By: Mandy Marciniak Correspondent
Gazette News - With the end of the penny era comes an opportunity to give to a worthy cause. Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation is collecting pennies to fund renovations and expansion plans for the Grace Centre. SFCSC acquired the former Grade United Church in May of 2011. “We were approached by former congregates of the Grace United Church here in Sydenham. They were closing their doors because there were down to seven families and about 15 adherents left in the church. They wanted to keep the building in the community and see it used for community events,� said David Townsend, executive director for SFCSC. While Townsend was initially reluctant to take on such a space, he quickly realized that it was perfect for SFCSC. “As I brought in contractors and environmental assessors, we felt that the former church would become a phenomenal place for the community and our services. It would expand our capacity for delivering services and provide a less crowded space for staff. We could open up the Grace Hall for community use and get it back to its original purpose from 1861. We could also get all of our services back into one building.� So, the building was purchased in May of 2011, but the funds weren’t exactly in the SFCSC budget. “We entered into an agreement with the United Church to purchase the building. Because we weren’t an agency
with money sitting around, we entered into a lease-to-own agreement where we are paying rent for three years that is coming off the purchase price. By May of 2014 we have to come up with the remaining funds to buy the building and then it will be ours,� said Townsend. Enter Pennies 4 Grace, a campaign that aims to help raise the remaining funds needed to purchase the building, as well as fund some renovations to the space. “The pennies program is to help with renovations and pay down the cost. We also have a funding application into the Ministry of Health to help build an extension off the side of the building for staff offices, as we currently still have staff working out of the Rural Visions office down the street. We are going to have to fundraise about 25 per cent of the cost for the renovations and purchase price so the pennies program will be directly helping that,� said Townsend. So, how can community members donate? “We have collection jars here and we have a number of jars in Sydenham and South Frontenac businesses. If people have a collection that they would like us to pick up we will gladly do that as well. The end of the penny is kind of a neat time to really help other agencies, and there are a lot of them in the same position that we are. We have already received a couple hundred dollars in pennies which is really great and promising, and we hope to see many more over the coming months,� Townsend said. For more information on SFCSC and Pennies 4 Grace go to www. sfcsc.ca
R0011950054
Collecting pennies for Grace 14th Annual Founders’ Dinner In A New York Minute In support of:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 Ban Righ Hall, Queen’s University *XHVW VSHDNHU LV ¿YH WLPH PXOWL PHGDOOLVW 3DUDO\PSLDQ 7RGG 1LFKROVRQ 6SHFLDO %URDGZD\ SHUIRUPDQFH ZLWK 0LVV (PLO\ )HQQHOO 0DHYH 7RPDOW\ &KULV .RVWHU 7LP 6WLII )RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ YLVLW ZZZ XKNI FD )RXQGHUV RU &RQWDFW /RUL )DJJLDQL DW H[W RU HPDLO /RUL )DJJLDQL#XKNI FD
Presented by:
University Hospitals Kingston Foundation 55 Rideau St., Suite 4 - Kingston, ON K7K 2Z8 613.549.5452 foundation@uhkf.ca www.uhkf.ca
The Frontenac Gazette - Thursday, March 7, 2013 7