A group of retired women from Perth are giving back to the community, and they’re pulling it off by turning their hobby into something productive.

The Community Caring Quilters, an organization composed of women from all over Perth, first got involved in charity roughly 3 years ago when one of their members put together a campaign dubbed “Quilts for Katrina,” a local drive aimed at helping the victims of the hurricane that devastated communities living along the gulf coast.

Ruth Oblinski, the woman behind the endeavour, would forever remember the warm feelings she and her friends had by helping those in the south. From then on, they’ve tried to help any charity they’d come across.

In one of their more recent drives, the group of quilters partnered with “Connections,” a program that helps families in need in Lanark County. Connections provides support to numerous families all over the county, giving them food, clothes, and other basic necessities.

The quilters donated hand-made quilts to these families, which were custom-made and had names of the children they were given to.

The Community Caring Quilters is made up of 20 members, and they hope that other women, and men for that matter, follow their example and help the community in any way they can.

Little Landon Bedor may be only 4 years old, but he’s not letting his age keep him from working hard in the kitchen, helping out his mom Breanna bake cupcakes and cookies for the less fortunate kids in the Caribbean nation of Haiti.

For the past two weeks, Landon has been keeping himself busy baking treats for Haitian children who’ve been left to fend for themselves after their parents were killed by the devastating earthquake that struck the country’s capital city of Port-au-Prince on January of this year.

Make no mistake about it, Landon is taking this seriously, and even his mom knows it. He whips mixes of General Mills into shape, telling his mom the ingredients he needs and instructing her to crack eggs and watch over the oven.

According to Breanna, Landon just came up to her with a box of cake mix, saying that he wanted to bake cupcakes and sell them in Ottawa for the orphans in Haiti. She asked Landon why, and he was quick to respond that he was moved to do something after seeing a picture of a young Haitian girl with a broken arm and a devastated building behind her. The picture was part of a presentation at the benefit concert for Haiti held on January 22.

The mother and son tandem have so far raised $225, and Landon doesn’t seem to stopping anytime soon.

Two dollars may be a trivial amount of money to some, but put dozens of $2 donations together, and you just might have more than enough money to help people’s lives change for the better.

Matthew Barnabe, who owns Barnabe’s Your Independent Grocer here in the Town of Perth, Ontario, was pleased to announce that the President’s Choice Children’s Charity recently gave grants to two local families who have disabled children at home. The grants were taken out of the funds donated by regular customers and raised by the store’s employees.

Tracey Cote’s son Dylan Vardy, who suffers from daily seizures due to cerebral palsy, was the fortunate individual to receive a grant of $20,000 to be used in the purchase of a special van with a wheelchair. They got the grant as a Christmas gift two days before the 25th of December in 2009. Tracey says the van makes trips a lot easier and safer.

Perth resident Shawn O’Connor couldn’t be thankful enough after receiving a $4,000 grant for the purchase of a special mattress for his son, who also suffers from cerebral palsy. His condition has caused him to suffer from bed sores and skin ulcers, requiring him to have an expensive mattress his father could never afford to buy without assistance.

Barnabe said he’s proud to have lent a helping hand to those in need, and added that he couldn’t have done without the help of his staff and regular customers.

Perth’s history with Canada’s naval forces was recently celebrated through a special presentation at the annual Heritage Gala held at Code’s Mill.

HMCS Carleton’s commanding officer, Commander Mike Hopper was at the event to present Perth Mayor John Fenik with a specially framed picture of the naval warship named after the region, the HMSC Lanark. The presentation is but one of many events held in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Navy, which was established in 1910.

Other special guests at the celebration were General Don McNaughton, who delivered a keynote speech, as well as Afghan ambassador to Canada, Jawed Ludin.

According to Commander Hopper, the centennial celebration’s theme is to “Bring the Navy to Canadians.” It is the Canadian Navy’s desire to highlight and strengthen the historic links between the navy and the different communities in the country, he said.

He added that while the Town of Perth is some 500 kilometers away from the nearest ocean, many of the town’s residents have joined the navy to serve their country. This presentation serves as a way of recognizing the sacrifice these men and women have made, he concluded.

Mayor Fenik on the other hand, was proud to accept the gift on behalf of Perth’s residents.

The 20-unit low-cost housing project in Perth kicked off last week on the 17th of February, and Perth Mayor John Fenik couldn’t be happier at how the partners that made the development possible came together to work for the betterment of the community. He went as far as to say that the partners are the best of everything.

Appearing during the project’s groundbreaking ceremony last week, Fenik said that he’s excited with what the future holds for the Town of Perth, especially after how everybody in the community seemed to look after one another with the planning of the project.

Indeed, the day was an exciting one for those in Perth.

Located along Rogers Road, the 20-unit project will cost $1.69 million to construct. But the best part is that 15 out of the 20 units will be specially designed for individuals and family members with special needs.

The project was made possible by the efforts of the federal and Ontario government, the Town of Perth, the Lanark County, and investors from the private sector. Designed by Perth architect Geoff Hodgins to be a structure that uses energy efficiently, the 2-story building is slated to be fully operational and ready for occupancy by mid-summer.

The Lanark County Food Bank is ridiculously busy these days and volunteers working with the charitable institution wonder if the need for help will ever subside.

From January 2009, the number of people in need of assistance has steadily increased as the months passed by, this according to the food bank’s executive director, Natine Kennedy. She also noted that more people have come to the food bank for help, with 519 in January this year, a significant increase to last January’s 402 people.

Kennedy is worried that the trend won’t stop any time soon. If the recession is indeed over, she says her team of volunteers certainly haven’t felt it yet. “It’s a battle here every month”, she adds.

Since December of 2009, more and more people have begun to flock in asking for food and a place to turn in for the night. She said that it’s heartbreaking to see these people, most of whom are embarrassed to be asking for help but are left with not choice.

The food bank is presently tending to 241 adults and over a 100 kids in Carleton Place, while the rest of the clients are from the Almonte, Perth, and Smith’s Falls area.

Residents from the Town of Perth as well as workers from the local branch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario have a real reason to smile, as a brand new AED, or Automated External Defibrillator was deployed for patients a few weeks ago.

The deployment of this medical device was made possible by the help and donations of Canadian organizations such as the Heart & Stroke Restart a Heart, the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund, and Transamerica Life Canada. The deployment of the new AED means that Perth now has a total of 14 machines which are under the Lanark County PAD program.
According to statistics released by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, over 40,000 Canadians suffer from sudden heart attacks every year, most of which take place at home, at work, or at public locations. For every minute the patient is unattended to, his or her chances of living are reduced by 10 percent.

David Sculthorp, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, hopes that AEDs become common one day, used in even the most remote places in Canada. Only through the help of the community, volunteers, and sponsors like Transamerica Life Canada can this become possible, he added.

Perth, Ontario’s sister city, Perth, Scotland, is celebrating its 800^th birthday this 2010, and officials from the Canadian town are working to put together a delegation which will be sent to the Scottish city.

The city, which sits along the banks of the old River Tay and has a population of 43,000 residents, is gearing up for a host of anniversary celebrations and events this summer, these include visits from dozens of sister communities scattered all over the world. Some of the centuries-old city’s twin communities are from Gernmany, France, China, and of course, here in Ontario. Officials from Perth, Scotland have promised to welcome their guests to the city like family.

While the city is a place rich in history, it’s grown to become a major shopping and retail district today for surround communities. The city boasts of a large shopping centre matched with wide sidewalks, and a great number of specialty shops like antique stores and the like.

And like Perth, Ontario, the city also has big swimming facility. Opened in the 80’s, the Perth Leisure Pool is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s premiere tourist destinations.

Officials from the Canadian town are already buzzing with excitement, as the lucky delegates who will be sent to Scotland will get first-class treatment, complete with a tour of the city’s sights and attractions.