The New Canadians Centre Peterborough invited new, Ukrainian members of the community and long time community members to a picnic at King Edward Park on Wednesday night to meet, chat and eat together.
The rain held off long enough for picnic goers to enjoy traditional Ukrainian foods like Bublik and cabbage rolls, as well as some Canadian staples.
In a release earlier this week NCC announced that they have served approximately 90 individuals to date.
Linda and Peter Adam, who have lived in Peterborough for most of their lives, opened their home to a young Ukrainian refugee, and were at the picnic on Wednesday.
“We saw in the news that there was a need for homes, and I just talked to Pete about it and responded the next day,” said Linda.
The couple has never done anything like this before, though Linda says they are both glad they did it.
“She has really brought a lot of life into our house.”
In response to the offers of support from the community, the NCC has worked with CCRC’s Housing Resource Centre to create a web listing for hosts to post their homestay offers and to support hosts with information and advice: https://www.ccrc-ptbo.com/home-together/ukraine/.
As Ukrainian families arrive in Peterborough NCC will update their ‘SoKind’ registry for items they need. The NCC is unable to store an excess of donated items, so they kindly ask for only items specified on the registry.
The Wellness Centre is hosting a Zumba Party in support of the New Canadians Centre on July 26 at 6:30 p.m..
Led by international zumba instructor Ricardo Marmittee, this is a pay what you can class with all proceeds going to support Ukrainians and other new comers to Peterborough.
To register make a donation to the New Canadians Centre noting ‘Zumba Fundraiser’ the donation will act as a ticket.