SEPTEMBER 2018

GIVE THANKS. GIVE BACK. 9/19/2018

Two local charities are teaming up to issue a community-wide challenge: give thanks by giving back this Thanksgiving by hosting a dinner, party or social gathering to raise funds for those in need. ​ Green Wood Coalition and Local Food for Local Good are inviting hosts and hostesses to register their family gathering, harvest party or community dinner in the Around the Table Thanksgiving Challenge. “Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate what we’re grateful for,” says Nicole Beatty, Volunteer Executive Director of Local Food for Local Good. “The Around the Table Thanksgiving Dinner Challenge offers a way to express your gratitude by giving back.” Between Sept. 21 and Oct. 21, hosts can register their dinner online, where they’ll find promotional material and fundraising tips. Suggestions include hosting the dinner in memory or in honour of a loved one, collecting donations in lieu of hosting gifts like wine, chocolate or flowers, or donating the proceeds of an after-dinner card party. The Thanksgiving event can take place any time during the registration period, and individual donors can request tax receipts for charitable contributions. ​ Green Wood Coalition Community Director David Sheffield says the need has never been more evident than in Cobourg this summer, where he's seen homeless individuals living “in the rough” -- in tents or park benches. The situation only worsens as the weather gets cold.

“When you gather around a table, you’re saying ‘everyone is welcome, everyone belongs.’ When you leave someone sleeping on the street, ​you’re saying, ‘you don’t belong."

​Building this much-needed fundraising campaign around a powerful symbol of inclusion, while remembering how thankful we should be for what we have, goes to the heart of what Green Wood is about. ​ To learn more and register for the Thanksgiving Challenge, visit: www.thanksgivingchallenge.ca or email info@localfoodforlocalgood.ca. ​

COFFEE AND POLITICS 9/14/2018 We're looking forward to some productive discussion when Northumberland Affordable Housing Committee hosts a Municipal All-Candidates Meeting in Port Hope.