Local Teacher Sleeping Outside For A Week To Raise Money For Youth Emergency Shelter

Local teacher Aaron McFadden will be sleeping outside, for the second year in a row, to raise money for the Youth Emergency Shelter (YES).

Aaron McFadden and Brooke Erickson (YES). Photo courtesy of Aaron McFadden.

Last year after COVID cancelled McFadden’s travel plans he thought he would put the money he had saved for his trip to good use. He donated it to YES, and decided he would sleep outside, during the coldest week of the year, to raise awareness and money for youth homelessness and YES.

“I have three kids and I’m a teacher,” said McFadden. “Just recognizing that the Youth Emergency Shelter has always been an important charity. I’ve gone there, as a teacher, there’s a lot of good work and learning that happens there It’s such an important resource in our community, it was easy to pick them to donate to.”

This year McFadden’s fundraiser will look a bit different. He will be spending his nights outside beginning on Sunday until Feb. 21.

Because he is back to full time teaching he will only be sleeping outside for 12 hours at a time, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

“I realized, just because I’m working doesn’t mean I can’t do this,” he said. “As a teacher we do things together, we don’t do things on our own.”

McFadden hopes that his campaign will encourage people to participate in the virtual sleep out being hosted on March 25.

The virtual sleep out encourages participants to educate themselves on homelessness and share their learnings with other participants, friends and family.

McFadden’s fundraiser page can be found here. Updates throughout the week will be posted to the event Facebook page. His goal for this year it $1,500.

McFadden also hopes that his week long sleepout will bring attention to other initiatives happening around the city.

The Coldest Night of The Year walk is a family-friendly walk to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness.

The Meaning of Home contest invites children in grades 4-6 to enter a piece of writing sharing what home means to them. Each entry will result in a $10 donation to Peterborough’s local Habitat for Humanity organization. This contest ends on Friday.

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Peterborough Girl Selected As One Of 100 Ambassadors For JDRF's 'Lets Make History Again' Campaign

Tilly Stimpson, a grade 9 student at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, will join the 'Let’s Make History Again' campaign, hosted by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), as one of the 100 Ambassadors of History.

When Stimpson was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at two-years-old her father Matt says it was devastating.

“I had been living with it for a number of years, and Shay - our nurse at PRHC - said ‘you’re already on page 50 of a 100 page book’ because of what I had been going through,” said Matt. “We knew how to manage the disease, but kids are a whole different can of worms.”

“Living with diabetes is definitely difficult,” said Stimpson. “It’s a 24/7 disease, you always have to be on it, checking your blood sugars and making sure you’re ok. I don’t think you’re ever not thinking about diabetes, your mind is always set on it.”

Both Matt and Tilly hope that through fundraising researchers will find a cure for diabetes, and they wont have to rely on insulin daily.

Tilly hopes that anyone that wants to join her in her climb does so. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the first injection of insulin.

To mark the milestone JDRF is hosting the ‘Lets Make History Again Campaign’ which aims to raise money that will fund valuable research to fund a cure for Type One Diabetes.

The 100 Ambassadors of History, which is the group Stimpson has been asked to join, are a special group of Canadians who will each host their own fundraiser to contribute to the campaign.

Stimpson has decided that this year she will climb the steps of The Lift Lock once for every $100 donated to her campaign. As of Thursday she has raised $1267.

While Stimpson and her father Matt don’t have a set monetary goal the Let’s Make History Again campaign has a total goal of $100 million.

To donate to Tilly’s fundraiser click here.

Follow Tilly’s journey on her Instagram page @diabetes.the.bully.

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Annual Shoppers Drug Mart Love You Campaign Raises Over $14,000 For YWCA Peterborough Haliburton

Community support for the 2021 LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart fall campaign resulted in a $14,081 donation to YWCA Peterborough Haliburton earlier this week.

Tanya Farrow, Store Manager (left) alongside High Street & Lansdowne Shoppers Drug Mart team members. Photo courtesy of YWCA Peterborough.

One hundred percent of in-store donations, made through the purchase of paper icons in Peterborough stores, helped fund YWCA Crossroads Shelter and support programs for women experiencing gender-based violence.

“We are truly thankful for the combined support of our community and the entire Peterborough Shoppers Drug Mart team,” said Kim Dolan, Executive Director of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton. “The need for violence against women (VAW) support services has remained high since the onset of the pandemic. This generous donation will provide much-needed safety, resources and support to women in crisis.”

The LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart fall fundraising program to grow women’s health is an annual four-week campaign and is one of the leading partnership programs of the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart platform.

Since 2011, the fall fundraising program has supported more than 450 women’s charities annually across Canada.

“The YWCA is an absolutely essential resource for women and children living in Peterborough,” said Mohan Joshi, Owner of Shoppers Drug Mart High St., Chemong Road and Landsdowne St. locations. “We are honoured to be able to continue our commitment to their work in partnership with our generous customers and staff team.”

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Local Fraternity Holds Outdoor Campout For 48 Hours To Fundraise For the Homeless

Members of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity slept in a makeshift shelter for 48 hours last weekend to raise money for One City Peterborough to help anyone experiencing homelessness.

(left to right) Christopher Mills, Brendan Alexander, Oscar Fuchs and Marcus Fuchs huddled in a makeshift structure with hay and a tarp in the cold at the Venture North parking lot on George Street North. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

TKE (Upsilon-Kappa chapter) aids men in their mental, moral and social development for life according to their website.

The fraternity slept outside at the Venture North parking lot on George Street North from Friday at 4:00 p.m. to Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The campaign gave their members to experience the hardships and struggles that people experiencing homelessness face according to Christopher Mills, TKE member.

"We will never truly understand what it's like to be homeless because I have a nice car, I can go back home to and a bed but not everyone has that opportunity," said Mills. "So I couldn't even begin to imagine what all of them (the homeless) have to go through being out here in all this weather.”

TKE was successful in reaching its goal of $5,000 on Saturday night raising over $3,500 in an online fundraiser and the rest with in-person donations.

The homeless showed their gratitude as they often paid visits to them and grabbed a snack or drink for their trouble.

"Some of the people experiencing homelessness came by to show their support, thanked us and asked us for any food," said Mills. "Some of them even donated themselves because they were so grateful for the work that we're doing."

The fraternity also had local supporters making food, drink and monetary donations towards the cause. The Peterborough Police Service and MP Michelle Ferreri also paid visits to show their support.

"We're trying to do our part and help make Canada a better place to live,” concluded Mills.

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Rotary Club Performs Armour Hill Stunt To Promote 36th Annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim

To promote the upcoming 36th annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim fundraiser, Wayne Harding, Rotary Club of Peterborough president rode down Armour Hill in a kiddie pool filled with water on Sunday.

Wayne Harding (pictured) has performed past stunts such as being pushed in a shopping cart off a dock into Clear Lake and paddling the Lift Lock while firefighters sprayed him with fire hoses. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

“Last year, we tried to do this stunt but we got four inches of snow on the day. The pool wouldn't move so we wanted to redo that,” said Harding. “It is minus five according to my car. I'm wearing a bathing suit and I'm soaking wet but hey, life's grand."

A goal of $50,000 has been set where fundraising efforts will go towards Easter Seals and the remaining proceeds for Rotary projects in the community according to Harding. To date, over $1.3 million dollars has been raised for Easter Seals and Rotary Projects.

The annual Swimathon is on Feb. 25 at the YMCA of Peterborough. The public is encouraged to participate in the event or perform a virtual swim or splash at home while raising funds and sharing it on social media tagging the fundraising’s Facebook page.

Participants can register as an individual or as a team online where they will be assigned a fundraising page. The public can also make a donation directly via the website and receive an instant tax receipt.

The Rotary president has performed past stunts such as being pushed in a shopping cart off a dock into Clear Lake and paddling the Lift Lock while firefighters sprayed him with fire hoses.

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YWCA To Host Empty Bowl Fundraise At The Venue

Tickets are now on sale for the YWCA Empty Bowl fundraiser, which will be hosted at The Venue on Feb. 26.

Photo courtesy of The YWCA.

YWCA EMpty Bowls ticket holders will attand The Venue for a 30 minute slot. During that time they will be able to browse and select a hand-crafted bowl, donated by local artisans of the Kawartha Potters Guild and Kawartha Woodturners Guild.

Each $50 ticket also includes a local restaurant coupon card featuring discounts from various partnering restaurants and businesses, redeemable for 6 months. All proceeds from the event directly support YWCA Nourish food programs throughout Peterborough City and County.

“We’re extremely grateful for the continued support of our community and our sponsors, including Kawartha Cardiology Clinic, Cornerstone Family Dentistry and The Venue, who truly understand that food insecurity is a critical health issue and a core barrier for women experiencing gender-based violence,” said YWCA Executive Director, Kim Dolan.

“In Peterborough, 1-in-7 households are experiencing food-insecurity,” said YWCA’s Joëlle Favreau, Manager of Nourish. “Every ticket for YWCA Empty Bowls helps individuals and families most at risk of experiencing food insecurity put fresh, local, affordable food on their tables, while also supporting the systemic changes required to end food insecurity and poverty.”

A limited number of tickets are available for this year’s event. Peterborough Public Health COVID-19 protocols will be in place for a safe experience. For more information, please visit www.ywcapeterborough.org or contact Ria Nicholson at 705-743-3526 x113.

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Wolfe Lawyers to Match Community Donations for Kawartha Food Share's "Feed the Need" Campaign

To help against the hardships the COVID-19 pandemic has left people lacking in basic needs, Wolfe Lawyers will match up to $5,000 in community donations towards Kawartha Food Share’s (KFS) “Feed the Need“ campaign announced Tuesday.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The fundraiser runs from Feb. 1 to 21 as KFS, Wolfe Lawyers and Corus Entertainment (The Wolf 101.5 and Fresh Radio 100.5) urge the community to donate online.

One dollar becomes six dollars of buying power for much-needed food items to help support the community according to KFS.

KFS will purchase the required goods from the fundraising money and distribute them to their 36 member agencies.

The charity ran the event last year from Dec. 14, 2020 to Jan. 3, 2021 raising $27,450. Wolfe Lawyers matched the maximum $5,000 donation to help KFS with $164,700 of buying power.

If you wish to donate to “Feed the Need,” click here.

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Local Business Owner Garners Support From Community After Break In

Treasures and Memories, a custom engraving business in Brookdale Plaza, was broken into on Saturday though encouragement from the community is helping the business to recover.

Photo courtesy of Treasures and Memories.

“When we received the call from Peterborough Police in the early morning hours, I was panicked.,” said Barb Smith, owner. “When we arrived and saw the amount of destruction and damages, I was completely overwhelmed and a feeling of bleak, desperate defeat came over me.”

Smith opened the shop in late 2019 right before the pandemic hit. Like other business owners she has been struggling to navigate the changing restrictions, though with perseverance she has been able to grow her business.

When the thief broke in they smashed the main window, and merchandise in the store causing about $2,500 in damage that will not be covered by insurance.

“As the day wore on, sitting in the freezing cold, waiting for the window to be replaced, I was ready to give up, call it quits,” said Smith. “Then I started receiving calls from concerned customers. They lifted me up and encouraged me to persevere.”

Smith started a GoFundMe in hopes to recover from this loss.

“It is the wonderful customers we have and the support of our beautiful community that is making it easier to persevere, regroup and carry on,” she said. “The community we live and work in, is overall, very supportive and this is what will allow us to pick ourselves up, dust everything off and be the successful business I know we can be.”

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Carl Oake Rotary Swim To Make A Splash In February

The Rotary Club of Peterborough and Century 21 United Realty Inc. are teaming up again to present 36th Annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim on Feb 25. at the YMCA.

Firefighter sprays participants at the Carl Oake Rotary Splash Challenge. File Photo.

To date, the Carl Oake Rotary Swim has raised over 1 million dollars for Easter Seals and Rotary Projects.

In September 2021 the Carl Oake Rotary Splash Challenge raised over $45,000 for Easter Seals and The Rotary Club of Peterborough.

The swimathon is about fun and welcomes professional swimmers and those there for fun.

Teams or individuals can sign up to participate and start raising funds for The Rotary Club of Peterborough and Easter Seals by going to www.CarlOakeRotarySwim.com

Those interested in participating can join the event at the YMCA at 7 a.m on Feb. 25 or participate at home virtually.

Organizers are monitoring COVID-19 restrictions and hope that this event can go forward as planned.

Updates will be posted to the events Facebook page.

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Dr. J's Is Hosting Gift Wrapping Weekend And Raising Funds For Mental Health

Dr. J’s BBQ and Brews will be offering gift wrapping from Friday to Sunday to support Tackle 55 Suicide Awareness and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“All the funds will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association in memory of Dan Bois, who was one of my best friends,” said owner Addison Brown. “Unfortunately he struggled with mental illness, and he couldn’t fight it.”

Those interested in participating can bring any and all Christmas gifts to Dr. J’s (282 Aylmer St N) and donate a minimum of $20. 100 per cent of the proceeds will be donated.

This is the second fundraiser Dr. J’s will host this holiday season. On Dec. 5 Santa Claus paid a visit to the restaurant, and for $5 guests could take their photo with him.

Proceeds from that event were donated to Kawartha Food Share.

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