PMFRC presents Community Partner Award and honours staff members, volunteer at AGM
The Petawawa Military Family Resource Centre (PMFRC)’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the South Side Community Centre on Sept. 18 showcased some of the organization’s yearly highlights.
“Community engagement is a lot of what we focused on this year,” said Executive Director Claudia Beswick. “We have been ensuring that military families have access to valuable services and we have been building on current and new relationships with the community partners that we are working with.”
Her ultimate goal is to make sure that families feel protected and safe while building strength and resiliency to handle deployments or other time away from their loved ones.
Throughout the last year, in addition to their regular programming, the PMFRC has, in a long list of initiatives, launched the Veteran Family Program, held two Dress to Impress events, saw over 300 clients coached by the Employment Services team, expanded the mental health walk-in clinic, supported 250 children in their Children’s Deployment Program, helped over a 1,000 families with casual childcare, increased the hours for casual childcare, renewed their commitment to gender-based awareness, maintained an active role for Moving On Mental Health Planning, launched a special needs lending library and mobile sensory room, hosted a special needs forum, and had 209 volunteers log in over 6,300 hours that directly impacted the MFRC’s success.
All this was made possible through the help of volunteers and community partners. Every year, one organization or individual is recognized at the AGM for the positive impact they have made on military families with the Community Partner Award.
This year, it was presented to the Pembroke Regional Hospital’s Mental Health Services. “This is critical for our families who may not have a doctor or a mental health specialist in the area,” said PMFRC Board of Directors Chair Julia Graydon. “We are truly grateful and appreciative of the efforts of the Pembroke Regional Hospital for the support they’ve provided us within the past few years.”
Graydon, as well as Private Home Day Care/ Emergency Child Care Supervisor Angie Daber-Roggie and Community Engagement Coordinator Annie Beaudoin were also presented with a Commander’s Coin by 4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa Personnel Services Commanding Officer (CO) Lieutenant-Colonel (LCol) Iain Clark for distinguishing themselves over the past year.
“It is you, folks, that make the PMFRC great,” said LCol Clark. “Facilities are important, infrastructure is important, yes, but it is people that make an organization great.
“People come through the doors that need help, whether it is because of a crisis or they just need a little support to avoid a crisis,” he added. “You are supporting an amazing community. You are the people who are delivering amazing programs and we can’t do anything without you.”
Click on an image to enlarge. Photos by Patricia Leboeuf, Petawawa Post.
