HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-12-13, Page 10Page 10
Times -Advocate, December 13, 1995
Feature
There isa need for
donation services
and mobile resources
At its location on Main Street in
Zurich, Blessings Community Store,
otherwise known us Blessings
Unlimited, is a volunteer organization
that provides approximately 5,000
square feet of donated clothes and
household items at discount prices.
Managed by Pearl and Andrew
Kuepfer, the store moved from a small
house up the street to it's present location
in 1985 and has grown since. The store
Pearl and Andrew Kuepfer manage 'Blessings Unlimited', a large volunteer organization in
Zurich, that helps support the local food bank.
Rural Response for Healthy
Children, a Huron County community
action program, will make its resources
more accessible by putting a mobile
resource bus on the road.
Beginning in January, T.H.E. Bus (Toys
in Homes Everywhere), to be operated by
Mobile Resource Librarian Andrea Muir,
will travel throughout Huron County to
offer parents a lending service for toy and
child care equipment as well as books,
videos and activities. The bus will also
provide information on other Rural
Response programs such as immigrant
family support, parent education, child
abuse prevention and education and a
parent support program.
"There are a lot (of customers) that
come in regularly," she said, "but there
are a lot of new people that come in too."
The bus program is an extension of a
Rural Response partner, the Huron Home
Childcare and Family Resource Centre.
Rural Response began in January as a
federal project with an aim to develop
ongoing community-based programs. ,
The organization consists of four other
partners including The Children's Aid
Society, the Huron County Health Unit,
Women Today and the Huron County
Child Abuse Coordinating Committee.
Begun .n Clinton last year, the resource
centre is the largest library of its kind in
the county. According to Muir, Huron
residents who use the resource centre
have expressed a need for such a service
in their communities.
"They may not be able to get here but
we can get to them," said Jane Hoy,
aprogram coordinator at Rural Response.
"(It's)...one way of addressing that
barrier."
Hoy said the new bus comes at a time
when many need it most.
"The provincial cuts affect 400,000
children," she said, explaining isolation of
parents in rural communities and a lack
of transportation add to family stress.
The mandate of Rural Response is to
reach out to people and support families
"so hopefully people don't get into crisis
later on," explained Hoy, adding, "It's
going to be amplified in terms of the
need."
She said the bus, as part of that
prevention, will "give families a real
solid foundation."
In times of cutbacks, she pointed out, a
resource bus is also a way to avoid
duplication of services.
"As the rest of the world is right now,"
she said, (funding)... is unpredictable."
She added funding may have to come
from donations in the future.
"We won't need to do that for a while,"
she said. "But as we move along the time
may come."
In the meantime the organization
focuses on putting needed programs
such as T.H.E. Bus, in place quickly. A
strategy action meeting will be held on
Monday to decide bus scheduling and
locations.
"Elimville has been identified as a
place where families are moving to," said
Hoy, adding it as well as other isolated
communities may be potential bus stop
points.
A bus route will be established with
stops in a maximum of 20 communities
on a two-week rotation.
"Definitely I think it needs to be spread
out throughout the county," said Muir of
the route.
"We really believe that communities
are able to take care of themselves,"
added Hoy, "but sometimes we need to
get together to do that."
"There isn't a lot of education," she
added. "We're building on strengths that
are already there."
Hoy, said programs such as T.H.E. Bus
need to be sensitive to the varying needs
of communities.
With "1,400 toys and resources to
choose from," Muir hopes the bus will
help isolated rural communities in need.
Living on Less: A series by Brenda Burke
To conclude Living on
Less, a five-part series
featuring those affected
by government
cutbacks, a special
look at creative
solutions
has been expanded twice. A top floor was
added in 1992 followed by the
completion of a back addition the
following year.
The community, food bank, also
managed by the Kuepfers, moved from
its original space at the back of the store
to its own location down the street where
it now shares a 4,000 square foot building
with donated furniture, which is also a
part of Blessing's services.
Incoming store money goes to the food
bank, building upkeep and numerous
charities.
"That comes first, purchasing food for
the food bank," said Purl adding beside
non-perishable items, it sometimes
supplies baked goods as well as fruits
and vegetables.
Volunteers from Blessings Unlimited
help with the food bank, which reties
partly on donations from the public.
"The food bank...makes up the major
part of the work," said Assistant Manager
Ruth Zielman-Zehr.
Pearl said not only are more people
donating to both the store and the food
bank, but more people are using
the services of both, and thus
expansions were necessary.
"I think it's the whole
recycling, save -the -earth
kind of thing," said
Ruth, adding "(Why pay)
$70 for a pair of Buffalo
jeans when you can get .
them for three bucks?"
•
Andrew remembers quieter times
when "a dozen customers was a big
day."
"Hopefully the need for the food bank
will decrease but right now it's
increasing," said Pearl, adding half of its
users are regular customers.
"(Blessings Unlimited) was started
with the idea that people in need could
shop somewhere where they felt it was
affordable," she said.
Not only have peoples' attitudes about
buying second-hand items changed over
the years, said Pearl, bitere quality of
donations has improved.
Blessings Unlimited, which offers,
according to Pearl, "anything that makes
a house into a home," also has a
donation bin in Gr nd Bend.
Remembering how the store had three to
four volunteers when the service first
began, Pearl is "amazed" at the rate it
has grown.
..
Andros Muir will travel throughout Huron County
•
with a mobile resource bus In January.