Gravenhurst Against Poverty to Launch
Community Hub & Young Adult Centre
Fundraising Campaign
Hello G.A.P. Donors, Volunteers and Supporters,
Thank you for all that you do to help Gravenhurst Against Poverty provide meaningful support to our community. Your personal and heartfelt commitment to making a difference for others is deeply appreciated.
As you may or may not know, many of our neighbours subsist on seasonal employment at minimum wage with high rents. Others are without work and are on social assistance.
It is not enough.
Fresh food is scarce and mental stress is high, contributing to serious health problems. Some of our neighbours enrolled in the G.A.P. food program are homeless and living in motels as temporary housing supported through the District’s homelessness prevention program. During the tourist season, the per diem cost for these motels becomes prohibitive to the District budget and these individuals are then supported to live in tents.
It is not how any of us would choose to live.
G.A.P. has a dream.
We have shared with you our hope of building community support in the core of Gravenhurst that is strongly connected and visible; a multi-purpose Community Hub with a Community Kitchen and dedicated Young Adult Centre all primarily run by friendly, welcoming volunteers and trained youth mentors. The Ing Building on the main street of Gravenhurst has space for all of this plus 10 affordable housing units and 2 emergency shelters.
The G.A.P. Executive Committee met recently with the director of Raising the Roof, a non-profit national leader in homelessness prevention, and the CEO of Community Builders, a not-for-profit construction-based Social Enterprise focused on providing training, employment and affordable housing. In partnership with G.A.P., Raising the Roof is applying for a $500,000 United Way Reaching Home Grant.
We have obtained letters of support for this application from Mayor Paul Kelly, MPP Norm Miller, MP Scott Aitchison, Ryde Coop, Mind-Aid, the District of Muskoka, and other support organizations.
We need to raise additional money to become part-owners of this building and sustain G.A.P.’s presence in the Community Hub / Young Adult Centre in perpetuity. For this purpose the G.A.P. Steering Committee has approved a $500,000 Fundraising Campaign.
I, Bonnie Dart, am asking you to consider making a personal pledge to this much-needed project. My husband Bruce and I are making one. For us, it is a substantial amount, but we are happy to make it so that Gravenhurst can have a community building that not only creates affordable housing and emergency shelters but also provides Wrap-around services for those who need it.
Members of the G.A.P. Steering Committee are also making pledges as well as other members of the community.
Please consider what a substantial pledge would look like for you. It will be different for everyone. We want each person to have an opportunity to be a part of building the dream.
Already in one week we have gathered pledges amounting to over $200,000! (October 21st Update: $442,000 raised to date!)
To make your pledge, in confidence, please email: [email protected]
At this point, all we require is your pledge. A pledge towards the G.A.P. dream.
Bonnie Dart
G.A.P. Steering Committee Chair
Thank you for all that you do to help Gravenhurst Against Poverty provide meaningful support to our community. Your personal and heartfelt commitment to making a difference for others is deeply appreciated.
As you may or may not know, many of our neighbours subsist on seasonal employment at minimum wage with high rents. Others are without work and are on social assistance.
It is not enough.
Fresh food is scarce and mental stress is high, contributing to serious health problems. Some of our neighbours enrolled in the G.A.P. food program are homeless and living in motels as temporary housing supported through the District’s homelessness prevention program. During the tourist season, the per diem cost for these motels becomes prohibitive to the District budget and these individuals are then supported to live in tents.
It is not how any of us would choose to live.
G.A.P. has a dream.
We have shared with you our hope of building community support in the core of Gravenhurst that is strongly connected and visible; a multi-purpose Community Hub with a Community Kitchen and dedicated Young Adult Centre all primarily run by friendly, welcoming volunteers and trained youth mentors. The Ing Building on the main street of Gravenhurst has space for all of this plus 10 affordable housing units and 2 emergency shelters.
The G.A.P. Executive Committee met recently with the director of Raising the Roof, a non-profit national leader in homelessness prevention, and the CEO of Community Builders, a not-for-profit construction-based Social Enterprise focused on providing training, employment and affordable housing. In partnership with G.A.P., Raising the Roof is applying for a $500,000 United Way Reaching Home Grant.
We have obtained letters of support for this application from Mayor Paul Kelly, MPP Norm Miller, MP Scott Aitchison, Ryde Coop, Mind-Aid, the District of Muskoka, and other support organizations.
We need to raise additional money to become part-owners of this building and sustain G.A.P.’s presence in the Community Hub / Young Adult Centre in perpetuity. For this purpose the G.A.P. Steering Committee has approved a $500,000 Fundraising Campaign.
I, Bonnie Dart, am asking you to consider making a personal pledge to this much-needed project. My husband Bruce and I are making one. For us, it is a substantial amount, but we are happy to make it so that Gravenhurst can have a community building that not only creates affordable housing and emergency shelters but also provides Wrap-around services for those who need it.
Members of the G.A.P. Steering Committee are also making pledges as well as other members of the community.
Please consider what a substantial pledge would look like for you. It will be different for everyone. We want each person to have an opportunity to be a part of building the dream.
Already in one week we have gathered pledges amounting to over $200,000! (October 21st Update: $442,000 raised to date!)
To make your pledge, in confidence, please email: [email protected]
At this point, all we require is your pledge. A pledge towards the G.A.P. dream.
Bonnie Dart
G.A.P. Steering Committee Chair
