Residents who are helping build peace in the community are being recognized by the YMCA.
This week, the YMCA of Timmins has been celebrating Peace Week, which runs from Nov. 18 to 25.
An annual highlight of the week is handing out Peace Medals to people and groups in the community who promote participation, empathy, advocacy, community and empowerment.
This year’s medals were given to Christina Geddes, the Yo Mobile, and Nicole Gillard and Mel Chartier from Project Love.
“The recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal demonstrates that peace has many dimensions. They show us the importance of building communities, locally, nationally or internationally, where people feel that they belong and are included. Most often their actions started small and grew into something bigger than themselves. That is the power of peace,” said Wayne Bozzer, CEO at the YMCA of Timmins, in a news release.
The Yo Mobile was founded by Mario Dussault. It is a non-profit organization that provides warm meals and clothing free of charge to the less fortunate. The Yo Mobile is at the City Hall parking lot on Friday and Saturday nights to distribute the meals and clothing, many of which are donated by the community.
Geddes was a catalyst for a warming station at SpeakEasy, the Timmins Native Friendship Centre and the Canadian Mental Health Association Intrepid Place. She is also the past president of the Rotary Club of Timmins-Porcupine, has a blog called My View From Up Here, and started the Timmins and Area Awesome Women’s Facebook page.
“Her heart is as big as herself and she wants only good things for Timmins and all of the people who make up this community,” reads the YMCA bio.
Gillard and Chartier recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of Project Love. Twice a week, the group serves up a hot meal to people in need at the Mountjoy United Church. The service has expanded to offer packed lunches for school children twice a week as well.
Aside from the award ceremony, the YMCA has been marking Peace Week in other ways.
The group is donating 80 lunches to Project Love. The lunches are given to school children in need and will be distributed next week. A night of food — including hot chocolate, soups and sandwiches — is also being donated to the Yo Mobile.
Children in the YMCA programs have also been participating.
They have been collecting socks for Socks Timmins, created a Peace Tree, and made Christmas cards for nursing home residents.
