Gwen PatricK on economic nutrition

Gwen Patrick will be sharing her experience in holistic economic development at Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions conference with her presentation: Economic Nutrition for the Place We Live. Gwen is the Financial Innovation Lead at the Shorefast Institute on Fogo Island, overseeing program execution and financial and economic toolset development.

Like Harmony Centre, the Shorefast Institute is a social enterprise, in fact one of Canada’s largest, working to build economic and cultural resilience on Fogo Island, a 400 year-old outport fishing community critically impacted by the decline of the cod fishery and the related moratorium established in 1992.

She grew up on Salt Spring Island, BC, where she founded the Foundation of Youth, a youth advisory committee of the Salt Spring Island Foundation. While earning her Bachelor of Commerce at Queen’s University, she received the Kehoe Fellowship, enabling her to intern with Shorefast on Fogo Island. After graduation, she obtained her CPA designation and worked in public accounting at a Big Four firm before returning to Shorefast.

For more information on the Small Communities Solutions Conference, click here.

The Small Communities Solutions Conference being held at Harmony Centre on March 29 will learn of a pilot project undertaken by the Grey Bruce Public Health Unit. Heidi Lucas will outline the project which uses Drug Test Strips as an aid in Harm Reduction. Harm Reduction is part of a spectrum of services that supports people to achieve optimal health and wellbeing as they navigate their journey with substance use.

Heidi is a public health nurse on the GBPH Harm Reduction Team and has experience in harm reduction in urban and rural settings and enjoys opportunities to work directly with clients, as well as on population-level initiatives.

For more information on Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions Conference click here.

Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions Conference will hear from Craig Ambrose, Chief of Owen Sound Police Services, on the role of policing in solutions for small communities. His experience will inform his talk entitled “What we have tried isn’t working… so how do we try to balance our approach”

Craig Ambrose grew up, worked, and raised his family in rural Waterloo Region before moving to Grey County and being appointed Chief of Police in January 2019.  He started his policing career over 35 years ago with the Waterloo Regional Police Service.  He held progressively more responsible duties throughout Waterloo Region including assignments in general patrol, undercover work, drug enforcement, homicide, Professional Standards, public order, incident command and criminal intelligence. He gained valuable supervisory experience in all of those areas and culminated in running patrol operations for the city of Waterloo and the supervision of all investigative units as the Inspector and Acting Superintendent of the Investigative Services Division. 

Chief Ambrose sits on both the OACP Community Safety and Crime Prevention and CACP Information Communication and Technology committees. Aside from the daily activities of running a police service, the Chief also oversees the Owen Sound Emergency Communications Centre, a service that provides dispatch communications and IT support to over 60 police and fire services throughout Ontario.

More on Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions Conference click here.

Stuart Reid is confirmed as a speaker for Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions Conference coming up on March 29. His talk will be: Helping Youth in Transition: Rent Supplements Keep Youths Housed.

This program addresses the needs of youth, 16 to 24 years of age, facing homelessness in Grey Bruce, through a rent supplement along with counselling and mentoring to ensure best outcomes.

Over the past year, the project has offered a monthly rent supplement to the first cohort of 12 youth from the By-Names list. By-Name Lists allow communities to know every person experiencing homelessness by name and facilitate efficient decisions around how best to refer housing resources.

YMCA Housing Services delivers the supplement as well as wrap around services, mentoring, and transitional supports that have the potential to significantly change the life trajectory of participants. The rent supplement adds to the supports available from the associated County, meaning that youth will have more money in their pockets, and sovereignty over their situation and finances.

The project aims to lend dignity and autonomy to youth in transition. Our model will track the impact of this supplement and will reflect the changes in life trajectory of the 12+ individuals engaged in the effort.

The program received originating support from the Laidlaw family and the Laidlaw Foundation, the Joseph & Marilyn Hunt Fund, and the Next25 Fund, Project partners include CFGB, United Way of Bruce Grey, Grey Bruce Poverty Task Force, YMCA of Owen Sound Bruce Grey, private donors, and other foundations.

Stuart Reid joined the community philanthropy movement in 2016 as Executive Director of Community Foundation Grey Bruce. A graduate of York University in Toronto, he has over 30 years of leadership experience in Canadian art museums and the non-profit sector. As a passionate advocate for community wellbeing, he is an active volunteer and a board member for the Canadian Crafts Federation. Stuart is an award-winning writer, a certified yoga instructor, and loves living near the shores of Georgian Bay in Annan, Ontario.

More on Harmony Centre’s Small Communities Solutions Conference click here.

Harmony Centre is organizing a gathering of minds intended be a launchpad for workable solutions to some of the most difficult issues facing small towns today.

Who Should Attend Harmony Centre’s Small Town Solutions Conference:

• Local Government Officials: Mayors, council members, city planners, and rural development officers.
• Community Leaders: Leaders of local organizations, small business owners, educators, and non-profit representatives.
• Residents: Active community members who are involved in grassroots movements and local initiatives.
• Experts: Urban planners, economists, environmentalists, and technology innovators.

Get your ticket by February 15 and receive 20 per cent off the $50 registration fee!

Click here to register today!

Fantastic article in the winter issue of On the Bay Magazine highlighting the significant contribution Harmony Centre makes to the Owen Sound Arts Community. Two Harmony’s Residents, Summerfolk and visual artist Kristine Moran are featured.

Read the full story here.

Welcome to Down North Garlic Co. now using the Harmony Centre kitchen to prepare items for sale at farmers markets across the county.

Andrew Russel, the owner and grower of Down North says “our goal is to grow and provide a healthy and high-quality local garlic for our customers and community with a no waste mindset. Although not every bulb of garlic is picture perfect and acceptable for store shelves, we have created the expectation that “no healthy clove is left behind!” Broken cloves, or bulbs with little skin can still be used for creating by-products in our lineup such as powders, black garlic cloves, peeled garlic, oils, flakes and much, much more! ” This is where Harmony Centre comes in. Down North is able to process these items for sale to the public in our approved commercial kitchen.

Amy’s taking a bit of a break this summer to spend more time doing all the fun and exciting things she does during her time off…

Effective immediately, Harmony Centre will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 10am to 2pm.

We’re still around though, and we will continue to accommodate requests outside of office hours as best we can. All of us at Harmony Centre wish you as terrific a summer as we know Amy will have!

Local painting contractor Rob Hassard was delighted when he was invited to teach an Owen Sound District Secondary School class how to paint a room. But he wanted to do it out in the field, not in a classroom. So, he put out the call, and Harmony Centre responded.

“Harmony Centre is a perfect place to teach a group to paint because it’s a charity, and this is a great way of giving back to the community in a very practical way,” he says.

Harmony Centre also has an abundance of rooms, and the Board Room was selected for the project because of its manageable size.

Hassard is excited about the project because he believes that painting is an ability that people carry with them wherever they go. “At some point in your life you’re going to have to paint a room,” he says. “If you have some basic knowledge about how it’s done, then you’re ahead of the game.”

Instruction will be provided on how to select paint, make minor repairs, prepare surfaces for painting, masking, and various techniques for applying paint.

“I hope this will inspire some young people and give them the confidence to take on projects of their own,” Hassard says.

But Rob also believes that painting is a transferable life skill that also teaches about setting goals, problem solving, and patience.

“Everything in life is a process,” he says. “Learn the process – learn to trust it – and you’re all set.”

Harmony Centre is a beneficiary of a new social impact investment program initiated by the Community Foundation Grey Bruce. Social investment is a method of indirect financial support provided to organizations that positively impact the community and the environment.

Under its new program, the Community Foundation will assume the Harmony Centre’s privately held mortgage and set the interest rate for it at below market rates. In exchange, Harmony Centre will continue to operate as a social enterprise that benefits the public by offering a non-profit hub for local performers, artists, and community groups.

By all accounts, it’s a win-win.

According to Lynda Chiotti, chair of the Harmony Centre board, this support from the Community Foundation is rooted in the shared values between these two organizations, and a common commitment to social impact.

“By working with Community Foundation Grey Bruce, we can strengthen our capacity to offer services that foster growth, sustainability, and positive change,” says Chiotti.

Kerry Lee, chair of the board of the Community Foundation echoes this sentiment, adding that this social investment pays dividends to the foundation as well.

“The interest we collect, though lower than what we might expect from conventional investments, remains a revenue stream that we can divert to other meaningful programs in support of local community projects,” she explains.

Harmony Centre, a charity run and maintained by volunteers, has emerged as a model social enterprise in Owen Sound. Every year, thousands of individuals attend performances, workshops, rehearsals, meetings, and banquets at the 150-year-old former church that was saved from an uncertain future more than a decade ago.

Created in 1994, Community Foundation Grey Bruce has a mandate to enhance community vitality by fostering open discussion about local need, sharing knowledge, and growing endowments to provide strategic granting and support to a wide range of non-profit organizations.  Community Foundation Grey Bruce established its Social Impact Investing Fund in 2022. The fund commits one per cent of the foundation’s total assets to local investments that generate a financial return and makes Grey Bruce a better place to live.