Community Caring Makes A Difference In Hartington

The Portland Township Community Caring Centre is a small charity, by global standards. But as Alyce Gorter, Chair of the Community Caring Board of Directors, pointed out to the volunteers at the quarterly Community Caring Board meeting last week, “you all make a difference.”

The meeting began on a sad, but positive note. A tribute to Lynda Penrose, one the the “Thursday Girls” at Community Caring, who passed away in July. Community Caring is Tuesdays and Fridays, and one Sunday a month, but the heart beat of the agency is the Thursday

sorting day. That is when crews sort through all of the donations, and decide whether the items should go in a bag, on a shelf, be included ins surprise bag, or in recent months, put aside for consideration for the Community Caring Facebook Marketplace site.

Lynda was the book specialist at Community Caring, among other community and charitable pursuits. She also was a dog owner, and when she passed it was not easy to find a home for he dog Jerry. But a small organisation in Kingston, Pawsitive Thinking, cares for and find

homes for dogs. It is affiliated with a for profit business dog daycare and training centre, Whoozagooddog. Curtis Froom runs Pawsitive Thinking as a passion project, and he outlined how his charity works, and how they found a

good home for Jerry.

To help out, Community Caring donated $500 from their fundraised dollars this quarter to Pawsitive Thinking.

Another donation was made to the Foundation associated with the Hartington Fire Station, South Frontenac Fire Station 4. Lynda Penrose's family provided $5,000 and Community Caring topped up the donation to $7,000.

As Stan Ritchie, the Deputy Fire Chief at the station, the money will be used for extra equipment for the local crew, beyond what is provided by the fire department. This donation is part of an ongoing partnership between Community Caring and the Hartington department, their neighbours

across the road.

But the donations this quarter did not end there. Community Caring provided $10,000 each to the South Frontenac and North/Central Frontenac Food Banks, $5,000 to the Verona Community Association, $5,000 to the Loughborough Christmas Fund, $5,000 to Community Mental Health, and $5,000 to Southern Frontenac Community Services to support programming. And that was just this latest set of donations.

So far in 2025, the little store in Hartington has donated $114,000 to local charities. In addition to raising money, Community Caring also is dedicated to providing affordable day to day items for a diverse customer base. Everything in the store is priced to be as affordable as possible,

and it is best to arrive early on store days, 9:30-2pm on Fridays and 10am – 2pm on Tuesdays, as the parking lot at the Princess Margaret Building in Hartington fills up quickly, and the best items go fast.

In the coming months, more innovations to the store are in the works. Right now, the biggest need is for more volunteers, and as the relatively new chair of the Community Living Board, that is Alyce Gorter's main focus, to make sure that the specific interests and skills of each

volunteer who comes forward is integrated, and that everyone has a good time, the first community at Community Caring is the volunteer

community that runs the store.

“I feel that we are on a good path,” she

said in an interview this week. “We have great community support, of course, the township does as much for us as they can possibly do, businesses are there for us as well, and as you could see at our meeting last week, at the end everyone was chatting, enjoying each others company, young and old.”

For more information about Community Caring or to volunteer, ask at the store, go to their Facebook page, or call Alyce at 613-572-2608