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SIRCH offers free frozen meals during COVID-19 global pandemic
At this unprecedented time, SIRCH Community Services is putting its resources and energies into providing healthy meals for any one who is struggling to provide for themselves and their families.
For many years, SIRCH’s Community Kitchen has made frozen meals for distribution to local food banks and community agencies. Starting this week, we are gearing up to more than triple the regular amount made.
You can ask for SIRCH meals at the food banks, and starting on Saturday, March 28, 2020, you can get take-out frozen meals directly from SIRCH Central. SIRCH Central will open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2 Victoria Street in Haliburton (next to the laundromat).
We will be using social distancing protocols to help keep people safe. We prepare and package the meals under the very strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure meals are prepared in compliance with the latest food-handling and sanitation guidelines. No one will be allowed inside the building. The meals will be put into bags and brought out to you.
All of our frozen meals are free. SIRCH wants to support as many people as possible, so please ask for just what you will use over a weekend and leave some for your neighbours.
Each frozen meal comes with heating instructions and a nutritional label. Some meals are suitable for diabetics or others with special diets. Local produce is used whenever possible and groceries are purchased locally.
SIRCH has no base funding for this free food program—it relies on donations from individuals, organizations, churches and businesses. If you are able, your financial support is needed!
Donate what you can:
- Online at www.sirch.on.ca/donate with Visa or MasterCard
- By phoning 705-457-1742 with Visa or MasterCard
- By cheque, mailed to SIRCH Community Services, Box 687, Haliburton, ON K0M 1S0
- Via e-transfer to stacy_mclean@sirch.on.ca – send password in a separate email
Please help keep Haliburton County fed. In the end, we will be a stronger community if we band together and look after each other.
Cook It Up returns to Molly’s Bistro Bakery
The wait is over! SIRCH’s Cook It Up is back at Molly’s Bistro Bakery!
Cook It Up is a free 16-week job training program offered annually by SIRCH Community Services for adults 18+ who want to work in restaurants, camps, or start a food business.
During the past month, Cook It Up trainees have been learning menu planning, following recipes, knife skills, serving customers and more. From March 10 to May 5, 2020, the trainees will host a free lunch every Tuesday at Molly’s Bistro Bakery, 170 Bobcaygeon Road, Minden, from 12 noon to 2 P.M.
SIRCH’s Executive Director, Gena Robertson, commented: “The free 3-course lunch is a genuine gift to the community from SIRCH. It’s a thank you for all your support. And it also gives our trainees a very authentic experience that they couldn’t find anywhere else. Part of the goal of Cook It Up is to help people feel connected, while building skills, confidence and a sense of community.”
“Our Cook It Up trainees are so excited to share their new-found skills with the public,” said Jay McIvor, SIRCH’s Food Initiatives Coordinator. “Every Tuesday, the trainees will create a three-course lunch with an international theme. There’s enough food each week for 65 people, so get there early!”
This is the sixth season of Cook It Up. This program has developed a strong reputation of training people to enter the food services industry. By the end of this program, 11 people will have increased knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise about food service and customer service.
Over the past five years of Cook It Up training, SIRCH has graduated 34 people from the program. 89% of graduates gained employment!
Visit www.sirch.on.ca for more information. Cook It Up Tuesday menus are posted by Monday.
SIRCH wants to thank Molly McInerny and Guy Dumas, owners of Molly’s Bistro Bakery, for sharing this restaurant on Tuesdays (a day it is typically closed) for the Cook It Up training program. The program is funded by Social Services, City of Kawartha Lakes.
Don’t toss it! Bring it to SIRCH’s Repair Café in Minden
Did you hear about SIRCH Community Services’ first Repair Café held in January? It was so much fun! 134 attendees participated in a fabulous day of fixing and community-building. Lots of items were repaired. Some needed additional parts and hopefully their owners will bring them back to another Repair Café. Children tried out the Tinker Table, assembled things, took things apart or built amazing items with a 3D printer supplied by the Haliburton County Public Library.
“There’s an amazing energy at SIRCH’s Repair Cafés—there’s a palpable feeling of hope and joy and comradery. And when the bell rings to indicate an item is fixed, everyone breaks out into applause!” exclaimed Chris Varga, SIRCH’s Repair Café Coordinator.
“Our first Repair Café in January was a huge success, thanks to the tremendous efforts of volunteer Fixers,” said Chris. “This amazing team of volunteer Fixers is back for our Repair Café on Saturday, March 7, ready to fix broken lamps, mend ripped clothes, rewire power tools, and repair jewelry. There is even an opportunity for children to make and repair toys!”
“This is perfect, I love this,” said a man who had a drone repaired at the first Repair Café. “This is some place to bring your stuff that otherwise they’d be telling you to trash it.”
“Efficient and people are very friendly,” exclaimed a woman who had a bath pillow repaired. “It’s an awesome thing to be able to come here, and get stuff fixed!”
If you have broken household items—small appliances, clothing, furniture, computers, audio equipment, jewelry, books, and porcelain—that need repairing, don’t miss out on the next Repair Café, held in Minden!
SIRCH’s Repair Café comes to Archie Stouffer Public School (gymnasium), at 12 Vintage Crescent, Minden, on Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Repairs are done free of charge. A donation jar will be available if you’d like to ‘pay it forward’. Donations are appreciated, but there is no expectation.
A recent study states that Canadians produce more garbage per capita than any other country on earth. Each Canadian generates approximately 2.7 kg of garbage each day. Communities across the country—including Haliburton County—struggle with an increasing amount of residential waste that ends up in local landfills. SIRCH’s Repair Cafés are a vital way to help reduce the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of by giving household items a new life.
SIRCH’s Repair Café is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. OTF awarded $108 million to 629 projects last year to build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario.
Family secrets, deceptions and astonishing truths
Imagine seeing the ocean liner ticket of your great-grandmother when she first arrived in Canada. Or finding a record of your family dating back to the 1600s. And how would you feel if you discovered that a long-held family story wasn’t completely true?
All this, and more, was uncovered over the course of SIRCH Community Services’ Family Roots pilot program.
As part of Family Roots, senior volunteers were trained to conduct online family research while learning about community resources. The trainees were then matched with other seniors, who were more isolated or needing connection, to research their family history.
“Family Roots has been a rich and rewarding experience for all participants. Trainees have gained skills, and with their senior matches have fostered companionship and friendship,” said Donna Gagnon, SIRCH’s Family Roots Coordinator. “There’s been so many amazing discoveries along the way—from learning more about a family’s country of origin, to finding long lost relatives. It’s been fun and exhilarating!”
Participants want to share their experiences and discoveries at a public event.
SIRCH’s Family Roots Reveal Night, “Family Secrets, Deceptions and Astonishing Truths” takes place Wednesday, February 19, 2020 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Haliburton Highlands Museum, 66 Museum Road, Haliburton. This is a free event, and all are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
“At the Reveal Night, you’ll hear from a woman who discovered her Quaker ancestry, and about a 98 year old woman who found out she had three half-siblings in England,” stated Donna. “In addition, you’ll see examples of families that trace their roots back to France and Italy, and how they came to Canada and the Haliburton Highlands. You’ll also hear about the connections made between trainees and their matches.”
The Family Roots program is made possible by a grant from the Government of Canada New Horizons for Seniors Program, and is supported by the Haliburton Highlands Museum, and Haliburton Highlands CARP Chapter 54.