The Orléans Cumberland Community Resource Centre (OCCRC) has launched its annual school supply program funding drive with the hope of raising $22,500 for 450 local school children.
It may be hard to believe for some readers, but there are hundreds of families in Orléans who face financial struggles every day. It may be a family in which a parent has recently lost their job and is having a hard time finding a new one, it could be a family struck by illness, or it could a single parent who is struggling to pay their mortgage or rent, along with feeding their kids and buying them clothes.
The Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre and the Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre already helps Orléans residents through a variety of social programs and supports, including financial and family counseling, crisis support and Early Years programs.
In addition, the Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre runs a food bank, which provides emergency food supplies for more than 1,200 individuals a month which includes more than 350 families of varying sizes.
A number, if not all, of those families struggle to purchase school supplies food supplies for their children, especially as the price for everything from pencils to backpacks continues to go up.
You can lend these families a hand by donating to the OCCRC’s school supply program. Through the program, each child will receive a $50 gift card to help buy the school supplies they need.
The OCCRC is only accepting donations made online. Donations of actual school supplies at the Resource Centre will not be accepted.
To make a donation, simply visit the OCCRC website at www.crcoc.ca/en/children-youth/school-supplies-program/.
The Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre (EORC) is teaming up with Caring and Sharing Exchange to provide free backpacks and school supplies for children in its catchment area which includes Beacon Hill and Blackburn Hamlet.
The Caring and Sharing Exchange is a local charity that provides assistance to Ottawa families and individuals in need, during the Christmas season and the back-to-school season. Donations can be made on the EORC website at eorc-creo.ca/donate.
SAVED BY THE BELL 90s DANCE PARTY at St. Peter High School on Charlemagne Blvd. featuring DJ Mace, DJ Kam and DJ Bounce from 7 p.m. to midnight. Must be 19+. ID required at the door. This is a fundraising event hosted by the St. Peter High School Parents Council. For advance tickets visit 
CUMBERLAND FARMERS MARKET from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the R.J. Kennedy Arena in Cumberland Village with 85 local farmers and vendors ready to showcase their freshest produce, handmade goods, and unique finds.
90s HITS MUSICAL BINGO 7:30 p.m. at the Orléans Brewing Co. 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds. Hosted by Shine.
OYSTER NIGHT every Wednesday from 6-9 pm at the Orléans Brewing Co. Two types of oysters served with lemon, Tobasco, horseradish, salt and mignonette. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd., next to McDonalds.
ORLEANS FARMERS MARKET every Thursday from 11 am to 4 pm in the parking lot at the Ray Friel Recreation Centre on Tenth Line Road. Shop the freshest seasonal produce, meat and dairy, baked goods, prepared foods, crafts and more while getting to know the folks who grew and made it.
