Morrisburg stop for Drive Away Hunger Tour, friendly challenge for next year’s event

For the 15th time there will be an antique festival in South Dundas.

This year’s antique festival, which is set to take place July 20 and 21, is being run by a committee who didn’t want to see the event disappear from South Dundas’ summer calendar of events, when the Morrisburg and District Lions Club opted not to host the 2013 event at the waterfront.

The Morrisburg Business improvement area is the host of the 2013 antique festival. The South Dundas Chamber of Commerce is a partner in the event and the Morrisburg and District Lions Club, though not hosting, have helped out.

“We are happy that the BIA picked up the ball to keep this thing rolling,” said Geraldine Fitzsimmons of the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce.

The event will take place at the Village Plaza in Morrisburg, with vendors set up in various locations, including two vacant store fronts and four vendor tents that will be set up on the mall, behind the clock tower. The stores being used include the former M&M Meat Shop location in the Pinkus Plaza and the former dollar store location in the Morrisburg Mall. 

The three locations will house a total of 18 vendor booths, with dealers coming from Gatineau, Ingleside, Brockville, Perth and Madoc.

While the waterfront location will be missed, Fitzsimmons says the vendors are pleased to be bringing their wares back to this community and are looking forward to the new venue.

“This new location in the mall should give us more drop-in traffic,” said Fitzsimmons. “We will have a lot more visibility from County Road 2.”  

“We’re excited about this event,” said Carl McIntyre, who chairs the antique festival committee. “We hope this will bring a lot of people into the heart of our community. This is all part of the effort to make this community more known.”

With only a few people working on organizing this event, they are finding themselves in need of some volunteers to help out with the logistics of the two day event. 

The antique festival takes place Saturday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Free admission. Appraisals on site.  

[…]

 Far too many Canadians are being left behind and counting on food banks to get by, according to HungerCount 2014, a national study released last week by Food Banks Canada.

Food bank use increased slightly in 2014 by 1 per cent. The report shows that in a typical month, food banks in Canada now provide food and other supports to more than three quarters of a million separate individuals – 841,000 people. The report also highlights the troubling trends that contribute to the increase in household food insecurity and food bank use across the country.

“The job market is very tough right now,” said Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada, which coordinated the national study involving more than 4,000 food programs. “The unfortunate combination of low-paying jobs, inadequate supports for the unemployed, and a lack of training opportunities for Canadians is keeping food bank use near record levels.”

Ian McKelvie, Administrator for the Dundas County Food Bank, reports that food bank use at its two locations in Morrisburg and Winchester increased by 16 per cent in 2014. 

“It’s discouraging to see that the increase in the number of people using our local food banks is so much higher than what the HungerCount is reporting nation-wide” noted McKelvie. “One statistic that mirrors the study” McKelvie adds, “is that 40 per cent of those requiring assistance in our community are children.”

The Dundas County Food Bank now assists 580 people including 355 families.  

“The coming holiday season is a crucial time of year for providing emergency food for people in need. We are still seeking more donations of food and extra funds to purchase other items such as milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat,” said McKelvie.

The HungerCount 2014 study found that:

• Each month, 90,000 Canadians are forced to ask for help from a food bank for the first time.

• 4 in 10 of those relying on this assistance are children.

• The number of single adults helped by food banks each month has doubled since 2001 – from 80,000 to 158,000. 

“It has been six years since the recession sent food bank use soaring,” continued Schmidt. “It is time to stop waiting for things to improve – it is time to start acting to make real investments in policies that will reduce the need for food banks.”

The HungerCount 2014 report proposes key policy recommendations that can make significant progress in reducing the number of people who need help from food banks. These include:

– Investing in affordable housing,

– Providing more effective supports to low-income families with children, and

– Helping Canadians get the skills they need for the well-paying jobs of today.

[…]

 “To raise and train a guide dog for service to deaf, blind or special needs people, takes months of intensive schooling. The cost per dog is $20,000, but the dogs themselves are presented to the people who need them at no cost at all,” said Bill Dixon, past president of District A Lions, and special guest at the Iroquois-Matilda Lions dinner held on Monday, June 10.

“That is why the efforts of these two Junior Lions to raise funds for my Pennies for Pups campaign are important. I am here to honour two young women who have done something special for our cause.”

Iroquois-Matilda Junior Lions, Sarah MacDonald and Larissa Ettlin, raised $330 at their high school, Seaway DHS, to present to the program. “We decided we wanted to get our community and our school involved,” Sarah and Larissa said. “We did the organizing ourselves and set up a competition for home rooms to see which one could raise the most pennies. We worked on the project for close to three months.”

Lion Doug Peters originally brought the campaign, Pennies for Puppies, to the attention of the Iroquois-Matilda Lions. “Sarah and Larissa took up the idea and ran with it,” he said. “I am very pleased that they are being honoured tonight with special certificates.” 

In his address to the club, Dixon, whose  daughter has multiple sclerosis and works with a guide dog, stressed the immense difference a trained guide dog can make in the lives of the people who receive one from the Foundation.

“These animals give a sense of security and safety to humans. Often the dogs are a calming influence on young children dealing with handicaps. The Foundation relies on groups like the Lions and other service clubs for the funds to raise and train these wonderful dogs. We receive no government funding. Young people like Sarah and Larissa are picking up the torch of service.”

The Iroquois-Matilda Lions voted to add extra funds to the Junior Lions’ collection, to make the total donation to the Pennies for Puppies $500. Dixon is hoping to raise $20,000 for GuideDogs.  

[…]