-off and pick-up locations throughout Peterborough County throughout this campaign. Peterborough Paramedics and Peterborough County staff members will attend one Public Skate session in each township, where residents can ‘Fill the Ambulance’ with blanket donations. This 'popup' location will also be a chance for any individual in need to pick up a freshly cleaned blanket.

• Township of Cavan Monaghan Cavan Monaghan Community Centre, Jan. 14 from 1 - 2 p.m.

• Township of Selwyn Ennismore Community Centre, Jan. 28th from 1 - 2 p.m.

• Township of Havelock-Belmont Methuen Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Community Centre, Feb. 4 from 1 - 2 p.m.

• Township of North Kawartha North Kawartha Community Centre, Feb. 10 from 11 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

• Township of Douro-Dummer Douro Community Centre, Feb. 11 from 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

• Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan Otonabee Memorial Community Centre, Feb. 18 from 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

• Township of Asphodel-Norwood Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre, Feb. 24 from 11 a.m. - noon

• Municipality of Trent Lakes date and time to be determined

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East Peterborough Lions Club Great Turkey Exchange Successfully Delivered 65 Turkeys and 10 Hams to Families for Christmas

There were 65 turkeys and 10 hams delivered to needy families thanks to the East Peterborough Lions Club’s Great Turkey Exchange during December.

Photo courtesy of the East Peterborough Lions Club.

The club saw that requests were down from last year. Several turkeys and hams donated came from individuals, businesses and service clubs.

“While we love providing for the people of Peterborough, it always makes us sad to see the need for help each year. We were so happy to be able to provide help to make their Christmas a little brighter and play a small part of the joy in the season,” said Lion Frank Hewitt, Club service chair. “One thing that we found incredible this year was for the first time since we began working with this program, we had people calling and letting us know they received turkeys from another source and asked us to remove them from the list. That allowed us to be able to supply another family with a turkey or ham for their meal.”

The club also donated hygiene packages to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) on Dec. 22. The club was contacted by the PRHC and said they were running out of emergency supplies according to a Facebook post.

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U10 AAA Peterborough Petes Spread Holiday Cheer By Giving Gifts To Young Patients at PRHC

The U10 AAA Peterborough Petes were in the giving spirit as the team gave presents to children treated at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Chad cavanaugh.

There were 17 Petes who participated in the event along with their families and coaches to spread holiday cheer to the PRHC. The team collaborated with the health centre a week ago to arrange a day for all the children to meet for the gift exchange.

Each Pete was given a gift request from the children at the PRHC. The team fulfilled those wishlists and returned with nine presents for the hospitalized children.

“It was a good learning curve for the U10s to give back and that’s what we wanted to teach them,” said Chad Cavanaugh, U10 Petes head coach. “We wanted to do something for the community and the kids wanted to give back.”

This act of generosity was a feeling of moral obligation that Cavanaugh wanted to instill in his players. That there is more to life than just hockey and giving back was vital, regardless of status.

“I think it’s good for kids to learn lessons outside of hockey and help kids that they may not have the skills or health that they have,” he explained.

The team participated in an exhibition of parents versus kids hockey on the same night.

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Central Smith Creamery's Third 'Fill the Truck' Campaign Collected 8,000 Pounds of Food and $8,000 For Kawartha Food Share

The third year of Central Smith Creamery’s ‘Fill the Truck’ campaign brought roughly 8,000 pounds of food and $8,000 cash donations for Kawartha Food Share (KFS) on Friday.

Central Smith Creamery Staff with Ashlee Aitken (far right). Two delivery trucks were need to collect and haul all the donations to KFS. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The campaign had approximately 40 local businesses and organizations collect non-perishable goods and money from their respective communities since it was announced in late November. Goods and cash were collected from Nov. 27 to Dec. 14.

Central Smith had two delivery trucks collect the donated items on Friday and deliver them to Kawartha Food Share on the same day.

The list of drop-off locations for the ‘Fill the Truck’ campaign. Photo courtesy of Central Smith Creamery.

While the annual campaign is young, being in its third year, the participating businesses inquired about the campaign being run again before Central Smith had announced it according to Ian Scates, Central Smith president.

“They're already letting us know that they were keen and excited about contributing this year,” he said.

The excitement was a mutual feeling from Central Smith and its employees as well.

“It's the most fun day,” said Shannon Meagher, Central Smith inventory control coordinator. “We all really look forward to it. Everyone wants to participate.”

KFS typically sees an uptick in demand during the Christmas season and the extra donations help stretch that into the early months of the year says Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager.

“Post-pandemic, we're feeding anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 people a month, sometimes in the winter, that goes up to about 15,000,” she said. “We'll do what we can and hope to alleviate some pressures for some families.”

Aitken concluded that KFS is always looking for volunteers especially during the holiday season.

“We need about 100 volunteers doing various jobs,” she explained. “We're always looking for help so if anyone's ever interested, just give our warehouse a call and we'll find a position that fits you well.”

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Hometown PTBO: Jill Gemmiti of Canadian Blood Services Rallying Donors For the Holiday Season

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with Jill Gemmiti of Canadian Blood Services Peterborough about donating blood, plasma and stem cells for the holiday season to save lives and the Peterborough Petes as one of many groups helping the cause.

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23rd Annual Loonies on the Street Fundraiser Hits Downtown Peterborough For Kawartha Food Share on Dec. 15

The 23rd Loonies on the Street Fundraiser in support of Kawartha Food Shareis hitting Downtown Peterborough on the corner of George St, and Simcoe St.on Dec. 15 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Kawartha Food Share Helps feed more than 12,000 people a month – 35 per cent of whom are children – KFS also provides nutritious snacks for 51 area school breakfast programs helping over 17,000 children get a healthy start to their school day. Photo courtesy of Kawartha Food Share.

Their bucket brigade is collecting loose change on George Street while members of the Peterborough Lions Club are collecting on the Hunter Street Bridge. Online donations are also being accepted.

Kawartha Food Share is a central collection and distribution warehouse that partners with 37-member agency food banks, food cupboards and other food action programs in the City and County of Peterborough.

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East Peterborough Lions Club Seeking Turkey and Ham Donations For Its Great Turkey Exchange

The East Peterborough Lions Club is collecting donations and distributing turkeys and hams as part of their The Great Turkey Exchange for hungry families this Christmas.

Lions Theresa Hewitt (left) and Lucas (right) during last year’s Great Turkey Exchange. Photo courtesy of the East Peterborough Lions Club.

The program operated from 2009 until 2020 but went on hiatus in 2021 after supply chain shortages made it difficult to get donations according to the Lions Club. Now, the East Peterborough Lions Club is picking up the torch to continue the grassroots program, previously run by Volunteer Peterborough founder Lois Tuffin.

The program has delivered 17,500 Christmas dinners in the Peterborough area as stated in a press release.

“Our club has helped out by delivering turkeys to groups and we saw how grateful people are to have strangers help feed their families,” says Frank Hewitt, District Governor of District A-3. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to resuscitate the program and fill such a great need in our community.”

The community can help in two ways:

• Donate turkeys and hams (for those who don’t have access to an oven)

• Donate cash to purchase these items

Donations will be welcomed at Kawartha Food Share at 665 Neal Dr. or by pickup if you email your address to greatturkeyexchange@gmail.com.

The food items will be distributed to families who cannot afford a turkey or ham and would have to go without them. Families in this situation should email greatturkeyexchange@gmail.com and ask to be on the donation list.

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Demand For Services Surge Causes Shortfall For Salvation Army; Monetary and Other Donations Sought

The Salvation Army’s Peterborough Christmas Assistance program claims they are already facing shortfalls due to a surge in demand for their services, with several weeks left of their campaign announced on Wednesday.

The CHristmas Kettle Campaign began outside Lansdowne Place’s food court on Nov. 16. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SALVATION ARMY PETERBOROUGH TEMPLE.

The non-profit began registering families and individuals two weeks ago and has signed up about 2,000 applicants.

“We're seeing more community service and general applicants,” said Billi Balment, Salvation Army community family services supervisor. “In the past two years, there's been an increase in single people seeking help in the latter half of the program.”

Meeting needs this year has been challenging due to near-full bookings and dwindling resources and funds according to Balment.

“We have a plan for the expected influx but public support is crucial this year more than ever,” she said.

Families visiting The Salvation Army Toy Shop have shown great interest in practical items like hats, mittens, toys and puzzles as stated in a press release.

“We ran out of mittens last Thursday. I bought 200 more, and they were gone by Friday,” Balment said.

Monetary donations continue to come in for the non-profit organization however The Salvation Army says they have slowed compared to the initial surge during the Hope For All Seasons Christmas Appeal. The organization is seeking donations of mittens, games, puzzles, toys for ages nine to 13 and teen toiletry sets.

“There's still time to help,” Balment added. “We have the Christmas parade this weekend where food and toy donations can be made, with volunteers from Country 105 and Move 99.7 and Chemong Home Hardware on hand to collect them and bring them to the church on Saturday.”

Monetary donations can be mailed to 219 Simcoe St., Peterborough, ON, K9H 2H6 or made in person and at kettles across the city. Donations by phone can be made by calling 705-742-4391, ext. 257. Toy and mitten donations are accepted at the church doors on Simcoe Street.

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Peterborough Humane Society Holding Giving Tuesday Campaign For Animal Support

Peterborough Humane Society (PHS) is asking the public for donations during Giving Tuesday to help match thousands of animals with loving families announced on Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that takes place each year after Black Friday. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Humane Society.

Any donations during the GivingTuesday Campaign have CanadaHelps adding an extra one per cent.

PHS wanted to highlight the story of Twyla and her puppies.

Twyla, a gentle female St. Bernard, was found wandering the streets as a stray by our Animal Control Officers in late August of this summer. She was severely emaciated and neglected; thin and dirty, she was in desperate need of immediate care. Our team swiftly took action and brought her into the Peterborough Animal Care Centre. They were shocked to find she was actively in labour.

Once safely in our care, she gave birth to seven beautiful puppies. Staff gave her babies celestial-themed names: Nova, Galileo, Astro, Celeste, Aurora, Astrid and Halle.

After giving birth, the mom was in a deplorable state and couldn’t produce enough milk for her babies. Staff quickly jumped to action to care for the new pups by bottle feeding and providing around-the-clock care for them to survive. After many weeks of intense care and supervision, the pups were ready to be alone. Volunteers and staff fostered the puppies at their homes during their growth period to give them continuous care and socialization. They went above and beyond to ensure these pups would flourish into wonderful family members.

After months of love, growth and attention, the beautiful puppies went up for adoption and each found their forever homes. Twyla remained in our care to gain weight, heal, and receive all of the enrichment and support we could provide. Once her health improved, she underwent spay surgery at our Peterborough Regional Spay/Neuter Clinic. Now, Twyla is healthy, happy and ready to find a loving home of her own.

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Peterborough Business Network Donates $15,000 to the YMCA's 'Strong Kids Campaign'

The Peterborough Business Network (PBN) has donated $15,000 to the YMCA of Central East Ontario for their ‘Strong Kids Campaign’ in a cheque presentation on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Business Network.

“A core mandate of the Peterborough Business Network is supporting organizations that help grow and elevate our Peterborough community,” said Alex Archibald of the PBN. “The YMCA of Central East Ontario is exactly this type of organization and we couldn't be happier to support their Strong Kids campaign as they work to make a positive difference in our community.”

The campaign is an annual fundraising campaign to allow everyone, especially children, youth, and families, access to the YMCA, regardless of their financial situation. Accessibility includes opportunities to participate in programming, membership and day camp opportunities.

“I believe that every child deserves a chance to reach their full potential to live healthier, happier lives today and grow into productive, healthy adults in the future, regardless of their financial situation,” said Dave Morello, Strong Kids chairman. “The efforts of the Peterborough Business Network, to do great community work to ensure this is a reality.”

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