In addition to the many who donated food items, some grocery shoppers like June Crowley, who cottages in Arden, offered a cash donation at the August 30 “Stuff the Cruiser” event in support of the North Frontenac Food Bank, which took place at Mike Dean's grocery store in Sharbot Lake. Crowley said that she believes that it is important for her to give to the food bank here as a way of supporting the local community. Also helping out was Food Bank volunteer Dan Cunningham of Mountain Grove, who stressed the importance of giving whenever possible, citing, “a huge need and the importance of taking care of those in the community who find themselves in need of help.” OPP Constable Greg Streng, who was also assisting with the drive, said that Sharbot Lake shoppers were being very generous and by noon both the cruiser and the donation bucket were quickly filling up. Thanks to all who donated.

On August 21, staff of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) put on their annual community family BBQ at Oso beach in Sharbot Lake as a way to thank the community for their support of the services and programs that the organization offers. As usual, Don Amos, executive director of NFCS, was one of those who manned the barbeque as guests enjoyed the free dinner, live music and numerous games and activities. Luckily, the threatening clouds earlier in the day had given way to sunny skies. Amos said that the organization and the community make up what he terms as “a true community partnership. .. Without the community who rally around us every year and enable us to do what we do, we would not be here. We hold this event every year as our small way of giving back to the community and saying thank you.”

Valerie Wedden and Norm Herns provided free musical entertainment on stage at the park’s pavilion before being joined by talented local fiddler, Valerie’s daughter Jessica, who treated the crowd to an electrifying version of the Orange Blossom Special.

Children and adults of all ages enjoyed a petting zoo, bouncy castles, pony and wagon rides, face painting and more. Staff, board members and a number of adult and youth volunteers numbering close to 30, helped organize another great community gathering that was enjoyed by all. Amos said that the event is not just for families and young children but for all members of the community, and this year staff made a special effort to include activities that offered something for everyone. “That is what our agency is about, offering services to all of the different types of people in the community and the people that we are seeing here today really reflect that.” Amos thanked the staff for all of their hard work for the event, which takes over a month and half to plan.

Photo DCS 01437- several youths enjoyed a bit of time in the rabbit hutch courtesy of West Wind Farms of Westport at NFCS's annual community BBQ at Sharbot Lake beach on August 21  

A change has taken place in the way Family and Children's of Frontenac Lennox and Addington (FACSFLA) does business.

The new agency was formed when the Children's Aid Society of Kingston and Frontenac amalgamated with that of Lennox and Addington in the spring of 2012. The new agency needed a new name and it also took on the challenge of rethinking how it carries out its mission of protecting children in the region. It also was faced with funding cuts of 2% per year over 5 years.

The funding cut also came with some other, positive changes that enabled the new agency to provide more services to children who remain living with their own families.

Steve Woodman came on as executive director to head the new agency, and he said this week that dramatic changes in the way the agency operates have enabled it to meet the funding constraints while at the same time improving the service that it delivers.

“What we have done is put an enormously expanded focus on two things: family preservation and permanency for children in our care. The new funding model frees us up to provide more programs, counselling services and more, to children and families. Before, we could only provide these services once children were within our care. We have been able to cut the number of children in care by 20% in two years. Nine out of 10 children we work with remain with their own families. Most of the families we work with are facing some kind of crisis and by helping them get through the crisis in most cases they are able to carry on and provide the best environment for their children to thrive in,” he said.

In terms of raw numbers, Woodman said that there are currently 352 children in the care of FACSFLA, which is down from 440 a couple of years ago. At an estimated cost of $50,000 per child, per year in care, it is not hard to see where the money is coming from to increase supports for children and families.

On the other side of the coin, Woodman said that the agency is committed to what he calls “permanency” for children. This is accomplished through re-unification with birth families where possible, then through placement with extended family members, and if neither of those options are possible, through adoption.

“Children are much better off when they have a family to go to at Christmas when they are 25 and 30 years old, with people whom they are connected to for a lifetime. Fostering does not offer that, so it is our priority to find permanent solutions.”

That being said, there is a need for foster families as well, particularly for teen-agers. There are 25 youth under the care of FACSLA who are living in group care, and Woodman said that a number of them are very good candidates for fostering. Interested parties are invited to contact the agency at 613-545-3227.

One thing that FACSFLA is stressing with their new strategic plan and their new name as well is that they do not see themselves as a threat to families, as much as they are responsible to safeguard children.

“Families need not see us as a threat. We provide resources and support. The threshold for us to remove children from their families is pretty high.” he said.

The staff at the agency were very much a part of developing some of the new initiatives and protocols. Before completing its strategic plan, the agency sent a number of its staff to tour the province, visiting sister agencies that had been bringing innovative programming to their own communities.

“The staff were asking for these changes. They saw the opportunities and they have been the ones who have brought improvements to our service,” said Woodman.

Legislation requires not only educational, child-care and medical personnel to report suspected abuse to FACSFLA; all adults are required to report suspected abuse when they witness it.

“We have a protocol for evaluating reports that come in,” said Woodman, “and in most cases reports that we receive do not lead to an investigation. However, sometimes we have multiple reports, and the cumulative effect is to tell us an investigation is necessary. So, we tell people that the best thing to do is not to make a judgement call themselves. If they suspect something they should report it. What they saw may only be a part of a larger picture,” he said.

FACSFLA provides services out of offices in Kingston, Napanee, Sharbot Lake and Northbrook.

Southern Frontenac Community Services’ 2014 Enhancement Campaign closed last Friday, having gone almost $8,000 above their original goal of $50,000. This was the agency’s first fundraising campaign in their 25-year history. It will help reduce the current waiting list for seniors services programs and provide food and financial security assistance to more low income households in the South Frontenac and rural Kingston areas. This spectacular success was due in part to a $25,000 grant from the William J. Henderson Foundation. This foundation was established by the late Judge Henderson, a politician, war veteran and philanthropist, “to support worthy causes.” Other cash donors included Susan Creasy Financial, Cunningham Swan Carty & Bonham, South Frontenac Township, Branch 496 Royal Canadian Legion, Sydenham Lions Club, Trousdale stores, several local groups and a long list of individuals.

Last week, representatives of the Royal Bank presented Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) with a much needed cash donation of $1,000 for its food bank.

A few weekends earlier local branch manager Tina Hinch, along with several staff members and three of their children, had spent half a day washing and reorganizing the food bank shelves. It was this gift of staff’s personal time that led to the bank’s cash donation, part of the RBC’s ongoing policy of participating in the communities where it has branches.

SFCS Executive Director David Townsend, in thanking Ms. Hinch and Mr. Adamcryck, said the food bank provides a week’s worth of food every month to 70 clients; some are individuals, many represent families. SFCS’s crock pot cooking classes, which teach nutritious recipes using food bank items, then sends its grads home with crock pots, is a recent innovation that has proven popular.

With such a high level of need, it’s easy to understand how shelves that are well-stocked one week can develop alarming gaps only a few weeks later. In spite of its name, the food bank is really a form of community food cache, stocked by those of us who are fortunate to have enough, available to those of us who would otherwise go hungry. Donations come mainly in two forms: actual canned and packaged dry goods, and money. The cash is essential to provide fresh food such as bread, meat, milk and eggs. (Through the summer, harvest from the gardens at Grace Centre adds fresh vegetables.)

On June 21 over 250 children and their families gathered at the Flinton Recreation Centre for the second annual Touch a Truck event, which was sponsored by the Lennox and Addington Resources for Children (LARC) and the Flinton Recreation Club. Representatives of local emergency service groups, social service teams and other organizations were invited to attend and bring their vehicles for children to get up close and personal with. There were school buses, Hydro One trucks, an EMS ambulance and local fire trucks, tow trucks, tractors, transport trucks, race cars and more.

Becky Cavanaugh of LARC said that the purpose of the event is not only to provide a lot of fun for children, it is also aimed at familiarizing them with emergency service workers, their vehicles and the other equipment they use, which helps to quell the children's fears if they are in an emergency situation. “It's a fun thing for kids to do; not only do they get to learn more about the people, their vehicles and the services they provide but they get to do so in a friendly and fun environment,” Cavanaugh said.

A group of paramedics invited youngsters to lie on a stretcher and to experience some of the machinery and tests they would undergo in the event of a 911 emergency call. Paramedic Ryan Thielman explained, “We show them the tools that we would normally use in an on-scene call so that if they have to experience a call in the future, they will know that there is nothing to be afraid of and that none of this stuff can hurt them.”

The children had their blood pressure taken and were also hooked up to the electrodes used for taking an electrocardiogram.

LARC provides other services to children and their families in Lennox and Addington, including playgroups, parenting courses and other outreach programs. For more information about the services they provide call 613-354-6318 or visit www.larc4kids.com

The Touch-a-Truck event also raised donations for the food bank.

At the Land O' Lakes Community Services’ annual general meeting on June 16, which was held at the Lions hall in Northbrook, three persons were unanimously elected to the organization’s new board of directors.

Carl Gray, who was born and raised in Harlowe, practiced as head OR nurse at Hotel Dieu in Kingston before returning to school at Dalhousie University in Halifax to complete his degree. He then worked in Thunder Bay first as a clinical instructor in the OR, then later in the education sector at Confederation College as coordinator and chair of the nursing program there. Gray worked for 10 years at Algonquin College in Ottawa as the coordinator for practical nursing. He has been a board member, has chaired boards and has worked as a volunteer in numerous capacities. Most recently, up until his retirement, he was the Ontario representative for all of the practical nursing programs in the province for the Canadian Association of Practical Nurse Educators. He currently lives on Massasagagon Lake with his partner, with whom he runs a shop on Highway 41 called Schoolhouse of Treasures.

Anne Marie Langan, who lives in Mountain Grove with her husband and children, is a practicing lawyer who works at the local legal aid clinic. The clinic was formerly known as Rural Legal Services and was renamed the Legal Clinic in April this year after merging with similar services offered in Lanark County. Langan works once a week at the clinic’s satellite office in the LOLCS office in Cloyne. She also has a degree in Theology. She worked as a social worker in homeless shelters across the country before returning to school to study law at Queens Law School. She operated her own law office in Sharbot Lake before going to work at the Legal Aid Clinic.

Helen Welburn, who served last year as the appointed member of the board, grew up in northern Quebec and in Arden where her mother’s side of the family (the Pringles) were long-time Kennebec residents. She has two children and six grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2000 and she has since remarried and moved back to the community. She has been part of the local swim committee in the area and said she understands that the LOLCS requires a strong board in order to provide the guidance and respect necessary to properly serve people in the community.

Regarding other business on the agenda, Ernest Lapchinski raised his concerns, citing “tensions over the last two years” because of the change of holding the LOLCS' regular monthly drop ins in Flinton instead of at the Northbrook Lions Hall, where they were formerly held. Lapchinski put forth a motion asking that the regular meetings return to the Lions Hall as a “complimentary support for the Northbrook Lions Club.” After much discussion about whether the board or LOLCS staff should make that decision, one member pointed out that when the former change of location was made, it was done by the board and not the staff though the staff offered their recommendations. In the end Lapchinski's original motion was amended to state that the issue be referred to the board to make a final decision, after which the motion was passed.

The guest speaker at the AGM was Derek Maschke, director of Milestone Funeral Center. He gave a presentation titled “Looking Ahead”, which informed individuals and families of how best to plan ahead for a funeral.

On May 30, supporters of Southern Frontenac Community Services were welcomed by blue skies at the organization’s annual Golf Tourney fundraiser, which was held again at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona. Proceeds from the event go towards funding the many seniors’ programs that run out of the SFCSC's Grace Centre in Sydenham. The $80 ticket for the tournament included 18 holes of golf, green fees and a cart, plus dinner.

A total of 28 teams, comprised of 100 individual golfers, participated. This year there was also a new event, a $2 for three tries putting contest where participants could win half of the contest’s proceeds for the day. Ally Dickson, administrative assistant with the SFCSC, and family services worker Sarah Cring manned the putting contest and invited golfers a chance at the winnings.

Dickson said she was grateful for the continued support from local area and Kingston businesses who once again stepped up to the plate this year and donated their goods and services to help put on the annual fundraiser. “We really rely on the donors and the golfers to be able to continue to grow our services and we are very appreciative to them for stepping up and supporting this annual event.”

Staff at Community Living-North Frontenac (CLNF) in Sharbot Lake held their annual community BBQ on May 27 and the event was very well attended. Staff served up hot beef on a bun, hot dogs, ice cold beverages and cake to the close to 100 guests who attended. Two musicians, Brian Roche and Alan Kitching, played relaxing jazz as guests sat under tents and in the shade to share a meal and conversation.

The event is a way for CLNF staff to say thank you to community and give back, while also inviting those who may not know about the organization to find out more. Community Living- North Frontenac provides equal opportunities to individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families in North and Central Frontenac. They do so through a number of supports and opportunities, which include individualized services, education and advocacy, and by promoting and fostering meaningful interactions and relationships in families and communities with the goal of increasing personal growth, development and independence for those they support.

For more information about Community Living-North Frontenac visit communitylivingnorthfrontenac.com or call the office at 613-279-3731.

by Cheryl Hartwick

 Board recruitment – the second big lie

A couple of weeks ago I discussed the lie of perspective board members not needing to know anything prior to consideration of joining a board of directors. I suggested that you really should know, at least a little bit, of what the organization stands for and what services it provides.

Another question that the perspective director may ask is, “What do I have to do?” or “What are my duties/responsibilities?” The answer to that question is often – “Nothing much really – just one meeting/month – it isn’t really too time consuming.” That is definitely another lie.

According to various policies and legal standards regarding volunteer boards of not-for-profit agencies, the roles of directors are to manage senior staff, participate in strategic planning initiatives, and develop and implement corporate policies. This means working within federal and provincial government standards, so it is necessary to have an understanding of social policy.

The truth is, directors should be prepared to commit some time to activities other than just monthly meetings. A director may be expected to: participate on standing or ad-hoc committees; chair other committees; volunteer at fundraisers and promotional events; participate in letter writing campaigns; be aware of social policies that affect the organization; advocate on behalf of the organization for government funding; discuss and “talk-up” the organization in the community

Directors are expected to act in the best interest of the organization with competence (skill) and diligence and boards often require competency in specific areas (legal, public relations, human resources, employee relations, negotiations, communications – just to name a few).

It is not my intention to scare people away from volunteering as a director; my hope in divulging these two truths is to illustrate the importance of the role and to encourage community-minded people to volunteer for Land O’ Lakes Community Services. Become a member of the organization and maybe join a committee to learn more about what is offered.

Come out to the AGM on June 16 at the Lions Hall in Northbrook and/or call 613-336-8934 to learn more.