Bird feeders brighten hospice garden
Donation came from Avant Garden Shop and Peterborough Field Naturalists
The donation of birdfeeders to Hospice Peterborough will bring normalcy and joy to the residents, says Hospice’s fundraising and communications co-ordinator, Aimee O’Reilly.
The donation was a collaboration between the Peterborough Field Naturalists, led by member King Baker, and Brenda and Clayton Ibey, owners of a local business, The Avant-Garden Shop, located at 165 Sherbrooke St.
Multiple feeders, poles to support them and seed chosen to support native bird species through the winter were donated and recently installed in the Hospice residence garden. A hummingbird feeder was included in the donation, to be added to the garden in the spring.
“The residents, their families, and even staff are going to receive such a healing distraction seeing the birds flit around outside their windows, especially in the upcoming months. Thank you to King, the Peterborough Field Naturalists and Brenda and Clayton,” said Alison Casey, manager of development at Hospice.
The Peterborough Field Naturalists regularly fund projects chosen by members and then approved by their board and Baker was the driving force behind this donation, says O’Reilly.
Hospice Peterborough provides support to individuals and families who are at the end of life, facing a life-threatening illness, or grieving. For further information visit hospicepeterborough.org or call 705-742-4042.
YWCA Fundraising
YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s recent Virtual Challenge fundraiser earned $26,215 that will be used to support local services for women who experience gender-based violence.
“We’ve been truly inspired by the creative ways our community rallied behind our first ever virtual event! Participants hiked, cycled, hosted trivia nights, created chalk murals, and took the opportunity to reconnect with people they hadn’t seen since before the pandemic in order to do something truly amazing for women and children in our community,” said Ria Nicholson, YWCA major gifts officer.
Nicholson also thanks their sponsors for the event.
“We’ve also been deeply moved by the support we’ve received from local sponsors. We all know the challenges that businesses are facing right now. I’d like to give special thanks to Nightingale Nursing and Home Support as well as RJ Brown Insurance for joining us as lead sponsors of this new initiative.”
Local women’s shelters YWCA’s Crossroads Shelter and Haliburton Emergency Rural SafeSpace (HERS) and support programs receive only partial government funding. Fundraising is necessary to cover the shortfall and it is never more important than now, when demand for gender-based violence supports has increased during the present pandemic.
Fundraising efforts will continue throughout the upcoming holiday season with a number of opportunities for the community to help.
Supporters can donate online or by mail, register as holiday sponsors, text to support the provincewide Wrapped in Courage campaign, or take part Dec. 1 in the YWCA’s Giving Tuesday matching gift campaign.
Also, as donations of toys or household items cannot be accepted this year due to COVID-19 safety protocols, donations of gift cards to provide extra support for local moms and kids would be appreciated. For further information on any of these fundraising initiatives or to make a donation online visit ywcapeterborough.org. or contact Nicholson at 705743-3526 ext. 113 or by email at rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.
Rotary Auction
The 2020 Kawartha Rotary Christmas Auction opened Monday with bidding continuing until Dec. 6. Proceeds will support the club’s commitment to the growth and expansion of the YES Youth Transitional Housing Program.
To get in on the bidding action visit kawartharotaryauction.com. There promises to be some great gift ideas for the coming holiday season. For further information email kawartharotaryauction@gmail.com.