"Stand With Tim" Campaign Raises Over $14,000 For Non-Profit Organizations to Benefit Children

Community organization Peterborough Cares’ “Stand With Tim” campaign raised $14,270.59 for the New Canadians Centre (NCC) and United Way Peterborough & District’s "Backpacks for Success" program.

Backpacks are being stuffed at Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Police Service.

The funds were received by both organizations at the Peterborough Police station on Saturday with Mayor Diane Therrien and Coun. Lesley Parnell in attendance.

The one-day fundraising event began on Aug. 19 on the corner of King and George Street where local musicians performed a free concert while volunteers collected donations. Musicians included SJ Riley, Shawn Hully, Cole LeBlanc, Baz Littlerock, Ariel Riley, High Waters and Joe McCulley.

There was $2,000 from the Peterborough Police Service to kickstart the fundraiser. The police service board gave $1,000, the police senior team gave $500 and the police board chair gave $500.

A GoFundMe was set up to aid in the fundraising efforts for those who could not attend the event.

Proceeds were split between the NCC and United Way. The latter’s campaign was using the proceeds to fill 690 backpacks with school supplies for children returning to class in September. They needed $15,000 to complete their goal since the demand for school supplies increased by 90 per cent according to the United Way.

During the last three years, proceeds went to homeless shelters. Acting police chief Tim Farquharson took a preventive approach this year by using the proceeds for children’s education. He says prison incarceration rates, crime and imprisonment correlate with the number of kids who fail to graduate high school.

“Anything we can do to encourage that chance to reach a potential by staying in school as long as possible, the better,” he said in a prior interview with PTBOCanada.

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"Stand With Tim" Campaign Raising Money For "Backpacks for Success" Program and New Canadians Centre

Community organization Peterborough Cares hosted its fourth annual “Stand With Tim” fundraiser to aid the New Canadians Centre (NCC) and United Way Peterborough & District’s "Backpacks for Success" to give backpacks to needing children on Friday.

Jamie Emos (pictured) collecting donations from the corner of King and George Street in front of The Venue. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

In years past, proceeds typically go towards homeless shelters. This time, acting Peterborough Police chief Tim Farquharson is taking a preventive approach with this year’s fundraiser. He says prison incarceration rates, crime and imprisonment correlate with the number of kids who fail to graduate high school.

“Anything we can do to encourage that chance to reach a potential by staying in school as long as possible, the better,” he said.

Funds are shared between the United Way and the NCC with none going towards administrative costs. Roughly 690 backpacks with school supplies are needed for the former to get to schools in time for September.

The charity is gathering volunteers to stuff the backpacks on Aug. 30 to be available for pickup from schools the following day. No generic donor funds go towards the campaign but are collected separately.

United Way requires $15,000 to complete its goal since the demand for school supplies increased by 90 per cent according to Sara Mountenay, United Way communications officer.

“There are a lot of students whose parents simply can't afford to purchase the school supplies that everyone else has and take for granted because they're too focused on, let's face it, putting a roof over their head or paying for groceries so the demand this year was unprecedented,” she said.

NCC was chosen as the fundraiser beneficiary as the organization is in need of funding. He says he wants those families including the children to get off on the right foot and in a new country.

“We want new Canadians to come here and feel comfortable and reduce any challenges we can and set them up for success,” explained Farquharson.

The police service board gave $1,000, the police senior team gave $500 and the police board chair gave $500, totalling $2,000 to kick off the fundraiser.

A GoFundMe has been set up to aid in the fundraising efforts for those who could not attend the event.

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Deputy Police Chief Tim Farquharson Spending Night On The Streets Of Peterborough

Peterborough's deputy police chief Tim Farquharson is hitting the street on Friday (January 26th) for twelve straight hours to drive awareness about the issue of homelessness in Peterborough and raise money for three local homeless shelters: Warming Room, YES Shelter for Youth and Families, and Brock Mission.
 
Farquharson traces his commitment to giving back to this community he loves to his parents, who acclimated his family to volunteerism when they moved to Peterborough decades ago.    

Tim Farquharson (Photo courtesy Peterborough Cares Facebook page)

Farquharson knows there are no easy answers to homelessness but is trying to do his part to raise awareness about it:

"I don't know what the answer is," he says. "It's not one issue. You can't pin it on just one thing. Everybody has a different story. But I know we can do something about homelessness in Peterborough."

"Where would we be without these organizations and the services they have in place?" adds Farquharson in regards to the Warming Room, YES Shelter and Brock Mission. "If it wasn't for groups like these, what would the homeless do?"

Peterborough Cares team with Farquharson (Photo courtesy Peterborough Cares Facebook page)

The event, billed as "Stand with Tim", takes place at the corner of George and King from 4 p.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Saturday. The fundraiser is being organized by Peterborough Cares, a community group that works with local not-for-profits around social issues that affect Peterborough, of which homelessness is certainly one. 

Photo courtesy Lauren Gilchrist, Peterborough Police Service

Peterborough Cares invites everybody to come out and Stand with Tim and show their support for organizations on the frontlines in the fight against homelessness. Donations can be made onsite to Tim, or by visiting the event's fundraising page here.

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Penny on the Roof In Support Of Breast Cancer Treatment at PRHC

We dropped by Sears to give our support to Penny Parent who is on the roof to support Breast Cancer Treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.  Penny's stay on the roof is all part of a fundraiser called Peterborough Cares founded by Camille Parent.  The idea behind this was to have fundraisers going on throughout the city on one simultaneous weekend.  Paul Rellinger has been on the roof of The Brick this weekend in support of Habitat For Humanity, as well as events taking place at Morello's Independent for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, and Wal-Mart in support of the Canadian Red Cross. [Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt] Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada (hashtag #bethechangeptbo) or Like us on Facebook.