Santa's Sleigh Program Distributes Over 850 Gifts To Kids and Families For the Holidays

After 11 days of getting the community to grant kids’ Christmas wishes, the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Foundation’s (KHCF) Santa’s Sleigh program has given over 850 gifts announced on Monday.

During last year’s campaign, the program ran under different conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and could not do their traditional sleigh drive. Photo By David Tuan Bui.

The foundation collected gift cards, money and toys for children, youth and families. The campaign collected wishlist cards from kids, placed them on a tree in Walmart (Chemong location) and had the community shop for the items to be donated.

“I am overwhelmed with the generosity, and thankful for the support the community has shown for the Santa’s Sleigh program this year” said Carrie Truman, KHCAS executive director. “So many individuals, workplaces and community groups came together to make sure every name on our tree was picked, and everyone will have a special gift to open this holiday season.”

The campaign ran from Nov. 25 to Dec. 6 and has run for the past 32 years.

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Local Boy Gives Rousing Pre-Game Speech For Peterborough Petes Next Gen Game

The hockey world has been put on notice as six-year-old Callan Perks coached the Peterborough Petes to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa 67’s with a pre-game speech on Sunday.

Perks was part of 10 kids aged 5-12 selected by the Petes for their Next Gen game. The day allowed the children a chance to join the Petes hockey operations and entertainment staff and participate in their respective roles. Petes general manager Michael Oke had the kids sign one-day contracts in a press conference at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Sunday.

The one-day coach was introduced by Petes assistant coach Andrew Verner as Perks motivated the team with a speech and announced the starting lineup for Sunday’s game.

"It was a dream come true going into the dressing room and give the speech,” said Perks.

Callan Perks (middle) signed a one-day contract as the Peterborough Petes Next Gen head coach on Sunday. Screenshot.

All applicants for a coaching position had to sent a video of a pre-game speech to the Petes before a game. Perks was in disbelief when we found out the Petes had selected him as the Next Gen head coach.

"I was so excited, it just felt awesome,” explained Perks. “I didn’t know I was going to get picked because there was a bunch of people. It was awesome to get the opportunity."

Perks wrote letters to several hockey players to send them well wishes and to stay strong during the season. He has sent them to teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Montréal Canadiens.

The six-year-old wants to be an NHL player when he grows up. He plans to be a hockey coach or general manager following his hockey-playing career.

Perks is a grade 2 student at Lakefield District Public School. He has skated since he was two and started playing hockey as a centreman when he was three.

His favourite NHL team is the Edmonton Oilers with Connor McDavid as his favourite player.

Ten children signed one-day contracts as Next Gen staff in a press conference held on Sunday. Photo Courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The following is the list of children selected for the Next Gen game:

• Next Gen Head Coach - Callan Perks

• Next Gen General Manager - Wynn Jennings

• Next Gen Associate Coach - Jack Ingram

• Next Gen Assistant Coach - Bodie MacGregor

• Next Gen Assistant Coach - Londyn Panter

• Next Gen Scout - Emerson Birkhoff

• Next Gen Scout - Hadley Jennings

• Next Gen Scout - Silas Saldovski

• Next Gen PA Announcer - Oliver Ingram

• Next Gen In-Game Host - Pyper Lypsett

"I love skating and I love the game,” exclaimed Perks. “It's awesome just to be on a team.”

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Local Charity Granting Children's Gift Wishes Through Santa's Sleigh Program

The Kawartha-Haliburton Children’s Foundation (KHCAS) has launched their Santa’s Sleigh program encouraging the community to donate gifts on children’s wish lists at Walmart (Chemong location) announced Thursday.

In 2019, $50,000 in gifts were donated by the community for roughly 1,200 children and teens. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The supported children of the charity wrote their gift list on cards and hung it on a tree at Walmart. Anyone can grab the card, purchase the gift and donate it in a dropbox shaped like Santa’s sleigh.

Money, gift cards and presents not on wish lists are encouraged and accepted for the program as alternate ways to help.

"There are lots of kids in need of gift cards especially some of the older kids involved with the Kawartha-Haliburton Children’s Aid Society,” said Carrie Truman, KHCAS executive director. “You can donate those gift cards monetary donations at the sleigh or you can make a donation online at our foundation website. This gift will go directly to the child in our community so that together we can put a smile on their face Christmas morning.”

KHCAS has been running the Santa’s Sleigh program for the past 32 years. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

During the 2020 campaign, the program ran under different conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and could not do their traditional sleigh drive. Local realtors had donated money through the REALTORS Care Foundation to ensure gifts were given to all the children last year.

"We are so excited to be back here this year,” exclaimed Truman. “We were just doing gift cards but people have been phoning me and asking if we're going to be back so I know that the community is excited to be buying physical gifts for the kids involved with the society.”

The tree with the wish lists is set up at the Home & Pharmacy entrance of Walmart on Chemong Road. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Click here to make an online monetary donation to the charity.

The campaign will run from Nov. 25 to Dec. 6 at noon at Walmart (Chemong location).

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Peterborough Petes Seeking Kids For Next Generation Game

The Peterborough Petes are seeking eight kids to join their hockey operations and entertainment staff against the Ottawa 67’s announced on Monday.

Photo Courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The team is looking for kids ages 5-12 to shadow the following roles for Sunday’s game.

The Petes are wanting the following positions to be filled:

• General manager

• Head coach

• Assistant coach

• Associate coach

• Public address announcer

• In-game host

• Two scouts

Kids can apply for the various positions by completing the Next Gen application online form.

For the position of head coach, assistant coach or associate coach, kids are asked to send in a video of a pre-game speech that they would deliver to the Petes ahead of a big game. The video must remain under two minutes and be filmed landscape (horizontal).

For public address or in-game host, children are asked to upload a video that includes them reading the following script: "Here is the starting line up for your Peterborough Petes presented by Chemong Home Building Centre! Starting in goal Tye Austin, on defence Donovan McCoy and Shawn Spearing. At forward: Joe Carroll and Tucker Robertson and J.R. Avon! And here are the remainder of your Peterborough Petes."

For the position of general manager or scout, applicants are asked to complete the Nex Gen scouting report for any current Peterborough Petes player.  

The application to become a member of the Next Gen squad is due on Thursday at 11:59 p.m. All parents of the Next Gen applicants will be contacted Friday.

Those selected to be a part of the Petes Next Gen squad will have the opportunity to receive a behind the scenes tour of the Memorial Centre ahead of puck drop on Sunday afternoon, catch on-ice warm up from the Petes bench, enjoy a meal in the media/scout room and meet members of the Petes hockey operations staff. 

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Community Care Seeking Nominations For "Grandparent of the Year" From Children

Kids grade 2-6 have a chance to highlight their elders through Community Care Peterborough in the “Grandparent of the Year” contest for the 35th rendition announced on Wednesday.

“Every year we are amazed by the scope of stories we have received,” said Danielle Belair, Community Care executive director. “Many of the honorees are indeed grandparents or great grandparents of the students however there have been a number of entries that highlight an Elder or special senior friend as well.”

Community Care has three categories to highlight the relationships with the special people in our children’s lives. They are: English language, French language and Indigenous entries.

“Teachers in the City and County of Peterborough have had the opportunity to use the contest as a writing assignment for their students,” said Belair. “We also recognize that not all teachers will know about this opportunity so we opening it up to the public too and will accept entries until December 3rd. If your child is in grades 2 to 6 and not participating with their class, you can enter their story and picture too.”

A committee will select one winner and one honourable mention from each group of grades; primary and junior and each category. (Primary is Grades 2 & 3. Junior is Grades 4, 5, & 6)

Community Care would like the student to include the following information in their submission:

• What they think is important about their relationship with their grandparent, elder or special older person.

• What kinds of activities are done together?

• What kind of knowledge have they shared?

• Describe a happy occasion the student and their nominee shared.

• How does their nominee make them feel when you are together?

• Why they are proud of their nominee?

• Why does the student think their nominee should win this award?

• A hand-drawn picture of the student and their nominee together.

Optional: A student can submit a recorded video of them reading their story. This is not required and will not affect judging.

“This 'SMILES ALL AROUND’ event is too important to our community to cancel,” said Belair. “It's more important than ever to share some positive stories about important people who are in our lives.”

All entries must be received by Dec. 3rd. Entries may be submitted by mail:

Community Care

185 Hunter Street East

Peterborough, ON

K9H 0H1

Attn: Tracy Kennedy.

They can also be submitted by email to tkennedy@commcareptbo.org.

Winners will be announced in mid-February.

For parent entry forms or more information about the Grandparent of the Year event visit this link.

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Lindsay Creative Quilters' Guild and Five Counties Children's Centre are Hosting an Online Auction

The Lindsay Creative Quilters' Guild and Five Counties Children's Centre are working together to present their online Fall Auction, which is live until Friday.

SCOTT STARTED COMING TO FIVE COUNTIES WHEN HE WAS A WEEK OLD. HE HAS MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS SINCE THEN. (PHOTO COURTESY FIVE COUNTIES)

There are over 100 items up for auction, with the majority of them being handmade.

Items available include hand knit sweaters and mittens, quilts, Christmas stockings and much more.

All items have been donated, meaning 100 per cent of the proceeds will support the treatment of children who attend Five Counties.

Five Counties provides therapy services that assist children who are delayed in their development to develop the skills they need in everyday life such as walking, talking, and activities of daily living.

Some of these services are speech therapy and physiotherapy. The centre also provides assessment for children suspected of having Autism Spectrum Disorder.

To view and bid on items click here.

Bidding closes at 6 p.m. on Friday.

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Local Organization Promotes Dress Purple Day Family Support Awareness

The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies is running the Dress Purple Day campaign encouraging anyone to wear purple to raise awareness for support availability for Ontario families this Wednesday.

Brynn Clarke, communications specialist and provincial lead for the 2021 Dress Purple Day campaign. Screenshot.

Every October, Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario raise awareness about the role that people and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth and families through the campaign.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created additional stressors for families with some cases having increased risk for the well-being and safety of children and youth according to Children’s Aid Societies.

“Help is available to anyone facing challenges,” said Brynn Clarke, Children’s Aid Societies communications specialist and provincial lead. “We are shifting our campaign message to really focus to making sure families across our province have access to the resources, information and support they need.”

The event initially had roots in child abuse prevention month. Photo Courtesy of Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

The organization is encouraging anyone to make a video explaining why they will wear purple Wednesday and how they help children, youth, and families facing challenges. All videos are asked to have the hashtag #IDressPurpleBecause when posting to social media.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board is a participating school board in Peterborough that is partaking in the event.

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New Canadians Centre Launches Children's Book Inspired by Newcomers to Peterborough

Author and illustrator Casandra Lee has brought six children’s stories to life in her new book, “Building a Home” during a book launch at the New Canadians Centre (NCC) on Monday.

Jorge Escalera (far right), poses with his family at Monday’s book launch. Escalera is one of six children whose story inspired Building a Home. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

The book draws inspiration from children experiencing new cultures for the first time after immigrating to Canada.

Bhisham Ramoutar, NCC communication and engagement specialist, had the idea for a book two years ago when a newly immigrated family was served pizza for the first time.

“We got thinking about all the big things and the small things that children have to face when they come to a new country,” said Ramoutar. “We wanted to find a way to share those unique experiences.”

When Lee began volunteering at the NCC, Ramoutar knew he had found the perfect candidate to bring his idea to life.

Lee met with the six children that were from Syria, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Pakistan. They currently live and attend school in Nogojiwanong–Peterborough.

“Writing ‘Building a Home’ was really a dream come true for me,” she said. “Working directly with children and then translating that into a written, illustrated children’s book was really special.”

Casandra Lee reads Building a Home at the launch on Monday. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Over the course of five weeks, Lee met with the children over Zoom. They spoke about shared experiences they were faced with when coming to Peterborough. A recurring theme was their love for their mothers cooking, opposed to new foods they were offered in Canada.

Jorge Escalera, 11, came to Canada from Monterrey, Mexico in 2016 when he was six after his father received a job opportunity at Quaker Oats Peterborough. He was one of the six children that shared his story.

“I was very excited when my mom told me I could participate,” said Escalera. “I was so happy, it felt amazing.”

There are free 400 copies of “Building A Home” available from the David Goyette & Victoria Pearce Arts Fund at the United Way of Peterborough and District. Copies can be ordered here and picked up at the NCC office in Peterborough and Cobourg. A digital copy of the book is available for free online.

Educators are invited to book a reading of “Building a Home” by Lee or other newcomers associated with the New Canadians Centre depending on the timing of the reading. To book a reading email bhisham@nccpeterborough.ca.

“Building a Home” is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, French, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish.

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Hometown PTBO: Four-Year-Old Jaxon Croft's Journey From Beating Cancer And Supporting Sick Kids

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday speaks with Jesse Croft and his four-year-old son Jaxon about being in remission from Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, that inspired the “Cancer is Poopy” campaign to benefit Sick Kids.

Support the cause by visiting their website where 20 per cent of the proceeds go towards Sick Kids Foundation.

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Five Counties Children's Centre Receives Government Funding For Rehab and Speech Services

Five Counties Children’s Centre (FCCC) has received $1,487,968 from the Ontario Government to enhance the centre’s services in an announcement made Thursday afternoon.

(left to right) Ashley Parsons, occupational therapist; MPP Dave Smith; Kristy Hook, board chair; Scott Pepin, CEO gathered in a colourful treatment room at the FCCC. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The press conference was held at FCCC with centre members and MPP Dave Smith as the government ambassador.

The Ontario government is investing $240 million over four years to increase access to critical rehabilitation services for children and youth with special needs and help them live happier and healthier lives.

This investment is part of the 2021 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy.

When children in Ontario begin school, almost 30 per cent have at least one developmental vulnerability that could pose a risk to their lifelong health, learning, and behaviour. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

With this investment, $60 million in new funding will be provided annually starting this year to build additional service capacity and increase access to preschool speech and language services and community-based and school-based rehabilitation services across the province.

“We know when our kids thrive, our communities thrive. It’s incumbent on all of us to ensure we invest in our children and youth by providing the support they need,” said Smith. “Children with exceptionalities deserve every opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Today’s investment will build on our government’s existing support so children in our community can live fulfilling and productive lives.”

In 2019-20, more than 53,000 children received services through Ontario’s Preschool Speech and Language Program. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

As part of the $60 million in new annual funding, Five Counties Children’s Centre will receive $1,487,968 to support the following:

Preschool Speech and Language New Budget Allocation:

• $311,723 – 2021/22 new investment (including annualization) representing a 37% increase

Community-Based and School-Based Rehabilitation Services New Budget Allocation:

• $664,286 – 2021/22 new total annualized investment for School-Based Rehab

• $511,959 – 2021/22 new total annualized investment for Community-Based Rehab representing an 18.2% increase

The total new annualized investment is $1,487,968.

Children’s Treatment Centres also provided School-Based Rehabilitation Services for 71,000 students in publicly funded schools in 2019-20. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

“Part of this is targetted for early intervention,” explained Scott Pepin, FCCC CEO. “By the assessment, we can help parents guide them in the most appropriate service. Sometimes we have parents coming to us asking or not knowing if this is normal or not.”

These investments will improve service experiences and outcomes for children and youth with special needs and their families across the Peterborough-Kawartha.

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