A Place Called Home celebrates OTF Grant at Homeless Awareness Dinner

By Lindsay Advocate

Local poverty reduction advocate Brian Walsh addresses guests at A Place Called Home's Homeless Awareness Dinner, which took place at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on October 14, 2023.

Last Saturday, A Place Called Home (APCH) provided a special meal at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for area residents to mark World Homeless Awareness Day. The local non-profit group also took the opportunity to acknowledge the impact of a $69,700 Resilient Communities Fund grant that it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in 2022 to hire a new Fund Development Coordinator to help it rebuild and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

“A Place Called Home continues to be a beacon of hope and support in our community,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. “This crucial addition to their team will further strengthen their ability to make a positive impact in the lives of those they serve.”

Jen Lopinski was hired as the new Fund Development Coordinator at APCH to help create a new fundraising vision, to ensure future sustainability and the expansion of its services. Since receiving the OTF grant, Lopinski has been able to create new initiatives like the Mural Art Project and Bike Share program as well as continue to build on existing fundraisers such as the Kawartha Lakes Classic Cycling Tour and Mark-a-thon event, the agency’s largest annual fundraisers. Events such as the Homeless Awareness dinner noted above enables the agency to increase homeless awareness in the community to increase understanding, reduce stigma, and helps the organization share important information about their services.

“With donor fatigue on the rise, it is more important than ever to have a dedicated Fund Development Coordinator to help us improve and expand our fundraising efforts,” said Jen Lopinski, APCH. “We sincerely thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for giving our A Place Called Home the tools to improve our organization’s sustainability.”

A Place Called Home has been providing emergency shelter services to the homeless in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County for over 25 years. Our mission is to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home at the end of their day. For more information about A Place Called Home, please visit apch.ca or contact Jen Lopinski at 705-878-6817.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

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