PTBOCanada's First-Ever Kids Pumpkin Decorating Contest With Lansdowne Place Results

The inaugural “PTBOCanada Kids Pumpkin Decoration Contest” with Lansdowne Place was a great success with loads of entries from Peterborough and surrounding communities.

The following are the top three pumpkins for this year’s contest:

• First place - Ocean Hurd, age 8

• Second place - Aiden Rogers, age 11

• Third place - River Gerolomy, age 3

Us at PTBOCanada and everyone at Lansdowne Place would like to thank all participants in our contest, and hope that it got you in the Halloween spirit!

Take a scroll through some more great entries below.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders Association Announces New Board Members

Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders Association (PKHBA) has announced Garnet Northey will be the new President, on Thursday.

Garnet Northey(left) and Rick Coker. Photo courtesy of PKHBA.

After navigating PKHBA through the pandemic, as the 2020 and 2021, president Rick Coker is stepping down as president.

Coker provided PKHBA with steady leadership throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and worked tirelessly with Executive Officer Danica Logan to provide information, support and leadership to PKHBA members.

Northey brings experience to the office of PKHBA president, having served from 2014-2018. Garnet will be focusing on member and community engagement for his 2022 term with support from PKHBA’s new Executive Officer Rebecca Schillemat.

PKHBA is a non-profit association for Home Builders, Renovators and Associates interested in the Residential Construction and Renovating Industry. PKHBA’s mission is to provide the following for its members:

• Facilitate the development of sustainable businesses

• Advocate for effective government policy

• Maintain positive consumer experiences

• Exchange experiences, information and best practices

PKHBA 2022 Board of Directors

Garnet Northery, Spotlight Home and Lifestyle

Rick Coker, LG Home Comfort

Paul Dietrich, Parkview Home and Dietrich Homes

Don Armitage, Enbridge

Sandy Sillaots, Hickory Lane Kitchens

Mike Kingdon, Chemong Home Hardware

Susan Zambonin, Habitat for Humanity

Mitch Cleary, Century 21 United, Tamer Kamar/Mitch Cleary Team

Jennifer Hurd, Reliance Home Comfort

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Appplications for 2022 Community Grant Program Open Friday

Peterborough City Council has announced that the application process for the 2022 Community Grant Program will open on Friday.

The Community Grants program provides financial assistance to non-profit, community-based organizations that provide direct programs, services or activities that enhance the quality of life for Peterborough residents.

Each year Peterborough City Council dedicates funds to be distributed to various community groups within the City. All grants are subject to evaluation and final approval by Council.

There are three streams of grants that groups can apply to:

The Community Project Grant offers $250 - $1,000 and is intended to be used to kickstart a project or special event.

The Community Investment Grant offers $1,000 - $15,000 to support larger projects or special events, specific programs of larger organizations, or operating budgets.

The Community Service Grant is not available through the application process. Eligible organizations will be identified by City staff and approved by Council. They will be required to enter into a Service Contract with the City in order to receive the funding. This grant will offer support for municipally mandated services for which the requested amount is more than $15,000.

For more information contact the Community Services department at 705-742-7777 ext. 1822 or email communitygrants@peterborough.ca

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Local Sisters Encourage Peterborough to Get Spooked and Follow their Interactive Halloween Map

Two sisters, Hayley and ‘Crash’ Gilpin, have created an online map pinning noteworthy Halloween displays in and around Peterborough.

Sisters Crash (Left) and Hayley Gilpin. Photo courtesy of Hayley Gilpin.

‘The Haunting of Peterborough map’ features over 200 houses and streets with Halloween displays.

The colour coded map highlights ‘spectacle houses’ with a purple ghost. ‘Spirit streets’, streets with three or more houses decorated, are highlighted with an orange ghost and black ghosts are houses decorated outside of the city but are worth the drive to see.

Hayley says when her sister Crash lived in Newcastle they did something similar, so when she moved to Peterborough this summer she wanted to recreate it.

“We drove around all month, with coffees in tow, and found all the most amazing ‘Spectacle Houses’ and ‘Spirit Streets’ that Peterborough has to offer,” said Hayley. “When we released the Halloween Map the Peterborough community was just so open and responsive, it made us feel really good to do something like this for the community.”

The pair says they will continue to add to the map until Halloween.

“We are just a couple of crazy mid age women who still love to celebrate the holidays. Especially during these times when the community needs it.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

United Way and St. Vincent de Paul Team Up to Keep Peterborough Warm With Coats For Kids Program

United Way Peterborough and The Society of St Vincent de Paul have teamed up and are distributing free coats to those in need through the annual Coats for Kids and Adults Too Program.

Group of Vinnie’s volunteers load up donations. Photo courtesy of United Way.

United Way Peterborough has been coordinating Coats for Kids and Adults Too since 1987. Community members donate clean, new and used coats on donation days at Vinnie’s thrift store.

Coats that are donated are sorted by volunteers who check for things like rips or broken zippers before they are given to people in the community that need them.

Following the same protocols they did last year the coats are left to ‘quarantine’ for at least 72 hours prior to distribution.

In 2020, the Coats for Kids program distributed close to 1,000 coats, snowsuits and snow pants to children and adults in Peterborough.

“The need is there. With the pandemic we think the need is even greater, we know there can be issues and if they have to give up something it might be a nice warm winter coat,” said Stephanie Levesque, Coats for Kids Coordinator, United Way Peterboroguh. “ We’ve considered in the past ending this program, but then we see the response and how many people are in need.”

Coats were collected Oct. 16 and 17 at Vinnie’s Peterborough and Lakefield Location.

Levesque says each year they rent a 15 foot truck to transport the donations and for the first time since she started the position five years ago it was filled by the end of the day.

Coats will be distributed on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Murray Street Baptist Church, 175 Murray St.

Mitts for Kids, a program that provides hand knit mittens and hats for kids, will also be there Saturday.

Those wishing to receive a coat need nothing but patience and a mask, says Levesque. Due to COVID protocols there is a limited number of people allowed in the building, so attendees should expect to wait in a line outside the building.

Masks will be available on site for those that need them.

Any coats left at the end of Saturdays distribution will be given to local shelters to distribute throughout the season. None of the coats will be sold for profit.

For more information contact Stephanie Levesque at 705-742-8839 X32 or by email at slevesque@uwpeterborough.ca.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Light the Way to 160k Receives $25,000 Donation to Assist Renovation of Opioid Response Hub

Fourcast has announced a $25,000 contribution by the Brian and Lynne Kelly Family Fund of The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough to the Light The Way to $160K campaign, on Tuesday.

Site of the future Opioid Response Hub. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

This donation will go towards assisting with the renovation of the Opioid Response Hub at 220 Simcoe St. in downtown Peterborough.

“We hope this donation encourages others to learn about the opioid crisis and make their own contributions to the Light the Way Campaign,” said Brian Kelly.

“Brian and Lynne recognize that the opioid issue is destroying lives, shattering families and taking its toll on the entire community,” says Co-Executive Director of the Community Foundation, Jennifer DeBues. “Supporting the Opioid Response Hub is an active step towards creating solutions to the opioid crisis in Peterborough.”

Currently, 220 Simcoe Street is undergoing significant renovations that will provide members of organizations such as Fourcast, PARN, the 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NPLC), as well as Peterborough County Paramedics and the Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT) to provide wraparound services and supports.

With the donation, the Light The Way to $160K campaign has reached over $70,000. The campaign runs until November 30th. To contribute to the Light the Way to $160K campaign, donations can be made at the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough web site at www.cfgp.ca/LightTheWay.

For those who prefer to mail or drop off cheques, please make the cheques out to ‘Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough’ and include ‘CTS Fund’ in the memo. They can be addressed to the organization at 261 George St N Suite 202, Peterborough, ON K9J 3G9.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

All Saints Peterborough Aims to Bolster the Community with Spooky Walk and Food Program

All Saints Peterborough continues to reach out to the community throughout the pandemic, with their growing food program and their Halloween Spooky Walk.

All Saints’ volunteer Lois Cook is bagging essential food items which help support over 200 community members each week as part of their food security outreach. Photo Courtesy of All Saints’ Peterborough.

When the COVID pandemic began, All Saints’ provided Prince of Whales Public School with Breakfast Bags, a meal program available to students. Now, that program has grown to become the All Saints' Peterborough weekly Outreach Food Program.

The program provides close to 40 families with increased food security.

Volunteers gather weekly at All Saints’ to bag groceries that help supplement the groceries of neighbouring families in the community. These ‘grocery bags’ include many essential items, including breakfast items (fresh eggs and bread products), peanut butter, canned beans and tuna, and frozen and canned vegetables.

Reverend Suzanna McMillan (left) and Reverend Samantha Caravan (right) in front of one of five vegetable garden boxes that will continually grow crops for local communities. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

For more information regarding Food Security programs at All Saints’ or to sign up to volunteer contact Suzanne McMillan at 705-760-6640. Donations are welcome and can be made by visiting www.allsaintspeterborough.org, clicking ‘Donate’, and selecting Food Security from the menu.

All Saints’ Peterborough is hosting its third annual Spooky walk on Oct. 31 from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The free event will include family friendly frights, a pumpkin walk, games, prizes and more. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, please contact Cormac Culkeen by email at youth@allsaintspeterborough.org.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

The Pumpkin Painter Embraces the Halloween Spirit and Raises Funds for Cystic Fibrosis

Local artist Samantha Hirdes is busy painting and selling pumpkins to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, despite the annual charity night being cancelled due to COVID-19.

Photo courtesy of Samantha Hirdes.

For the last 12 years Hirdes has been helping out at a local Cystic Fibrosis Benefit night.

“Six years ago, I started painting pumpkins and doing a 'paint your own' table at the fundraising event so the kids attending had something fun to do, and it's just evolved from there,” said Hirdes. “I care a lot about the cause, so I ended up finding a way to overcome that barrier of COVID and continue to deliver pumpkins.”

Hirdes has set up a website so that those interested can order a painted pumpkin. 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

A pumpkin can take Hirdes anywhere from one to four hours to paint, depending on the intricacy of the design, chosen by the customer.

At the in-person charity event, Hirdes estimates she makes an average of $280 yearly, which is all donated to CF Canada. Last year, the first year Hirdes painted pumpkins outside of the in-person fundraiser, she raised over $600.

The pumpkins come in three sizes, and are completely customizable. They are all donated by Leahy’s Farm Market.

“They always donate all of the pumpkins, we just show up and they hand them right over they say take whatever you want - which is amazing.”

This year Hirdes has painted over 35 pumpkins, and is still taking orders. While her ultimate goal is to fundraise, Hirdes is a one woman show and there is limited availability in the amount of art she can create before Halloween.

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. While Canada is at the forefront of Cystic Fibrosis research, there is no government funding.

Because of extensive research, made possible by fundraising, this year a new medication is being approved, in almost all the provinces and territories to treat the two most common types of CF.

To order a pumpkin, or to make a monetary donation visit ThePumpkinPainter.com

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Peterborough Sharing and Caring Gets a Head Start on Christmas Hampers with Food Drive

Peterborough and Surrounding Communities Sharing and Caring, a local non-profit group, is hosting a Christmas Food Drive at the Real Canadian Superstore in preparation for the distribution of Christmas Hampers.

Volunteers at the Real Canadian Superstore food drive. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Members from Help Alliance Americas and Lufthansa Group will be at the Real Canadian Superstore daily from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. until Saturday.

Peterborough Sharing and Caring took root in November 2020, to offer support to families and individuals during the holidays in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Christmas the group put together and distributed 82 hampers to those that needed them.

Since their start, they have been striving to grow to be able to help more people.

“Right now there are people who don’t have a job, people that can’t go out places due to COVID-19, people that just don’t have the money to get what they need for Christmas,” said Brad Hayes, Lufthansa Group.

The non profit recently distributed Thanksgiving Hampers and are now gearing up to put together hampers for Christmas.

This year their most needed items for their holiday hampers are stuffing, canned vegetables, cookies and snacks.

They are also accepting gift items help families and individuals that may not receive anything.

With money gathered from bottle drives, the group has purchased a large supply of Crayola products to include in Christmas Hampers, says Sandra Whitmore, founder of Peterborough Sharing and Caring.

“We will be doing another bottle drive in November around the Deer hunt,” she said.

To request a Christmas Hamper, email Whitmore at sammybou1966@gmail.com. To keep updated on fundraisers and food drives, join the Peterborough Caring and Sharing Facebook group.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Youth Emergency Shelter Receives $52,900 Through Ontario Grant For Staff Training

The Youth Emergency Shelter (YES) has received $52,900 to aid in staff training from the Ontario Trillium Foundation at the Murray St. Baptist Church on Tuesday.

Last year, Ontario Trillium Foundation nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The money came from the Resilient Communities Fund grant which was designed to help non-profits rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

The extra funding will be used to help with adding more staff training programs. This included Mental Health First Aid for, Natural Support Connection training provided by A Way Home Canada and the development of an organization-wide well-being strategic plan.

 “The YES Shelter for Youth and Families provides a critical service to young men and women in our community facing unique challenges. I have been proud to support their team as they carry out their diligent and compassionate work,” said MPP Dave Smith. “It’s often said that you should take care of the hands that take care of you. In this case, the mental health support this funding enables will ensure the dynamic, high-quality service offered by the staff at YES can continue as we move forward.”

YES has seen an increase in mental and physical health crises amongst those experiencing homelessness with far fewer supports available since March last year.

There has also been an organizational rise in staff burnout accompanying the additional pressures on front-line positions according to Aimee Le Lagadec, YES interim executive director.

“The onset of COVID-19 significantly increased the mental health needs of youth and families experiencing homelessness in Peterborough,” she said. “The Ontario Trillium Foundation made it possible for us to provide our staff with impactful training that has further equipped our organization to support youth and families during a crisis.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.