It's easy being green in Whitby - Digilog at UOIT and DC - Durham ...

20 The Chronicle November 29, 2011 Campus
Miles
Faber
and the
art of
dance
Durham College
and UOIT
prepare to
welcome celebrity
choreographer
Tara Oades
FEED THE NEED: Danielle Rocque and Scott Ryall show off some of the food collected during the Trick or
Eat event. Ninety per cent of the food goes to food banks across Durham Region to help those in need.
It’s time to Feed the Need
Tara Oades
The Chronicle
Christmas is just around
the corner. A joyous time, but
with the added stress of shopping
for loved ones, planning
a party, and hoping that there
is a perfect tree out there ready
to be decorated, it can be hectic
for most.
Unfortunately, for many
people residing in Durham Region,
Christmas isn’t all presents,
parties, and trees, but
a discouraging time of year
where the financially challenged
worry about being able
to afford enough food to feed
themselves and their family,
finding warm clothes, and even
having a place to stay warm to
survive the cold.
According to the 2011 provincial
hunger count, around
400,000 people across Ontario
accessed a food bank at least
once during the last year, and
50,000 of that total resided in
the Durham Region.
Luckily, there are options
that can help those individuals
who don’t have the means to
live independently.
In Oshawa alone there are
many reputable organizations
with the primary goal of serving
the people of Oshawa and
Durham Region who need extra
assistance. Feed the Need Durham,
and St. Vincent’s Kitchen
are two of them.
Feed the Need Durham is a
non-profit organization with a
distribution warehouse located
at Townline Road and King
Street.
Every month this warehouse
collects about 150,000 pounds
of food from various companies,
communities, and grocery
stores, and distributes it to
food banks and soup kitchens
across Durham Region, said
Fred Borg, a long-term Feed
the Need volunteer.
“Thousands of people in
Durham Region rely on food
banks and soup kitchens for the
necessities,” said Borg. “Feed
the Need is run mainly by volunteers,
and we are always
looking for new volunteers…every
day is a busy time, not just
the holidays.”
Feed the Need Durham volunteers
sort through the food,
drive trucks to pick up and
drop off food, and can even run
individual food drives.
The distribution warehouse
is capable of accepting all
types of food, including frozen,
canned, boxed, etc. in any
amount. Individual monetary
and food donations are always
welcomed, but people are encouraged
to visit the Feed the
Need Durham website at www.
ftnd.ca for a list of the most
needed items.
“We get a lot of canned food
items,” said Nadine Abdallah, a
Feed the Need volunteer. “But
we also accept things like ice
cream, juice, and any kind of
hygienic necessities.”
Feed the Need Durham distributes
food to over 40 food
banks, and soup kitchens in
Durham Region. One of the
most important in Oshawa is
St. Vincent’s Kitchen, located
downtown at 51 King.
St. Vincent’s is open seven
days a week and provides lowcost
nutritional meals to individuals
and families who can’t
afford food.
“We serve about 200 people
every day, around one-third of
them are children under the
age of 18,” said Kristin Raymond,
a 63-year-old volunteer
at St. Vincent’s. “Each meal
costs $1.25, but many organizations
and churches buy tickets
and will distribute them for
free to people who can’t afford
to pay for the meal.”
The kitchen is open Monday
to Friday from 3:30 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from
3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday
from noon to 2 p.m.
“It’s a good environment,
and everyone who works there
is understanding, and they
don’t look down at you,” explained
a regular guest at St.
Vincent’s. “I have been going
to the kitchen for around two
years now, ever since I lost my
job… It’s hard sometimes but at
least there are places to go.”
St. Vincent’s Kitchen receives
no funding from the government
and relies on donations
from companies, individuals,
and various institutions
across Durham Region.
St. Vincent’s also runs a discount
clothing store where donated
clothing items are sold at
a low price to people who can’t
afford new clothing. At times
clothing is given out for free
to people who are extremely
needy. All proceeds go directly
to the soup kitchen, explains
Julie Ursini, a volunteer at St.
Vincent’s.
Aside from Feed the Need
Durham and St. Vincent’s
Kitchen, many companies, institutions
and individuals put
on food and gift drives to help
out the community during the
holiday season.
Some examples include
the secret Santa campaign at
Zellers, which gives elderly
people with no family a chance
to receive a gift on Christmas,
and the Seguin family gift drive,
which has been going on for the
past five years.
“Every member of the family
gives a monetary donation,
and collects perishable food
items, and searches through
their homes for used toys still
in good condition,” said Cathy
Seguin. “Then we wrap them,
tag them as a secret Santa, and
deliver everything anonymously
to a family who needs it.”
Most of the time the Seguins
know the family personally, or
that they could use a little help
to get through the holiday season.
“Everyone deserves to have
a good Christmas,” said Jessica
Seguin, Cathy’s youngest
daughter. “I feel good knowing
that I helped someone out.”
Durham College, and UOIT
also do their part in ensuring
that people in need receive the
necessities to survive.
For example, the Trick or
Eat food drive, which was put
on by the Campus Food Centre
on Oct. 31, collected over 2,000
pounds of food, for food banks
and soup kitchens around Oshawa.
“Ten per cent of the food
collected was put towards the
Campus Food Centre to help
students on campus, who can’t
afford to buy food,” said Barb
Bryan co-ordinator of outreach
services. “Around 70 students
visit the Campus Food
Centre every month for toiletries
and food that they can’t afford.
We are always looking for
volunteers”
Low-income families, students,
and even children need
help this holiday season, and
throughout the year, which is
why food banks, soup kitchens,
and even the Campus Food
Centre all need volunteers and
donations to help run the services
that many Durham Region
residence rely on to survive.
‘
Just having Miles
there, teaching us his
style and culture is a
huge blessing.
Wayane Carrasco
’
Chealse Howell
The Chronicle
Have you ever wanted
to take a hip hop dance
class? Well now is your
chance. H.E.R. along with
O.U.C.H. is holding a free
dance workshop for all
Durham College and UOIT
students.
The workshop will be
held Wednesday, Nov. 23,
from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
at the Durham College –
UOIT’s gym.
There will be a special
guest, professional dancer
Miles Faber. Faber’s success
has had led him to
work with many celebrities,
such as Shawn Desman,
Ludacris, 2 Live
Crew, Dirty Vegas, Blake
McGrath, MC Hammer
and many more.
Faber has choreographed
and also been
featured in many films and
television shows, including
MTV’s Turn the Beat
Around, Disney’s Frenemies,
Score and A Hockey
Musical.
Although it is a free
event, they will be taking
money donations all night
to go towards O.U.C.H.
Wayane Carrasco,
member of H.E.R., is very
excited and honoured to
have Faber teaching at the
workshop.
“Just having Miles
there, teaching us his style
and culture is a huge blessing,
I’ve been a fan for
years and so have all of us.
So its an awesome opportunity
to collaborate,” said
Carrasco.