A helping hand

Volunteer hours are scarce in Thunder Bay these days, but Larry Brigham is convinced a new electric pallet jack will help alleviate a shortage at the Regional Food Distribution Association.

The RFDA chair said the machine, made possible through a $7,345 grant by the Thunder Bay Community Foundation will make life a lot simpler and a lot less labour-intensive when they open their new Syndicate Street warehouse next year.
 
“This is going to mean that we do not have to handle every piece of food by hand. We’ll be able to do It electronically and we’ll be able to free up our volunteers and we’ll be able to use them in other ways,” he said.


“Some of them are getting older and to use them in some thinking work, some cleaning work, some maintenance work, that sort of thing, is better.”

The grants was one of 24, totaling $87,600, given out by the TBCF on Tuesday at the organization’s annual grants luncheon.


Laura Meisner represents the Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force, which got $2,500 for safe talk training.

Meisner said it’s her experience that youth want to talk about their problems, with adults, but the service isn’t necessarily readily available.

The grants should help to that end, she said.

“Part of the money we received here is to do some training with adults and gatekeepers in our community, to enable them to be able to speak with youth about the issues of suicide, to recognize the warning signs and to have really meaningful, safe conversations with the young people of our community,” Meisner said.

About 45 different organizations made applications to TBCF for funding, many familiar, but some new ones too, said Mark Wright, chairman of the grants and scholarship committee.

“It was not an easy decision at all and it never is,” Wright said.

TBCF executive director Paul Wolfe said they seek out organizations that have fewer funding options, and based on need in the community, the proposal and the track record of the organization.

“These are organizations that don’t have large charitable fund-raising machines attached to them. A small organization like Harbour Youth Services, these are small organizations and a one- or two-thousand dollar grant makes a world of difference,” Wolfe said.

Other recipients include the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay, the Lakehead Search and Rescue Unit, and Wesway.

The Lake Superior Centre for Regnerative Medicine got the biggest award, $10,000, through the Dr. R.K. Dewar Medical Research Grant, handed out every three years or so. PRO Kids got a pair of grants, one through the Ontario Endowment for Children and youth in Recreation, the other from the High School Grant Makers Club.

The Thunder Bay Community Foundation controls about $6 million in assets and will celebrate its 40^th anniversary in 2011.