The final notice has been received and the Helping Hand, a mission of the Pentecostal Church, has until October 17th to vacate its location in the old Morrisburg High School, where it has been a source of clothing for those in need for the past 11 years.
Unfortunate, but true, the Helping Hand used clothing depot, answers a very big need in South Dundas and the surrounding area with an average of 2000-2,500 visitors benefiting from it each year.
The fact that the Helping Hand has to vacate is not a surprise as they were put on notice way back in 2009, that they were in their location on a monthly basis. With the upcoming renovation to the historic high school building to house an expansion to the St. Lawrence Medical and the South Dundas Municipal offices, the monthly basis has ended and the Helping Hand is closing.
The problem is that since they were put on notice of the eventual loss of their location they have been unable to find a new location that would be rent-free, or at the very least, very cheap.
“We have a lot of people not happy about it,” says Pentecostal minister, Rev. Duncan Perry. “But we can’t afford to go somewhere else. We have a couple thousand dollars (donations) a year coming in, but that is not enough to rent.”
“We don’t want to locate in the mall, and the only other building in town is the former St. Lawrence Parks building.”
According to Rev. Perry, that building is in such poor shape it is no longer an option, and he understands the Food Bank will replace the County Library in its lower level arena location should the library move to the high school, once renovated.
“I was really hoping they (municipality) would give us half of the bottom of the arena,” says Rev. Perry. “But I understand that it is going to the arena staff for a workshop/storage. It would have been a perfect fit for us.”
“We’ve been open for 11 years, and we are averaging 2,000 to 2,500 people a year. The $2,000 we receive in donations (goodwill donations from those who benefit from the Helping Hand, and donations from the community) is put back into the community.”
Recently, money was donated to the Breakfast Programs at Seaway High and Morrisburg Public Schools. “We’ve also given a lot to the Food Bank over the years.”
“People have come to us and told us that if we weren’t (Helping Hand) here, they didn’t know what they would do. The clothing donated to us is top notch and we made a decision at the start, that if we wouldn’t wear it, it wouldn’t be used.”
“One lady has been using it over and over through the years to clothe her children.”
“Those are the kind of stories we hear every week.”
“It is really amazing what we have done locally, and we’ve sent truckloads of clothes overseas when we couldn’t handle it all.”
The Helping Hand is run by volunteers and there is no charge for the clothing, although visitors can make goodwill donations.
“We have helped people from all over. We wish we could keep it open, we really do. It’s too bad, and I understand the town doesn’t have the money for a building.”
“I do believe the number of working poor is getting larger. It’s unfortunate we need a place like this but we do. If there was a place found, we wouldn’t even think about shutting it down. If they would reconsider letting us share with the Food Bank that would be ideal.”
That, however, according to Rev. Perry, is not an option at this time, and the Helping Hand is preparing to close by the October 17 deadline. Arrangements have been made for representatives from Agape in Cornwall to visit the facility, with the hope that they will be able to take the clothing.
Located at 40, Fifth Street West in Cornwall, the Agape Centre runs a Food Bank, Soup Kitchen and Thrift Shoppe.
South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds says he is appreciative of the service the Helping Hand provides to the community. “It’s unfortunate, but hopefully they will find somewhere in the community.”
Byvelds confirmed that the long-term plan is for removal of the former Parks building. “That building is done, and we are only spending what we have to, to keep it going.”
He says there has been some discussion of moving the Food Bank to the arena location, but the discussions are very preliminary and nothing is decided and nothing can or will be decided until the final plans are in place for the high school.
Those plans, are for the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic to occupy the first floor (ground level) and the municipal offices to occupy some or all (if necessary) of the second floor. Once these two entities are accommodated then the remaining space, including the third floor, will be considered.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
… Thanks for reading this article. Local news is important. We hope that you continue to support local news in your community by reading The Leader, online and in print. Please consider subscribing to the print edition of the newspaper. Click here to subscribe today.
Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec residents looking for work or a career change should plan to attend the Job Fair being organized by Eleven Points Logistics in Cornwall, on Friday, April 26.
The company is looking to fill several hundred full-time positions, with a start date of June 2013.
The event will take place at the massive 1.4 million square foot distribution centre.
Job seekers will be able to meet with company officials face-to-face and learn first-hand what working at a state of the art distribution centre is like.
“We are looking to fill warehouse associates positions with material handling equipment experience,” said Alan LaBarge, General Manager with Eleven Points. “This new facility incorporates new technology and best practices, and it is an excellent opportunity for people to join the growing world of supply chain and logistics.”
There is no cost to attend the Job Fair, which will be from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 26.
“We are always looking for talented, dedicated individuals to become new associates,” added LaBarge. “If you have the desire and skills to constantly excel, then you may want to consider attending the Job Fair with your resume in hand.”
Eleven Points Logistics is a full-service Canadian third-party logistics company. As a leader in supply chain management, Eleven Points Logistics’ experience ranges from network analysis and engineering design to warehouse management system implementation and complete operational management.
Eleven Points Logistics’ associates strive to expand knowledge and identify innovative ways to reduce total supply chain costs by employing Lean Six Sigma practices.
At the June 26th South Dundas council meeting, after months of pushing for a local electronic waste disposal option, councillor Archie Mellan was happy to hear that a solution was finally within reach.
Hugh Garlough, manager of public works, presented council with a proposal from RDLong Computers Limited for the collection of electronic waste.
The company has offered to provide covered storage containers at each of the landfill sites. In addition, the company will be responsible for collecting the items and for any associated costs.
RDLong Computers Limited was first approached by Pauline Pratt of the House of Lazarus as the company currently collects and processes all the electronic waste brought to the charity’s location in Mountain.
The charity receives money from the company based on the weight of materials collected. Under RDLong’s proposal to the township, the House of Lazarus will receive the same compensation for anything collected at the South Dundas landfill sites.
“I am sure this would result in a win-win situation for everyone,” said Raymond Long, “area residents would have a more convenient location to bring their unwanted electronics, more of this type of material could be diverted from the landfills, and it would certainly help to increase the revenue that the House of Lazarus receives for their collection efforts.”
Mellan agreed with Long, but went one step further and said, “I think it’s a win-win-win situation.” He believes the deal will benefit South Dundas residents, the township, and the House of Lazarus.
Garlough informed council that the township has already received permission from the Ministry of Environment to go ahead and collect the electronic waste without need to change the Certificate of Approval.
Referring to the lengthy wait to get this set up, Garlough said, “what took the most time was to get the go ahead from the Ministry of Environment.”
With the plan in place and things ready to proceed, Mellan expressed concern for the success of the program explaining that in order for it to work, the public must be educated and informed about the availability of the new electronics waste disposal containers.
Mayor Steven Byvelds agreed, “we have to educate the public.”
Landfill staff will be given a list of items to be accepted for the program. While items brought in do not have to work, they do have to be in one piece. Anything smashed won’t be accepted.
“It will work for all of us in the end,” said Byvelds. “It’s a good program. I’m glad it all worked out.”
Charles Crober and Christopher Rowntree, representing Concerned Citizens of South Dundas, are the applicants appealing the issuance of a building permit that will allow for the construction of a new grain elevator/storage facility at the UTI property owned by Morrisburg Dock Expansion Inc., located at 11610 County Road 2, Morrisburg.
The permit issued January 30, 2015, is for the construction of a new grain elevator/storage facility on the M1 zoned land, with a construction value of $2.8 million.
According to Lesley Rowntree, Concerned Citizens of South Dundas, is supported by over 600 signatories on a 2013 petition.
“We communicate with about 40 people on a direct basis when something actually occurs in the way of new information and to ask for their ideas and opinions,” says Lesley, who with her husband Chris, “have served as a sort of ‘office’ for the group and been spokespersons for them.”
Because the grain terminal issue seems to be a divisive one, Lesley says, “We have tried to respect absolute privacy and confidentiality for those who support us with resources of time, effort and money.” She would not say exactly how ‘many’ people are financially supporting the effort.
Chris and Lesley live less than one kilometre from the proposed grain terminal site, and have been there about 3.5 years. They say many of the people they are representing through the concerned citizens group have lived in the area much longer and most are a much greater distance from UTI.
“We need to dispel the erroneous idea that this group of people all live close to the proposed grain terminal,” says Lesley.
As a core value of the group, Lesley says, “We are working to try to reaffirm in our community the democratically mandated voice of all citizens to express their own interests and concerns, based on honest and open information.”
“We are being driven to court as the only way to prove that the proposal does not fit the zoning. Once that is established, proper procedure can be initiated whereby proponents make an application which requires zone changes and thus enables the proper process mandated by the Ontario Planning Act to come into operation.”
©2025 — The Morrisburg Leader Ltd.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
Be the first to comment