Lions Club Shoe Drive Collects Over 1,400 Pairs of Footwear For Third-World Countries

The second annual Peterborough Lions Club Shoe Drive saw continued success as 1,402 pairs of shoes were collected to be given to third-world countries announced on Tuesday.

MPP Dave Smith (right) donated three pairs of shoes to contribute to the final total. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Gently-used or brand-new footwear of all kinds was accepted at the drive from the month-long campaign from May 14 to Tuesday. Community members could drop off their donations at the club at 347 Burnham St. or at designated locations around the area.

The shoes will go to Soles4Souls which are given to women in third-world countries to help them get out of poverty according to Judy Jenkins, Lions service chair.

“They clean them, they sell them in the market where they give them to kids who don't have shoes because in the third-world countries, the kids have to have shoes in order to go to school,” she said.

MPP Dave Smith remained involved with the drive, donating three pairs of shoes as the last official tallied donation. The inaugural drive last year yielded 2,549 pairs but Smith says this year’s number is misleading and is still an impressive feat given the circumstances.

“When they started the drive, it was just before the beginning of May and we had that storm that just came through,” said Smith. “They lost about 10 or 12 days of activity going out into the community to try and raise awareness.”

The club’s goal was 1,000 pairs and almost did not meet it until a surge of donations came through out of nowhere.

“The Peterborough community, they're outstanding when it comes to generosity," said Jenkins. "All of a sudden in the last week, we went from 540 a week out and now we're over 1,400."

The community can still contribute to the cause by donating to Bioped Footcare at 655 The Queensway, Unit 6.

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Runner's Life Launches Inaugural "Fast & Furriest" Fundraiser Run For Lakefield Animal Welfare Society; PetValu Relocates Next Door

Multisport store Runner’s Life is hosting its first “PetValu Fast & Furriest” 5k/10k & 1k Run/Walk in support of the Lakefield Animal Welfare Society (LAWS).

Additionally, PetValu (Chemong Road location) declared their relocation next door to the recently-vacated Family Thrift Store in a joint announcement Friday morning.

(From left to right) Sandy Andrew, Pat Valu co-owner; Gemini the cat; Terry Guiel, Downtown Business Improvement Area executive director; Tucker the dog and Jane Nahrgang, LAWS adoption and shelter coordinator. Pet Valu is the main sponsor for the inaugural ‘PatValue Fast & Furriest’ run/walk. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The event runs on June 25 at 9:30 a.m. at Del Crary Park. It is the first run/walk Runner’s Life has been able to run in two years.

“We’ve missed out on staple events like the St. Patrick’s Day 5k, YMCA Run, Run for Mental Health & Butterfly run for years and couldn’t be more thrilled to have events like this back in our downtown core,” said David Dame of Runner’s Life and race director.

The run is a great way for anyone who wants to get themselves active after being weighed down from the lockdowns of Covid according to Dame.

“We're going to bring people back together which is a huge step,” he said. bring them downtown and we're going to bring health and fitness back into the community so three big steps in the right direction.”

The route is a five kilometre loop of Little Lake in Del Crary Park. Participants can do once or twice with scenic views of Del Crary Park, Beavermead Park, the new Canoe Museum and Little Lake. A kids’ There will be a kids’ one-kilometre fun run within the park in running at the same time.

The money raised goes towards LAWS since the pet population has almost doubled during the pandemic according to Dame.

Animal care is the biggest cost that the non-profit shelter has to cover according to Jane Nahrgang, LAWS adoption and shelter coordinator

"It all goes directly towards the animals," she said. "Our biggest thing is veterinarian bills, the care and the shelter."

Craig Andrew, Pet Valu co-owner pets Gemini atop a cat tower in the store. Gemini lives at Pet Valu as the store cat. Customers are allowed to interact with her and other animals within the pet shop. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Pet Valu is doubling their store size as they are moving next door on June 3.

The store will grow from 3,000 to 6,000 sq. ft. with new features such as pet grooming and a public dog wash; the first-ever in Peterborough according to Craig Andrew, Pet Valu co-owner.

"(The dog wash) It'll be near the rear of the store where customers can come in and wash their own dogs," he said. "It's quite glorious, how it looks. It's a much more roomier store and grooming on site."

Registration and details — including other running events — can be found at runptbo.com

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Peterborough Public Library Partners With Peterborough Area Fundraisers Network To Help Local Charities

The Peterborough Area Fundraisers Network (PAFN) and the Peterborough Public Library have partnered to give local charities free access to Grant Connect’s Community Edition, a database of funders across the country developed by Imagine Canada.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

Grant Connect shares public data on foundations and grantmakers’ deadlines, application processes, giving priorities, typical grant amounts and helps non-profits position their proposals for success.

“There are more than 250 registered charities in Peterborough, and corporate, private foundation and government grants are a major source of funding for these charities, especially now as many rebuild from the constraints brought on by the pandemic,” said Alex Tindale, PAFN Executive Chair. “For many smaller charities, access to a resource such as Grant Connect is not possible, our partnership with the Peterborough Public Library gives these local charities access to valuable funding opportunities to the benefit of the community.”

With Grant Connect, local charities will have access to over 11,000 Canadian foundations, 560 corporate giving programs, 370 government grant programs, 120 American foundations, and 200 other kinds of grant opportunities. The one-year pilot project gives charities access to the Community Edition of Grant Connect via the public computers in the Library.

“The library is very excited to add the Grant Connect database to our collection. It is a fantastic new information resource for our local non-profit community,” said Jennifer Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Peterborough Public Library. “We look forward to seeing the positive impacts it will bring to Peterborough by making funding more accessible to everyone.”

If this pilot is successful, PAFN would work with other local municipalities to provide access to charities in their areas. Training resources on using Grant Connect are also available via PAFN (for members) and the Library.

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Easter Seals and YMCA Receive $15,000 From Carl Oake Rotary Swim

After months of crazy stunts such as downhill sledding, fire hoses and shopping carts off docks, Rotary Club of Peterborough’s Carl Oake Rotary Swim has raised $15,000 for Easter Seals Ontario and the YMCA in a cheque presentation on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Peterborough.

Easter Seals received $12,000 while the YMCA got $3,000 of the total donation.

The 36th annual Carl Oake Rotary Swimathon was held on Feb. 25 where individuals or teams were encouraged to swim a few laps at the YMCA to raise money Easter Seals and Rotary Projects.

Those unable to attend were encouraged to do a virtual at-home swim or splash at home while raising funds and sharing it on social media tagging the fundraising’s Facebook page.

To date, over $1.3 million dollars has been raised.

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Uride Donating All of Thursday's Profits For Ukrainian Efforts

Rideshare company Uride is donating all profits to support the people of Ukraine from all of Thursday’s fares.

Photo courtesy of Uride.

“What is happening in Ukraine is devastating, and we want to support people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes, their lives, and their families in any way we can,” said Cody Ruberto, Uride’s CEO. “This Thursday, March 10th, we are donating all profits to support Canada Ukraine Foundation and their work in Ukraine. ”

Passengers can support the cause by using Uride’s services. The rideshare company encourages those who cannot ride to look for other ways to support Ukraine.

The Uride app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

Donations can be made directly by clicking here.

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OLG Donates $1,288 To United Way Peterborough And District

OLG’s ‘Collecting for the Community’ virtual promotion is providing $1,288.20 for United Way Peterborough and District.

Daniele Zanotti, CEO United Way Greater Toronto Area, Duncan Hannay, CEO OLG. Screenshot.

It’s part of the close to $120,000 OLG and its employees are contributing to support the important work of the United Way in communities across Ontario.

“Giving back is at the heart of all we do and we are proud of the role we play in making Ontario stronger,” said Duncan Hannay, OLG’s President and CEO. “OLG and our employees have a long, meaningful history with the United Way in Ontario. It is an important community partner that supports vulnerable populations through numerous charities and community assistance programs.” 

From July 19, 2021 to January 3, 2022, players 18 years and older who visited CollectingfortheCommunity.ca could play the free activity, and through their participation, could secure additional funding for their local United Way and benefit their community.

As part of the promotion, each of the 27 United Ways in Ontario is guaranteed to receive $1,000, but player participation in the ‘Collecting for the Community’ promotion increases the local contribution.

The United Way says that $1,000 provides nutritional meals for 100 seniors and $1,200 can support 10 people with intellectual disabilities to take part in a new activity of their choice for the first time.

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Socks For Chad Donates 605 Pairs Of Socks To One Roof Community Centre

Socks for Chad, a Peterborough organization, made their annual donation to One Roof Community Centre in December, giving them a total of 605 pairs of socks.

Photo courtesy of One Roof Community Centre.

Socks for Chad was started by Tammy Ruffo in honour of her son, Chad, who passed away in 2015.

Ruffo collects socks all year round to donate in December, in time for cold weather an Christmas.

Friends, family and community members donate socks as well as money to purchase socks.

In 2021 Socks for Chad collected a record breaking 605 pairs to donate to One Roof Community Centre who will distribute them to those in need.

Ruffo hopes that 2022 will garner even more socks than last year and be able to keep even more people warm.

In a post to the Socks for Chad Facebook group Ruffo wrote ‘Thank you so much for helping this grieving mom reach and surpass my goals to beat last year’s. I could not have done this without each and every one of you! Between all the sock donations a e-transfers we did it!’

For more information on how to donate visit Socks for Chad on Facebook or email tammyruffo@hotmail.com.

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Darling Insurance Donates $16,500 To Five Local Charities In Partnership With Other Local Brokerages

Darling Insurance and Sentinel Risk Insurance, along with the support of Hamilton Township Mutual Insurance and Gore Mutual Insurance made a donation of $16,500 to five local charities over the holidays.

Photo courtesy of Darling Insurance.

The four local businesses split the donation between One Roof Community Centre, YWCA Peterborough-Haliburton Nourish Program, The Salvation Army, Women’s Resources in Lindsay, and Feed The Need in Havelock.

“We’ve always tried to help to meet the need for food insecurities - especially around Christmas,” said Glenn “Typically we would do one or two bigger donations but this year we thought we’d try to spread it out farther across the community.”

Millar notes that some organizations may be having a hard time fundraising due to gathering restrictions, so he hopes that this donation will be a welcome one.

“We really try to support local business and charities,” he said. “This year we made a big list of charities we’ve helped, because we wanted our employees to see that and be proud of working here - when I saw it even I was blown away. We just really want to thank our staff, we’re able to do it because of the work they do.”

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United Way Of The City Of Kawartha Lakes Receives $40,000 From Crayola Canada

Crayola Canada presented a cheque for $40,000 to United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes this week.

Mike Soehner and Paul Murphy from Crayola Canada present a cheque for $40,000 to Penny Barton Dyke, Shantal Ingram and Emily Beall from the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. Photo courtesy of United Way of the City of Kawartha Lakes.

While COVID has forced the cancellation of many charitable special events corporations like Crayola Canada still supported United Way.

In addition to the $40,000 donation, employees raised $6,818.96 through their workplace campaign. This is the highest workplace campaign for Crayola to date.

“Our company has had a long-standing relationship supporting United Way CKL - more than 30 years. We are dedicated to our commitment toward corporate social responsibility in the community. We know people in our community need help more than ever as we move through the pandemic and we are proud that we can continue to support the important efforts of the UWCKL” said Paul Murphy, General Manager of Crayola Canada.

Although the annual Crayola Sale has had to be cancelled for a second year in a row, United Way Executive Director, Penny Barton Dyke said, “Crayola has always been outstanding in its support of our work and we have developed a deeper partnership through the Edwin Binney’s Community Garden. The garden is a multi-pronged approach to issues of food security and supporting food programs and in addition it is an education centre. With the use of this land owned by Crayola, we have produced over 34,400 pounds of food to date that has been donated to agencies to help fight hunger in Kawartha Lakes and in Haliburton areas.”

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Two Peterborough Men Receive YMCA Peace Medal to Honour Their Contributions to the Community

YMCA Peace week is Nov. 13 - 20. This year Dave Morello of Morello’s Independent and David McNab, a retired Ontario Provincial Police Officer have received YMCA Peace Medals.

Photo courtesy of YMCA of Central East Ontario.

Each year, the YMCA of Central East Ontario honours local Peacemakers with a YMCA Peace Medal at several community events across the region.

YMCA Peace Medals are presented to individuals or groups who, without any special resources, status, wealth or position, demonstrate a commitment to the values of PEACE through contributions made within their local, national, or global community.

Dave Morello has been the owner/operator of Morello’s Your Independent Grocers since August of 2000.

Morello volunteers with and makes charitable contributions to organizations such as Easter Seals, Rotary Club of Peterborough, Five Counties Peterborough and Hospice Peterborough.

He is also a longtime YMCA Board Member and Chair of the YMCA Strong Kids/Your Y is Here Campaign.

Morello has been recognized for his outstanding community work with a number of awards, including the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medallion, Peterborough and District Volunteer of the Year, Peterborough Business Citizen of the Year, Top 20 Most Influential Person in Peterborough, among many others.

Photo courtesy of YMCA of Central East Ontario.

McNab is a retired Ontario Provincial Police Officer, Trent University Professor and community activist.

He and his wife Kristy were instrumental in founding Salaam Peterborough, a group of families who came together to sponsor a refugee family from Syria.

When an 18 year old Syrian refugee living alone in Turkey named Rashid posted a plea on Facebook he was subject to abuse and racism in the comments. In seeing this McNab immediately wanted to help Rashid to pursue his dream of studying to become an engineer.

He has been working with Rashid to improve his English with the help of Trent University by providing structured lessons and fundraising to bring Rashid to Canada.

McNab also drove across the nation in a Lamborghini to help a young cancer survivor, and has participated in the Pedal for Hope Campaign. He was also part of a massive Christmas Toy Drive for young children that supported various organizations including the New Canadians Centre.

A virtual ceremony will take place on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. via Zoom to honour Morello, McNab and other recipients of the 2021 YMCA Peace Medal. This event is free and open to all.

Click here to register.

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