Looking to future community needs at SFCS

Jeff Green | Jun 29, 2022

Greg Fisher got to know about Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) while he was on the board of the Community Foundation For Kingston and Area (CFKA).

Among other Frontenac County based organisations, SFCS was always being considered for specific project grants.

Fisher retired from KPMG's Kingston office in 2009, and moved to South Frontenac. When his stint on the CFKA Board ended, he accepted an offer to join the SFCS Board in 2018, and is now entering his second year as Board Chair.

Much of the attention of the board, and of Fisher as well, is on the fundraising and logistics around a renovation and upgrade to the Grace Centre, which is slated to get underway this fall.

“A lot of people know who we are, that we provide services for seniors and adults in need; the Adult Day Program, fresh and frozen meals on wheels, and the food bank, but not that many realise the scope of our agency, that for example, we put on about 21 different programs,” he said in an interview following his address to the SFCS Annual Meeting on June 17.

He said that the current facilities, (which include two portables that were acquired for free from the Limestone Board because they were already outdated and have now been used by SFCS to house admin offices and the food bank for another 11 years) “have more than reached their best before date”.

The portables do not have running water, and not only do admin and food bank staff need to go into the Grace Centre to use the washroom, food bank operations are severely hindered.

The new food bank facility will have a washing station sufficient to clean and prepare produce that comes from the on-site garden and greenhouse program, as we donate produce, but it will also have a cold storage room, and offer a much improved experience for volunteers and food bank users alike. It also includes washrooms.

“David Townsend, our Executive Director, has explored every avenue for government funding to upgrade our facility, without success, and a couple of years ago our board realised that we were going to have to do it ourselves, with only local support.”

He said that when South Frontenac Township agreed to provide $750,000 in funding for the construction of a 3,200 square foot addition to the Grace Centre, which will eliminate the portables and give both agency staff and food bank users a facility designed for what he said are “the future needs of the community”, it was a real shot in the arm for the project. It underlines the fact that this is not a project for our agency, it is for the South Frontenac community in general.”

There are more than 8,000 seniors in the SFCS catchment area, which includes South Frontenac and rural Kingston, and Fisher pointed out that while all of the projections for demographic change differ in some details, a significant increase in that number, over the next 20 years, is common to them all.

Last month, in preparation for a fundraising drive to raise the balance required for the construction project to be paid in full, (SFCS is awaiting the final tender results) a series of workshops were held around the township about the project and the breadth of services SFCS offers, all of which are designed to make aging at home, for as long as possible, more viable for seniors and adults in need.

Last week, the Storrington Lions Club made a $12,000 commitment to the project, (see sidebar) and Fisher said that one of the reasons for the donation is that the Lions and SFCS share a commitment to food security and to the wellbeing of local residents.

“The Lions donation is another boost for us,” he said.

For his part, SFCS Executive Director was taken with the support the agency received at the Annual meeting.”

“I need to thank our board members and everyone in the community who have supported us through the last two, difficult years,” he said.

“At our annual meeting, it was great to reflect on the past year and to learn more about our Community First Capital Campaign from Greg Fisher, and the impact we are having on the community, and the changes we are excited to make,” he added.

Townsend also thanked both Mayor Ron Vandewal, and Councillor Alan Revill, who made personal donations to the campaign.

Over the summer, the capital campaign will be underway, and donations are being accepted at SFCS.ca by clicking the donate button and choosing Capital Campaign on the donation form.