Rotary club helps those in need

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

The Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood stepped up to the plate and gave two donations to charities that help those in need.

Two cheques for $1,000 each were donated to Feed the Need in Durham (FTND) and the Back Door Mission.

Lennis Trotter, the president of the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood, explains they chose FTND because it is an organization which filters down to every food bank in the region.

“Basically, by giving it to Feed the Need, it then goes to the other food banks, which are supposed to be under Feed the Need, and there’s several food banks in Oshawa,” he explains.

He goes on to say they chose the Back Door Mission because of the organization’s work with Oshawa’s homeless population.

“We were told 80 per cent of the clientele for Back Door Mission live in tents,” he says. “Basically, they’re producing over 100 meals that they hand out through the door – now of course with [COVID-19] it’s over 130 meals a day, and there’s also a pantry there, so the people that use the Back Door Mission in Oshawa can also get food.”

Ben Earle, the executive director at FTND, is thrilled to be receiving their donation.

“It shows that our community is supporting the work that we’re doing, especially at this time, as we’re responding to the crisis in our community,” he says. “Getting support from a local Rotary club shows that our community is here for the work that we do, and is supportive of us.”

Earle explains the organization’s network served about 5,000 individuals last month, and they’re now seeing those numbers rise.

“This support is helping us do that,” he says, adding $1,000 gives them about $7,000 to $8,000 worth of food to those individuals.

Between April 1 and April 30, Earle says FTND was able to distribute 140,000 lbs. worth of food, which is almost a 50 per cent increase over April 2019.

Earle explains FTND has seen an increase in support from local businesses, organizations such as Rotary clubs, and individuals who are showing support for their work.

“We’re seeing a great community response right now,” he says.

Derek Giberson, the board president at the Back Door Mission, says a donation of $1,000 from the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood is “hugely appreciated.”

“We’re doing a lot more than we have ever been doing here with the multi-service hub, and it means that community support is absolutely critical to being able to do what we’re doing,” he says. “We’re not doing it by ourselves, so seeing a donation like this come in is fantastic.”

With all of their new work on the table, Giberson says the money will go towards these new expenses, such as their new seven-day per week meal service.

“We are in the middle of a shower and laundry facility project, and although we have received a grant for a significant portion of that, we are still relying on some of the community donations to help us,” he says.

Trotter gives his thanks to these two organizations for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you to the organizations for your assistance to the people of Oshawa during this pandemic. Thank you for the work you’re doing,” he says.