Sears fashion fund raiser

 

The Senior Explorers of the 1st Williamsburg Baden Powell Scouts Council, would like to  give thanks to the community for their support of donations of time, money, supplies and food. These all helped to make this past scouting year wonderful! 

We would also like to express our need for more leaders.

We are thankful for all the people who have donated their time to help cook, supervise and participate in our events.  Without them we would not have been able to have these events.   As well, we thank all of the people who shared their skills with us, expanding our knowledge of marksmanship, radio mechanics, backpacking, map reading, and planning.  With your help we have accomplished much more than we could have ever imagined.

Thanks to everyone who attended our community fund raisers. 

In November, we volunteered to help the Morrisburg Canadian Legion sell poppies.  It was fun participating in an event planned by someone else. It definitely helped us for the months to come, when we had to plan and organize our own fund raisers.  

One of those events was the CHEO Clown Carnival, which we had to plan, decorate, advertise and run.  We held it for all of the local children, at the I.O.O.F Hall in Williamsburg, raising money for CHEO’s therapeutic clowns.

Firewood sales, Betsy Bingo and car washes are other fund raisers we have run to help raise money for our scout group.  The money raised was used for new equipment like water purifiers, and for funding camps such as our July trip to the Barron Canyon in Algonquin Park.

BP Scouts Council is not allowed to own any property, so our group relies on the support of our community to provide spaces to use like the Riverside Recreation Hall, the United Church of Williamsburg, the I.O.O.F Hall and private properties like Chateaus and Cedarwood Pond.  

For example, after hiking through beautiful swamp land, snow and ice, coming to a cabin is great!  Even if the moose we saw on the way in was pretty cool, and the dog sledding was fun, it’s always nice to have somewhere nice and warm to end up.  Getting to watch the sunset, while standing on the ice outside, is an amazing experience that wouldn’t be the same anywhere else. As well, canoes, and gear for camps have been lent to us, which helps keep costs down.  

For all of these things we thank you very much!

Thank you for all the donations of food.  We very much appreciate the delicious bacon. The food was excellent: it warmed us up on a cold morning or cooled us down on a hot afternoon.  It was easy to pack, so excellent for hiking, and filling enough for just a snack (teens are always hungry).  Thanks to Iroquois Foodland and Whitteker Meat Market.

This coming year we find ourselves short of leaders for our growing group. 

Senior Explorers, the oldest level (ages 14-18 and co-ed), are looking for a leader, preferably female, but not limited to female.  Sr. Explorers are more independent than the younger groups and plan their own camps, events and meetings. A leader would be there to help guide us and supervise us.  

A lot of our activities are outside, so a fair knowledge of outdoor safety is preferred/recommended.   Someone who can tell the weather better than our last leader, who thought tornadoes while hiking and hail while canoeing were ideal weather conditions.  

If you can tolerate: kids (teens); cold, hot, sometimes burnt food; camping; canoeing; taking pictures and having pictures taken of you, you are ideal for the position.  A sense of humour for most things is always good, and common sense (to make up for the lack of ours) are the main things we are looking for.  We can all cook well at camp, so if you show up to camps we will feed you extremely well.  We already have one experienced leader, so no experience is necessary, just enthusiasm.  

If you are interested in joining our vibrant group please contact us through our website at www.1stwilliamsburgbpsc.com

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  The Los Angeles Music Awards gala night is fast approaching. And local song-writer/musician Cory Coons has been nominated for Rock Artist of the Year. The red carpet night is September 17, and Coons will […]

While the Dundas County Food Bank board of directors had hoped to have their renovation project at the former Morrisburg Library location well underway by now, that is not the case.

The plan was to have the renovation of a portion of the former library completed and for the food bank’s Morrisburg location to be in its new home early in the new year.

“There have been delays, so the food bank has been unable to get the project started,” said Dundas County Food Bank administrator Ian McKelvie, following last week’s board meeting. “The move may have to wait until spring.”

While the board is planning for the renovation and the move, the focus of the food and client coordinators remains on the needs of those being served.

“Donations have been slow,” said Amy Jamieson coordinator for the South Dundas location in Morrisburg.”The summer months are always rough, but through the support of our regular donors, we have been able to make it though and continue to meet the need.”

The Morrisburg location of the Dundas County Food Bank regularly feeds between 85 and 100 families a month, which represents 280-330 people.

McKelvie reports that across Dundas County, the number of people being served by the food bank is up about 15 per cent, year over year. 

Jamieson is looking forward to a few timely food drives to help replenish the Dundas County Food Bank shelves here in Morrisburg.

The most immediate needs of the local food bank are pasta, both canned and dried. “I’ve had to buy pasta lately, and that’s unusual, it’s usually one of the first things people tend to donate. Dry cereal is also needed to replenish the shelves.

Regarding the food bank’s relocation project, McKelvie reports that the Dundas County Food Bank is applying for funds from various sources to help offset some of the cost of the project estimated to cost about $46,000. The Municipality of South Dundas has offered the food bank an interest free loan of up to $46,200 to help with the re-location project.

South Dundas will allow the food bank to use the municipally-owned space, rent-free and will continue to cover utility costs, as it does in the present location.

Once the food bank has taken advantage of the municipal loan, they will need to find a way to pay back those funds to the muncipality, while continuing to meet the food needs of those using the food bank.

McKelvie, who is new to the Dundas County Food Bank, is impressed with how supportive this community is of its food bank. 

McKelvie has spent most of his career in magazine publishing and has significant experience fund raising for not for profit organizations. He is excited about the encore career opportunity which that will allow him to put his skills to work locally in this important community-based organization.

Here at the Dundas County Food Bank , McKelvie plans to actively work on raising awareness of the organization and its needs.

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