Bracebridge first responders head door to door for those in need
As a growing number of locals are struggling to keep their heads above water financially, residents of South Muskoka came together Monday to help their own.
On Monday evening, Bracebridge firefighters, paramedics, and politicians rallied together with other community groups for the annual Door-to-Door Food Drive. Once they heard the sirens coming, residents would head outside with their donations in hand, passing them off to one of many volunteers tasked with the collection efforts.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
"This is a great community event leading into the Christmas season and quite frankly just shows the power of the season in terms of people wanting to give, people wanting to support those that are struggling," Bracebridge Mayor Rick Maloney said to CTV News.
The event has been taking place for more than 25 years, says Maloney. In addition to the politicians and first responders, many sports teams, scouting groups, city staff, church congregations and college students also volunteered some of their time.
All donations collected went to the Salvation Army South Muskoka Food Bank, which is seeing the demand for its services rise weekly.
"One of the big things that we're noticing is people living in hotels with nowhere to cook or nowhere to prepare their meals, so we're having to come up with new ideas on how do we best serve the people when they don't have a place to prepare their meals," said Lt. Brandon Keeping of the local Salvation Army.
With food prices rising, Keeping says its clientele is shifting to include many families, elderly people and single men.
"A night like this one, it stocks our shelves hopefully as long as we can into the rest of the year," said Keeping. "But this is probably the biggest night where we get to show the community what we're about but also give the community a chance to give back."
Despite the chilly temperatures and hectic schedules, many have this time of year, the mayor says it's never a challenge finding volunteers.
"A lot of times we see our first responders, our fire department respond with lights and sirens for emergencies; in this case, it's all about goodwill," said Maloney. "To see the Bracebridge firefighters and the community working together, to see them walking down residential streets, to see them engaging with our community members, our residents, I tell you it is just one big community event."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.