Gravenhurst Against Poverty
290 Muskoka Rd N P1P 1V4 Gravenhurst, ON, Canada

Attention Neighbours! Food Distribution TODAY Chef Jagger Gordon and Feed It Forward will have their red trailer parked in the parking lot at the Muskoka Discovery Centre (down at the Muskoka Wharf) distributing free meals & food today between 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM. While quantities last. You can help spread the word by sharing this message with those who may benefit from the food rescue.

The Gravenhurst Women's Centre will be hosting Online Picnics every Tuesday at 10:00 AM over Zoom. Information to sign up can be found in their post below.

THANK YOU Hunters Bay Radio Please join us in offering a sincere thank you to Jeff, all of the wonderful people at Hunters Bay Radio and for those who tuned in for Super Jackpot Bingo - The Bay FM. Through their generosity and kindness, they have donated $2,000 to go towards G.A.P. programming. We are so grateful for this gesture and are confident that this will benefit many neighbours in our community. THANK YOU!!

ATTENTION Young People of Gravenhurst! If you participated in our Community Engagement Survey about the upcoming Young Adult Centre, be sure to check your email for the message we sent introducing our Young Adult Centre Co-Chairs, the Save the Date for our first Virtual Hang-Out and instructions on how to claim your FREE PIZZA from Dominos Pizza Gravenhurst!! Send us a direct message if you filled out the survey and DID NOT receive the e-mail. We'll verify that we have y...our completed survey and will reach out with the next steps. For those who DID NOT participate in the survey, that's okay... you are still very much welcome to be part of the Young Adult Centre project. We're hoping to have a physical space to meet after Covid, but for now, the plan is to meet virtually. Our first hang out will be on Friday, April 23rd at 6:00 PM. So save that date and time! More details will be shared as we get closer to the event. In fact, we plan to send out another email early next week with sign-up details, as we'll need to know numbers. All we will say at this time is SNACKS. So be ready! Be sure to check your email and if you didn't receive the first one, or want to sign up still, please send us a DM.

Food Program Will Continue! Deemed an essential service, and with several safety protocols in place, our Thursday Food Delivery Program and our Monday Meal Pick-Up will continue. If you are registered for our food program (or wish to be, sign-up here: https://bit.ly/3rZJ4dW), you do not need to worry about any kind of interruption to the food schedule. ... We know these are very challenging times, so do not hesitate to reach out. As a tight-knit community, we will endure and celebrate together again one day soon. Hang in there!!

G.A.P. Needs YOU! We've had tremendous response from our community when we've put out the G.A.P. 'bat signal', so we're lighting it up again. G.A.P. is currently seeking potential partner businesses throughout our community who might have available freezer space to hold frozen meals for our neighbours. We've run out of freezer space ourselves, but, also have the opportunity to receive additional frozen meals that could be given out throughout the week to our neighbours i...n need if we only had a place to keep them and distribute them. Therefore, our need is two-pronged... 1) You are a business in Gravenhurst who could dedicate some freezer space to these frozen meals and interested in distributing them one day a week. - or - 2) You have a freezer that you no longer use and would be willing to donate to G.A.P. for us to use for this cause / provide to a local business who might be willing to house the freezer and be a pick-up point once a week. There are certainly some moving parts and logistics to work out, but we felt that by putting the need out to our great community, that a solution might present itself. If you are interested in either of these potential solutions for holding and disseminating additional frozen meals to our neighbours in need - or you have a different creative solution altogether, please reach out to us, we would love to chat!! Thank you again to everyone who is supporting G.A.P. and our mission of helping those in need in our community.

A great share from Mind-Aid Muskoka as they share a spotlight on Muskoka Victim Services. Read below...

Very grateful for the support! Purchase a tree and do good for both the environment AND our neighbours throughout the community!!

Have you signed up for our G.A.P. Garden Program yet? It's not too late and your garden could become one of many who are supporting our neighbours in need who are facing food insecurity. Learn more & sign-up here: https://bit.ly/2PLj4WB

Stay IN THE LOOP with G.A.P.! Our April edition of 'In The Loop', our monthly e-newsletter, just went out this morning! Did you receive it? You can check it out here: https://bit.ly/39LHl5D... Sign-up for future mail-outs: https://bit.ly/31PiI3F

Your Independent Grocer G.A.P. Signs Spotted! We'd like to give a shout out to Your Independent Grocer in Gravenhurst. They have put up 2021 Coldest Night of the Year Gravenhurst signage and a notice about our Food Rescue Program directly on the plexi-glass at the checkout area. Thank you so much "YIG" for helping us spread the word! Have YOU seen a G.A.P. sign out in public? Snap a pic and share it with us! It fills our heart seeing our message our in the community.

More transportation news coming for those living in Muskoka!

Photos: Monday Meal Pick Up Shout out to our amazing volunteers and supporters who make our Monday Meal Pick Up Program possible! For those interested, anyone is welcome to drop by the Trinity United Church each Monday between 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM to receive a free meal and some other takeaway food items. This program is open to anyone, no questions asked. ... And for those interested in enrolling in our Thursday Food Delivery Program, simply send us an e-mail at [email protected] and we will get you signed up!

Ho Ho Ho! YES - today's Food Day Delivery is happening as usual! And there may even be a few special surprises directly from the North Pole!

Santa made sure to stop for a couple photos while he was here leaving a special surprise that will be going out in all of the food packages during our Thursday Food Delivery Day tomorrow. #HoHoHo #MerryChristmas

CNOY FUNDRAISING UPDATE! With 26 days left, we have now reached 62% of our 2021 fundraising goal. With your help, we have managed to raise almost 3x what we had raised at this date last year, so keep up the incredible work, everyone! SPONSORS ... We have some wonderful sponsors to announce that have recently come on board with Coldest Night of the Year! Please join us in thanking the Home Building Centre Gravenhurst, April Drane & Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage and Chamberlain Timber Mart! TOP 3 TEAMS 1. Walking Curlers - $5,601 (* 20th in Canada!) 2. The Dewdroppers - $2,940 3. Thach Foundation - $2,160 TOP 3 WALKERS 1. Bonnie Dart - $2,018 (* 55th in Canada!) 2. John Twist - $2,015 (* 56th in Canada!) 3. Carol Aberdeen - $1,725 The event may look a little different this year with us walking virtually, but the needs within our community remain the same. You can help support those who are hungry, hurting and/or homeless by getting involved with the Coldest Night of the Year! CNOY Gravenhurst Online Hub: https://cnoy.org/location/gravenhurst Event Page: 2021 Coldest Night of the Year Gravenhurst ( Event photos are from previous years)

Ryde Has First Food Delivery! We would like to give a special shout out to our friends and neighbours at the Ryde Community Co-op Inc. who helped us manage and distribute our first food delivery to Ryde! With their generous support, we're able to reach even more families and individuals with our Food Program. As we continue to roll-out in Ryde and Kilworthy, we again remind everyone that we are an inclusive, grassroots organization and that ALL ARE WELCOME. There is no j...udgement, and everything is handled discretely and professionally. If you are interested in enrolling in our Food Program, you can learn more here: https://www.gravenhurstagainstpoverty.com/food-program.html

There has been a Santa spotting at the Trinity United Church! He made an early stop to leave some surprises for this week's Thursday Meal Delivery. < more to come >

REMINDER TODAY: Monday Meal Pick-Up! Just a quick reminder that our Monday Meal Pick-Up Program is still running today. Drop by the Trinity United Church in downtown Gravenhurst to pick up a free meal between 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Masks mandatory. Social Distancing Enforced.

The 2021 Coldest Night of the Year is Coming! TIME TO REGISTER! https://cnoy.org/location/gravenhurst

Volunteer Spotlight Jenn Dalby As promised, our next Volunteer Spotlight features one of our Delivery Drivers - Jenn Dalby. Jenn has been volunteering with G.A.P. since early 2020. We caught up with Jenn this past week and asked about how her experience has been volunteering with G.A.P. and she said it's been a wonderful experience. ... "I've been able to meet some great people and they've all been so thankful and so great to be around. It feels really good to be able to give back to the community. Meeting families with the food packages and seeing their smiles. Sometimes they even have little thank you cards made up, which is just awesome." We asked Jenn if she had any advice for someone who might be considering volunteering with G.A.P. and she simply said "Do it. It feels good and you're doing good. I'm grateful for the experience." Well we're grateful for all of your hard work and glowing energy in all you do Jenn! Thank you!! --- If you are looking for a way to help others and give back, consider volunteering with G.A.P.! If you're ready to get started, visit here: http://eepurl.com/g57dUD --- And if you're interested in making a donation, assisting with fundraising or becoming a sponsor, send us an e-mail to: [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

Another Thursday in the books, another fantastic Food Day. Shout out to some of our stellar packers and volunteers from yesterday!! We also caught up with a few of our drivers to ask them about their experience being involved with G.A.P. and will be sharing their stories this weekend! Stay tuned!

Today we're giving a special shout out to Larry Brassard and the Gravenhurst Fire Department. With the support of Enbridge Gas, the Gravenhurst Fire Department has ben providing carbon monoxide detectors to those in need throughout our community. So far, G.A.P. has been able to deliver 30 of them to local families! Join us in thanking Larry and the amazing people at the Gravenhurst Fire Department and Enbridge Gas.

Seeking Community Ambassadors! Gravenhurst Against Poverty would not exist without the strong, ongoing support of dedicated volunteers and generous donations from our wonderful community. If you are looking for a way to help others and give back, consider volunteering with G.A.P.! If you're ready to get started, visit here: http://eepurl.com/g57dUD... And if you're interested in making a donation, assisting with fundraising or becoming a sponsor, send us an e-mail to: [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

Volunteer Spotlight Leslie Gibson We plan to introduce members of the G.A.P. team in the coming weeks and this week we start with our Community Garden Coordinator Leslie Gibson. Originally from Hamilton, Scarborough and Aurora, Leslie moved to Gravenhurst five years ago. She has been volunteering with G.A.P. since the summer of 2019 and was herself recruited by another volunteer. ... This year we had a total of 32 garden beds located at the Gravenhurst schools, Gateway Worship Centre, Trinity United Church, Taylor Chiropractic and the Centennial Centre. These gardens play a very important role in our food program. We're so grateful for all of Leslie's hard work and dedication towards growing G.A.P.'s garden initiative.

Meet Kim, Dave and their boys Kyle & Joey It is bittersweet that we say so long (for now) to Kim, Dave and their wonderful family. They have been part of the G.A.P. program since prior to Covid-19 and while we're excited to say that Dave has found employment, that it will be taking them further north and we won't be able to see them on a weekly basis. They asked us to share their story with the community to encourage people that their donations are in fact making a huge di...fference in the and how grateful they were for the support. "Our boys are going to miss the Thursday G.A.P. deliveries. They would get so excited when they heard the driver knock on the door with the box of food. Thank you so much for making our Thursday a day to look forward to. It has helped us out a lot." Congratulations on the new job and the exciting next chapter - we're filled with pride and are wishing you all the best! You'll always have a home and a welcoming community back here in Gravenhurst and we look forward to future visits.

Thank You Anderson Produce! We are blown away and so grateful for the generosity of Barry Anderson and Anderson Produce, who this week, donated all this incredible produce towards our Food Program! With our community gardens preparing to wind down for the season the timing of this donation couldn't have been better. We know our recipients were thrilled to see this much fresh produce. Thank you Anderson Produce!! ... Want to get involved with G.A.P.? E-mail us today... there is a wide variety of ways to support the cause: [email protected]

It's Food Day! We'd like to thank everyone who joined us last night for our first-ever AGM. Thank you to Jody North of MiND AID for being our Keynote Speaker and sharing your story. Thank you to our former and our new Steering Committee and everyone who has a hand in what G.A.P. does. We'll have more follow-up, including a link to where you can watch the recorded AGM on our website, in the days to come. In the mean time... it's food day! Reaching 100+ households and 300+... people each week would not be possible without the hard work of our drivers and our MUSCLE. Pictured here is Shrey (in the middle) and his brother Om (right). These boys are the muscle that gets every one of those food packages from the basement of the church to the delivery cars outside. This is no small task and we are super grateful for all of their hard work and their positive spirit as they do it. We also received a very special donation of produce for today's food packages that we'll be talking about a bit later. Stay tuned!

Important Info About Tonight's AGM ZOOM Details Below! Unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are unable to gather with everyone in person for the G.A.P. AGM. With that said, we are grateful for technology and are fortunate enough to be able to meet virtually through Zoom. ... We have an exciting line-up tonight including our Keynote Speaker, Jody North from MiND AID - who will be speaking about Mental Health Navigation & Support for Young People in Muskoka. Itinerary: Opening Remarks Keynote Speaker Questions Introduction of new Steering Committee Closing Remarks If you have a question for G.A.P., we ask that you direct it to [email protected] and they will be answered by the Steering Committee. If you would like to tune-in and follow along, the link below should bring you to our virtual meeting on Zoom. It may ask you to download Zoom, but an account is not required for tuning in. As long as you follow the link below (or enter the Meeting ID when prompted, also below), then you should be able to participate. We are planning to record the AGM and will be hosting it on our website for those who miss the event tonight. Please join us tonight at 7:00 PM. Here are the Zoom details... Join the Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3843841022 Zoom Meeting ID: 384 384 1022

IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE This is an update to inform the general public and those interested in attending our AGM, that due to the recent change in Covid-19 restrictions (in regards to public gatherings), we've decided that the safest and most responsible decision is to host our AGM virtually through a web-service called Zoom. We would much rather be gathering in person and connecting with one another again, but with safety in mind, we think this is the best choice avail...able at this time. Additional information will be shared tomorrow, along with the link to follow along with us over Zoom. Stay tuned. More to come.

Volunteer Spotlight David Wetherald We plan to introduce members of the G.A.P. team in the coming weeks and this week we start with our new Food Coordinator, David Wetherald. David, retired, has been a permanent resident in Gravenhurst for 3 years after spending 8 years cottaging here. He is originally from Oakville and the Toronto area. ... We asked David what inspired him to get involved with G.A.P. and he told us that after years of working with United Way in the city, that he wanted to get involved with a local charity and be part of something that helped locally. He read about G.A.P. in the newspaper and the rest is history. Well David, thank you for your hard work, your dedication and all that you do for G.A.P.!

REMINDER: G.A.P. AGM Wednesday Night In-person seating limited due to Covid-19, but feel free to follow along for the LIVE Broadcast. Details to come.

Kahshe Lake RA Donates $3,500! Thanks to an incredible fundraising initiative led by the Kahshe Lake RA and Kahshe Cares - who hosted a wonderful Drive-In Movie Night in early September - they were able to raise $3,500 for G.A.P.! We are so grateful for this support and it speaks volumes about the community we live in. Please join us in thanking all of the people who attended the event, donated at the event, had a hand in organizing and running the event. THANK YOU! ... ( Pictured: left to right: Margaret Taylor, President of the KLRA; Gord Robinson, Event Organizer; Bonnie Dart, Vice-Chair of G.A.P. and Joanne Twist, Chair of G.A.P.)

Good Isn't Something You Are - It's Something You Do. We had a wonderful day yesterday packing and delivering for our Thursday Food Day. It really does take many hands to pull together all of the necessary moving parts to make it possible - especially in a Covid world - so we are so grateful to all of our volunteers, supporters and sponsors. In the coming weeks and months we're going to introduce more of these amazing people to you and begin sharing more of their stories as we go behind-the-scenes of G.A.P.!

REMINDER TODAY @ 12:00 PM Join us for a virtual speaker series! Gravenhurst Against Poverty presents.... ... Building Community Compassion Speakers Series "Bridging the GAP out of Poverty" With Kelly Jones & Sam Ennest Bridging the GAP out of Poverty will be presented by Sam Ennest and Kelly Jones from YWCA Muskoka. Sam and Kelly will be sharing their personal experience with poverty and the resources they acquired to thrive in the Muskoka Community. You are being invited to deepen your understanding and connection into the term Poverty. The definition of poverty is the extent to which an individual does without resources. There are 11 resources that all people need in order to thrive, if one falters the others tend to follow. Having an understanding of basic needs such as food, water and shelter is the starting point to which an individual would want to even seek external resources. By helping one another we can all achieve sustainability and thrive. Interested? Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eStXIHKFRjCG7weKnsxJzw

THIS THURSDAY: Virtual Speaker Series Just a reminder about our Virtual Speaker Series, Title: Bridging the GAP out of Poverty, taking place THIS Thursday. --... Gravenhurst Against Poverty presents.... Building Community Compassion Speakers Series "Bridging the GAP out of Poverty" With Kelly Jones & Sam Ennest Bridging the GAP out of Poverty will be presented by Sam Ennest and Kelly Jones from YWCA Muskoka. Sam and Kelly will be sharing their personal experience with poverty and the resources they acquired to thrive in the Muskoka Community. You are being invited to deepen your understanding and connection into the term Poverty. The definition of poverty is the extent to which an individual does without resources. There are 11 resources that all people need in order to thrive, if one falters the others tend to follow. Having an understanding of basic needs such as food, water and shelter is the starting point to which an individual would want to even seek external resources. By helping one another we can all achieve sustainability and thrive. Interested? Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eStXIHKFRjCG7weKnsxJzw

Gravenhurst Against Poverty (G.A.P.) Learn More & Get Involved: www.GravenhurstAgainstPoverty.com

Are you looking to volunteer with G.A.P. or to sign up for our Newsletter & Communications. Complete the form below and we’ll add you to our list. http://eepurl.com/g57dUD