Outreach Programs
For a small Parish we are involved in BIG things
Lake of Bays Parish has several outreach projects.
We continue to support the Primates World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF). We share monthly sponsorship of the community of Karatu in East Africa. We also support Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) and OXFAM.
OXFAM collect used postage stamps for children's programs in the third world. Jim Schell will collect any stamps left at any of the four Parish churches. Patricia Thompson coordinates our work with PWRDF and CPAR and can provide additional information.
Sleeping Children Around The World is a Registered Canadian Charity founded in 1970 by Margaret and Murray Dryden. Their hope and goal was to provide bedkits for one million children in impoverished countries. By February of 2008 the total number of bedkits distributed by Sleeping Children Around The World exceeded 900,000.
For many years the St. AMbrose ACW has supported the SCAW by donating funds to purchase a minimum of five bedkits each year. In 2008 the ACW along with individual donations from Parish members sent funds to purchase twenty-three bedkits.
Some items that go in a bedkit are: warm blanket, sheets, woven ground sheet, wash cloth & towel, clothing, footwear and school supplies.
What does a bedkit mean? A bedkit means a good night's sleep for a deprived child. A bedkit means saving a disadvantaged child from hunger and desease and providing them the opportunity for a better life. A bedkit means employment for dozens of people who assemble the kit.
A bedkit distribution means that the Rotarians themselves, in the process of identifying poor children who meet the qualification criteria for a SCAW bedkit, become more aware of how huge the problem of poverty is in their own country. The experience strengthens their resolve to work harder to raise the standard of living for poor families with additional education and medical initiatives.
Each bedkit costs $35.00. You will receive an official tax receipt and more importantly a picture of the child/children you helped.
If you would like more information or would like to donate to this very worthwhile charity please contact Pat Parkinson 705-767-3233, Sheila Johnson 705-789-4851 or Chris Ellis 705-767-3640