Timeline Posts

The beginning of COVID-19.

During the pandemic, SIRCH was considered an essential service because of the meals we prepare, freeze and distribute to individuals and families who are ill, frail, disabled, grieving, or are without resources.

The Thrift Warehouses closed for a couple of months. Seasonal residents moved up and others from cities made the leap to working from Haliburton County virtually. When the Warehouses re-opened, they were busy and thriving.

A 3 year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation allowed SIRCH to renovate a 4,000 square foot space in the same building as their office and turn it into a training centre, commercial kitchen, bistro and marketplace. This bright, beautiful, welcoming place is the home of Cook It Up and Ready for Retail training, with the Bistro and Marketplace providing on-site practice opportunities. The plan is to ensure the Bistro & Marketplace are self-sustaining as social enterprises by spring, 2023.

As of April, SIRCH assumed responsibility for CAPC & CPNP services in City of Kawartha Lakes as well as Haliburton County. As difficult as that was during COVID, it was possible to support vulnerable women in both counties with porch visits to deliver gift cards and food, and group get togethers by Zoom.

As businesses closed and unemployment rose, SIRCH’s Community Kitchen geared up to produce 2,000 nutritious meals, soups and servings of fruit each month to give free to those in need. SIRCH partnered with non-profit housing sites and other organizations to distribute these meals in both Haliburton County and in North Hastings.

SIRCH cancelled its 6 week School’s Cool (school readiness program for preschoolers) because of COVID. However when it was clear that schools would re-open in the fall, SIRCH partnered with the school board to provide a 3 week School’s Cool program in Haliburton, Cobconk, Lindsay, Gravenhurst and Huntsville. Lots of challenges but great results!

Two training programs, Cook It Up and Ready For Retail, were offered in the spring. Cook It Up trainees prepared free meals at Molly’s Bistro Bakery, while Ready For Retail trainees were placed in local businesses.

Funded by New Horizons for Seniors, SIRCH started a yearlong pilot program, Family Roots, that trained senior volunteers in genealogy and community resources. The volunteers were then partnered with isolated seniors to develop connections while working on their family tree.

SIRCH provided School’s Cool in Haliburton and Minden.

During the summer, SIRCH’s social enterprise, Catering For A Cause, hosted an International Bistro at the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School. Community members and students of the Haliburton School of Arts + Design enjoyed internationally-themed lunches.

In October, SIRCH hosted a 30th Anniversary Celebration. Clients, volunteers, board members, and former and current staff spoke of the impact SIRCH has had on individuals and the community.

In the fall, the annual winter coat drive, Share The Warmth, was well received, with numerous donation drop-off partners, and five winter clothing give away events.

SIRCH’s annual community fundraising campaign, Gifts From The Heart, was held in the fall.

Participants of CAPC and CPNP in Haliburton and City of Kawartha Lakes participated in making a video which illustrated the impact that the groups have on moms and their children. The video was distributed across Ontario.

Season 4 of Cook It Up was carried out at Molly’s Bistro & Bakery in Minden. Following graduation, and recognizing that graduates needed opportunities to continue to build skills and connect, we created Cook It Up All Fall. Twice a week, delicious ethnic take-out lunches/dinners, cooked at SIRCH Central, were available to the public for a fee.

A new Ready for Retail training program, modelled after Cook It Up, started in January. It provided six trainees with customer service and retail training and one day a week the trainees took over Thrift Warehouse Haliburton to practice their skills.

For the fourth year, a Summer Bistro (formerly Simply Homemade) was run from the high school cafeteria during the summer for Haliburton School of Art + Design. The hot lunches were a hit!

Two School’s Cool programs were delivered, in Minden and Haliburton, with a total of 35 pre-school children entrolled. Trillium Lakelands District School Board provided space and partial funding.

The fourth annual Release of the Butterflies was held as a partnership with Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association and rebranded “Monarchs & Music: A Celebration of Butterflies and Blues.” Gifts from the Heart, in its eighth year, began in the fall.

SIRCH continued to provide CAPC & CPNP, food initiatives, a variety of training opportunities, and Bereavement Support.

Thrift Warehouse Haliburton and Thrift Warehouse Bancroft continued to be thriving social enterprises. At Bancroft Thrift, we opened a “Smash Room,” where you could don safety shields and smash glasses that are chipped, onsies or otherwise unsaleable. A video was made.

Cook It Up trained 9 more people in food services. As in previous years, trainees took over Baked & Battered on a day they were typically closed and provided free 3-course lunches to the public, as our way of saying “thank-you” to a generous community.

Simply Homemade again had the opportunity to exclusively offer lunches to students attending the School of Art & Design in Haliburton at JDH School. A proposal was submitted to Haliburton County Development Corporation which, if funded, would allow SIRCH to pilot ways to expand Simply Homemade, creating training and job opportunities.

A Journey Through Grief group, facilitated by skilled and trained volunteers started in May.

The SIRCH office building on County Rd 21 was sold; SIRCH looked for a new home!

In the fall, the Bereavement Program was divested to Haliburton Highlands Health Services.

SIRCH received funding to pilot two more training programs: Works of Wood in Bancroft taught trainees basic carpentry and they built a variety of harvest tables and other reclaimed pine products. Chic & Unique in Haliburton taught trainees how to upcycle furniture. The upcycled products were revealed at a show held at the end of the training.

Cook It Up ran for the second time. All nine trainees were offered jobs at the end of the program!

As an extension of Community Kitchen, SIRCH started “Simply Homemade” which offered homemade meals for $5, and also offered lunches to the summer students at Haliburton School of Art + Design.

The second annual “Release of the Butterflies” fundraiser was held.

SIRCH opened “SIRCH Central” down by the river in Haliburton. It was used for bereavement groups, food services training and was also available for other organizations to use by donation.

Season One of Cook It Up, a 16 week training program that provided food services and employability skills, was launched. SIRCH took over Baked & Battered restaurant one day a week (when it was closed) and opened for lunch. Trainees provided a free three-course meal to anyone.

Abbey Gardens took the lead in Dig In, with SIRCH and the HKPR District Health Unit playing supporting roles. Dig In provided workshops to encourage growing, preserving and eating healthy food.

Thrift Warehouse grew steadily. It provided employment for many people, low cost goods, and diverted huge amounts from landfill. A second Thrift Warehouse was opened in Bancroft. A summer store, called Thrift Upscale, selling only antiques and vintage, opened in Minden.

SIRCH piloted a “Hop On Hop Off” Bus. The bus did a route from Haliburton Thrift Warehouse to Minden and back, via Carnarvon. The bus was not financially viable but did draw significant positive attention.

The first annual “Release of the Butterflies” fundraiser was held in Minden, with people releasing hundreds of Painted Lady butterflies into the wetlands.

Hospice services were divested to HHHS (along with Community Care and the VON Adult Day program) after 20 years. SIRCH piloted Volunteer Match, a concept which posited one point of entry for volunteers who want to volunteer in the community. For a variety of reasons that concept was not readily accepted and VolunteerMatch closed.

Funding for Safe at Home, a program that assessed the physical housing of seniors and connected them to resources to assist with repairs and maintenance, was received and the program piloted.

A Mother-to-Mother Breastfeeding Support Program, matching volunteer mentors with pregnant and breastfeeding women began.

Dig In and Garden Buddies were incubated by SIRCH in partnership with Abbey Gardens and the HKPR District Health Unit to encourage growing, preserving and eating healthy food.

SIRCH partnered with TPS Haliburton Holdings to manage Thrift Warehouse, an 8,000 square foot thrift store in Haliburton, on a profit-sharing basis.

SIRCH was nominated for the Chamber of Commerce Not-for-Profit of the Year.

SIRCH started a new service called Need a Hand, which matched volunteers and registered workers with people who needed assistance with things like home repair and maintenance, respite, packing and moving, yard work, etc. Need a Hand was a “pay as you can” model, where a those who pay subsidize others who can’t.

CAPC initiated a Farm Tour program during the summer, which allowed parents and children to tour a farm or commercial garden, sample food from the farm and speak with the owners.

SIRCH started Journey Through Grief groups, using trained volunteers to lead three levels of group support for individuals who have lost a loved one.

SIRCH was nominated for the Chamber of Commerce Innovation and Creativity and Not for Profit of the Year awards.