Located in the basement of the Seeley's Bay Legion Hall, the R.O.L.L. Aid Centre is a registered charitable organisation, operated by an executive board and a staff of 20 volunteers, serving the residents of Leeds and The Thousand Islands as a food bank and occasional crisis intervention centre. Open every Tuesday morning, the Centre assists residents who show proof of residence and need based on income. Clients are eligible to access the resources of the Centre once a month to obtain a supply of food which is designed to provide for approximately one week. Delivery is available as required.
There are currently 58 households in the township registered with the Centre; an average of 35 per month accessed the food bank in 2014. Serving food bank clients in a consistent manner requires a budget value of over twenty thousand dollars annually. The Centre's largest expenses apart from food inventory are monthly delivery costs and a donation to the Seeley's Bay Legion for the Centre's share of hydro. Contributions from local churches, service clubs, grants from the Seeley's Bay FrostFest and Lyndhurst Turkey Fair, and donations from individuals and two charitable community foundations provided the Centre's operating funding in 2014. Residents of the Seeley's Bay/Lyndhurst area were especially generous during the annual food drive in October when 62 volunteer canvassers collected over 4000 food items and $6200.00. Other fund raising events, such as bingo at Seeley's Bay FrostFest, organised by the Centre's volunteers staff and local school food collections also contribute to the budget. Funding in 2014 also came from the Seeley's Bay Lions Club, the Motorcycle Club, and Seeley's Bay Chiropractic. Funding from individuals, local fetivals, and the Retired Teachers of Ontario in 2014 also provided for the continuation of the Centre's fresh fruit and vegetable voucher program, the summer Community garden in Seeley's Bay, and monthly Community kitchen in Lyndhurst - local food source and nutrition education programs which are also operated by R.O.L.L. Aid Centre volunteers.
New ventures in 2014 include the implementation of a self serve shopping system at the food bank which has been well received by both clients and staff and which was made possible by the renovations accomplished in 2013. Distribution points for the Good Food Box program in both Seeley's Bay and Lyndhurst were also established. A new partnership began with the food bank in Brockville which offers the Centre a monthly source of reclamation products from Brockville supermarkets. In the fall of 2014, the Centre became a member of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, which will offer another new source of inventory as well as access to funding grants and other financial benefits.
Each Christmas season the Centre offers Christmas hampers with major assistance from the Seeley's Bay Lions Club and local schools, as well as other local organisations, churches, and individual donors, and assists the Seeley's Bay Lions Club in its distribution of children's gifts from the Angel Tree program. During 2014, the Centre also provided volunteer hours for high school students, assisted in crisis intervention, and participated in the North Leeds Food 4 All Network which co-ordinates information and family services with food banks in all neighbouring municipalities.
Donna Robinson Administrator, R.O.L.L. Aid Centre
613 387 3245
donrobin@kos.net
There are currently 58 households in the township registered with the Centre; an average of 35 per month accessed the food bank in 2014. Serving food bank clients in a consistent manner requires a budget value of over twenty thousand dollars annually. The Centre's largest expenses apart from food inventory are monthly delivery costs and a donation to the Seeley's Bay Legion for the Centre's share of hydro. Contributions from local churches, service clubs, grants from the Seeley's Bay FrostFest and Lyndhurst Turkey Fair, and donations from individuals and two charitable community foundations provided the Centre's operating funding in 2014. Residents of the Seeley's Bay/Lyndhurst area were especially generous during the annual food drive in October when 62 volunteer canvassers collected over 4000 food items and $6200.00. Other fund raising events, such as bingo at Seeley's Bay FrostFest, organised by the Centre's volunteers staff and local school food collections also contribute to the budget. Funding in 2014 also came from the Seeley's Bay Lions Club, the Motorcycle Club, and Seeley's Bay Chiropractic. Funding from individuals, local fetivals, and the Retired Teachers of Ontario in 2014 also provided for the continuation of the Centre's fresh fruit and vegetable voucher program, the summer Community garden in Seeley's Bay, and monthly Community kitchen in Lyndhurst - local food source and nutrition education programs which are also operated by R.O.L.L. Aid Centre volunteers.
New ventures in 2014 include the implementation of a self serve shopping system at the food bank which has been well received by both clients and staff and which was made possible by the renovations accomplished in 2013. Distribution points for the Good Food Box program in both Seeley's Bay and Lyndhurst were also established. A new partnership began with the food bank in Brockville which offers the Centre a monthly source of reclamation products from Brockville supermarkets. In the fall of 2014, the Centre became a member of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, which will offer another new source of inventory as well as access to funding grants and other financial benefits.
Each Christmas season the Centre offers Christmas hampers with major assistance from the Seeley's Bay Lions Club and local schools, as well as other local organisations, churches, and individual donors, and assists the Seeley's Bay Lions Club in its distribution of children's gifts from the Angel Tree program. During 2014, the Centre also provided volunteer hours for high school students, assisted in crisis intervention, and participated in the North Leeds Food 4 All Network which co-ordinates information and family services with food banks in all neighbouring municipalities.
Donna Robinson Administrator, R.O.L.L. Aid Centre
613 387 3245
donrobin@kos.net
