Annual YWCA Empty Bowls Event Raised $31,427

A grand total of $31,427 was raised in support of YWCA Nourish Food Programs at the 18 th annual YWCA Empty Bowls event held at The Venue on Feb. 26.

YWCA Empty Bowls fundraiser 2021. Photo courtesy of YWCA.

Ticket holders at this year’s event received a handcrafted ceramic or wooden bowl and a restaurant coupon card, featuring discounts from 12 participating local restaurants.

“Our hearts are so full,” said YWCA Executive Director Kim Dolan. “When I pause to think about all the people and all the time that goes into making this event possible year after year, I’m overwhelmed by the good in our community. Thank you to everyone who carved, created, sponsored, donated, attended, or lent a hand in order to help folks experiencing food insecurity. Your support of Nourish means so much to the hundreds of people in our community who access our healthy food workshops, advocacy training, community gardens, and food boxes every month.”

Those interested in learning more about the event, or the YWCA’s upcoming Virtual Challenge taking place this May in celebration of Mother’s Day, are encouraged to contact Ria Nicholson at 705-743-3526 x113 or rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

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Kawartha Food Share Receives Over $19,000 From 2021 Free Holiday Parking Initiative

A total of $14,265.57 was raised for Kawartha Food Share in December 2021 by generous Peterborough residents. While parking was free downtown from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31, some opted to still put money in the meter - which was then donated.

Photo by Angela O’Grady.

The initiative was generously sponsored by Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers - who contributed an additional $5,000 to the Kawartha Food Share, bringing the total raised to $19, 265.57. Wolfe has also committed to support 2 Hour Free Holiday Parking over the next two years.

“Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers was proud to be part of this partnership with the City of Peterborough. We appreciate the support and generosity of shoppers and residents making voluntary donations during the holiday season,” said Bill Wolfe, Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers. “ As an active part of this community, we are equally excited to contribute an additional $5,000 to the total. These funds, through the support of Kawartha Food Share, will help to put food on the tables for people throughout the community.”

The buying power of the Kawartha Food Share enables food purchases at approximately six times the contribution amount, bringing the combined contribution of $19,265.57 to over $115,000 of food to support the local need across the City and County of Peterborough.

“We are so thankful for the continued support of the City of Peterborough and the local shoppers for donating to Kawartha Food Share each and every December,” said Ashlee Aitken, general manager of Kawartha Food Share. “This donation will help us restock our shelves for the busy winter season.”

Kawartha Food Share currently assists more than 9,000 people every month through its 36 member agencies. It supports four meal programs, seven city food banks, six housing projects, seven county food banks, and over 20 food cupboards across the City and County of Peterborough.

The Kawartha Food Share warehouse distributed over $8,468,596 dollars' worth of food and emergency care needs in 2021.

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Fundraisers Make A Splash At 36th Annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim

Participants in the 36th annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim made a splash at the YMCA on Friday morning.

Former Easter Seals ambassador Mitchell McColl and Renee Oake at Friday’s swim. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Carl Oake started this event 36 years ago. He says he was inspired by the work the Easter Seals did because of his relatives. His mother’s twin sister contracted polio in the 1950s while a cousin of his was born with spina bifida - both physically debilitating diseases.

The donations gathered by the annual swim go to the Easter Seals - an organization that helps children, youth and young adults with physical disabilities. They also go to The Rotary Club of Peterborough.

As Oake chatted with friends and reporters at the swim, he dropped everything when Mitchell McColl came onto the pool deck.

McColl was the Easter Seals ambassador in 2012, and has attended the Carl Oake Swim every year since.

“That’s why we do it,” Oake said, gesturing to McColl.

T-shirts worn by participants feature a photo of Oake and McColl from the 2012 swim.

McColl and Oake on the pool deck. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Presented by Baker Tilly, to date this event has fundraised $1.32 million for Easter Seals and Rotary Projects in the area.

“This is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said Wayne Harding, president of the Rotary Club. “With the $1.32 million we’ve done lot’s of great projects around the community over the years. We founded Camp Kawartha, we recently built a shade shelter in Rotary Park - if you walk around the community you’ll see lots of Rotary plaques.”

The Carl Oake Rotary Swim fundraising page will remain open to donations until March 11. To help them reach their goal of $45,000, click here.

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Registration For Peterborough's 2022 Virtual Butterfly Run Now Open

The annual Peterborough Butterfly Run will move forward as a virtual event again for 2022.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Butterfly Run.

“The Peterborough Butterfly Run has created a safe space for the loss community and we are grateful to those who continue to support us,” said Vince Bierworth, Executive Director, GPHSF, Your Family Health Team Foundation. “We are hopeful that this year’s run will help us raise the much needed funds to continue to support the projects executed over the past 6 years. As we have borne witness to over the past 2 years of the pandemic, it is critical to address the isolation individuals that have experienced the loss of a pregnancy, the loss of a child or the inability to conceive can experience. Our hope is that this year’s virtual format will allow those previously unable to attend to be a part of this collective experience.”

Funds raised at the Butterfly Run have been used to provide ongoing specialized education in Perinatal Bereavement Care to healthcare providers across Peterborough City and County, establish more than 10 lending libraries for individuals and their families located across Peterborough City and County, as well as the development of bereavement kits for families and individuals who experience early and later pregnancy loss and infant loss.

The format for the event will be an official opening ceremony on the Peterborough Butterfly Run Facebook page on April 24 at 12 p.m., with a guest speaker, virtual banner and a moment of silence.

The run/walk can be completed on the route of participants choice any time between April 24 – May 1, with an option to walk or run 5km, or more or less if desired.

A virtual Closing Ceremony for all registered participants will then take place on May 1 at 12 p.m. to recognize the biggest fundraisers and award fundraising prizes.

Registration is available for $40 online at peterboroughbutterflyrun.itsyourrace.com or email ptbobutterflyrun@gmail.com.

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Peterborough Woman Cycling From France To Belgium With Wounded Warriors Canada

Miranda Zeppieri, a Peterborough local, will be participating in the 100 Days to Victory Battlefield Bike Ride with Wounded Warriors, cycling from France to Belgium in June.

Photo courtesy of Miranda Zeppieri.

Wounded Warriors Canada provides a range of clinically facilitated mental health programs specifically developed to support the unique needs of Veterans, First Responders and their families. Zeppieri has been a supporting the cause since 2016.

Being a military partner, a step-mom to two military daughters, and having multiple extended family members in the military, Wounded Warriors is an organization close to Zeppieri’s heart.

“It’s one of those things I quickly became very passionate about,” she said. “I became passionate about cycling about eight years ago, then found out about the Wounded Warriors highway of Heroes ride and I became involved in that. It was amazing and I was able to give back to the military community. I’ve done that ride every year since 2016.”

Wounded Warriors has since retired the Highway of Heroes ride, now Zeppieri participates in their mental health ride which is 220 km long.

From June 13 - 17, Zeppieri, with a group of 100, will cycle from Arras, France to Mons, Belgium - the route the Canadian Corps trekked during the last 100 days of World War One. The Battlefield Ride will be Zeppieri’s longest ride yet, at over 400 km.

“My big ‘why’ as to why I’m riding is that this is my chance to give back and to make a difference within the military community,” said Zeppieri. “I’m doing it as a challenge to myself and I’m also advocating as an individual with two rare medical-complex disorders. I ride to show other people that you can do things even if you have challenges.”

Zeppieri has lived with epilepsy her whole life and also lives with PTSD and anxiety. She says that cycling acts as therapy for her.

In addition to being able to give back to the military community, Zeppieri is also looking forward to seeing the name of her Great-Uncle, who fought in France during WWI, on the wall at Vimy Ridge and paying her respects.

Lauralee Mills and Miranda Zeppieri. Photo courtesy of Miranda Zeppieri.

Each participant in the 100 Days to Victory Battlefielrd Bike Ride must raise $4,000 in order to participate for a total fundraising goal of $400,000 between all participants.

While honouring Canadian soldiers’ service and sacrifice during WWI, the money raised will help support the mental health programs offered by Wounded Warriors Canada.

Zeppieri will be riding with her friend Lauralee Mills and they are fundraising both individually and as Team Zip and Mills.

To donate to Zeppieri’s ride, click here.

To donate to Team Zip and Mills, click here.

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Peterborough Man Joins Team Cycling From Toronto To Halifax Raising Money To Support Care Programs For Cancer Patients

Sean Cullen, a Peterborough local, will be joining a group of cyclists as they travel from Toronto to Halifax to raise money for Wellspring, an organization that provides supportive care programs to help Canadians who are living with cancer.

Photo courtesy of Sean Cullen.

Wellspring is available at no charge, with no referrals necessary and accepts clients with any type of cancer at any stage in their journey.

They receive no government funding and rely completely on donations.

Cullen, who’s mother in law used Wellsprings services while she battled cancer, says that on top of one-on-one peer support, financial advice and rehabilitation support Wellsprings acts as a community.

“Being diagnosed with cancer can feel isolating so it’s important to have a community to talk with,” he said. “So being able to drop in to any of these locations and have these support groups are incredible.”

There are three Wellsprings locations in the Greater Toronto area, one in Niagara, London, and Brampton as well as a few locations in Alberta.

Photo courtesy of Sean Cullen.

On August 20, Cullen will join a team of cyclists for 3000 km, week long ride from Toronto to Halifax

The trip will act like a relay, with groups of five or six taking turns making the trek, then being driven to their next starting point twelve hours later.

“We ride day and night, which will be a really cool experience,” he said.

Cullen who is an avid cyclist says he’s excited for the challenge, the adventure it will be and of course to opportunity to raise money for a charity he cares about.

Cullen’s personal fundraising goal is $10,000 and is confident that he will reach his mark before he takes off on his journey in August.

Donations can be made online here. He, along with friends and family, will also be hosting various fundraising events in the coming months. Updates can be found on his Instagram and Facebook page.

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Local Entrepreneur Donates Car As a Raffle Prize to Kickstart Not-For-Profit Organization's Fundraiser

A 2022 Nissan Maxima (Platinum Edition) is up for grabs through a Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers raffle thanks to local entrepreneur Steve Daynes as he purchased and donated the car for the cause.

Steve Daynes, general manager of The Staffing Connection and Level A Professional Group (left) with Detective Constable Keith Calderwood of Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers (right). Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Daynes, general manager of The Staffing Connection and Level A Professional Group purchased the vehicle from Trans Canada Nissan — valued at $50,000 —for the raffle’s inaugural year that began last month.

He has been supporting Crime Stoppers for over a decade through initiatives such as sponsoring hockey games and charity golf tournaments hosted by the latter.

"I think it's important because I live in Peterborough and I want to support my community and make sure that it's safe,” said Daynes. “We have locations throughout the area of Peterborough and in Cobourg as a business and I want to make sure we give back to the communities that we serve."

The 2022 Nissan Maxima (Platinum Edition) from Trans Canada Nissan is the first car raffle from Crime Stoppers. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers.

As a not-for-profit organization, Crime Stoppers relies on donations and fundraising efforts to keep the program running.

"It's pretty rewarding to know that there are businesses out there supporting the community," said Detective Constable Keith Calderwood. "It's pretty big for him to step up like that and we're really excited about it."

The raffle for the car is on Sept. 1 during the Crime Stoppers charity golf tournament at the Quarry Golf Club in Ennismore. Four early bird draws of a $500 cash prize are done on Feb. 15, April 15, June 15 and Aug. 15. Gerry Berringer was the winner of the first draw.

To purchase your raffle tickets, click here.

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Five Counties Children's Centre Host Online Auction Family Day Weekend

Five Counties Children’s Centre is hosting their Winterfest Auction online from Friday to Monday.

Photo courtesy of Five Counties Children’s Centre.

All items have been donated by various organizations and individuals in the area.

Items that will be auctioned include handmade quilts, gift certificates for local restaurants and shops and gift baskets.

Bidding will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and end at 9 p.m. on Monday.

All proceeds from the auction will support the treatment of children who attend Five Counties.

Those that win the bid on an item will be contacted by Five Counties. Pick up can be arranged in Peterborough, Coburg or Lindsay.

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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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