Checking in with The Gathering Place, Hallmark Movie POVs, NDA Tennis & The Railway that Helped Build Canada!
Published 11 days ago • 5 min read
The Devastating Impact of Food Insecurity in 2025
Echo Podcast Roundup
Checking in with The Gathering Place
In this week’s episode of Echo Essentials, we go behind the scenes at The Gathering Place—North Bay’s frontline solution to food insecurity. Chris Piekarski visits The Gathering Place to sit down with Board Chair Peter Gregory and Operations Manager Alicia Smith to unpack the truth about who really uses the service, how they’ve slashed costs by 31%, and why sustainable monthly donations are now more critical than ever.
Share this episode and be part of the change. Visit https://thegatheringplacenorthbay.ca/ to see how you can help support their mission.
Making Movies in a Small Town, Complete with Hallmark Snow and Magic
In this episode, Kelly from Hideaway Pictures shares what really goes on behind the scenes of those cozy, small-town movies you see on TV. We talk about filming Christmas scenes in the middle of summer, working with fake snow, and what it’s like managing a movie set in North Bay.
She also opens up about switching careers, building something from the ground up, and how the local film scene has brought new life and energy to the community.
Telling Canada’s Story by Rail with CBC’s Melody Jacobson
In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, CBC producer Melody Jacobson joins us to talk about her work on a new CBC special that dives into the history of trains in Canada.
From the role of sleeping car porters to the impact on Indigenous communities to rock concerts that rolled across the country, Melody shares what she learned along the way.
Listen when it goes live here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-141-cbc-radio-specials
Big Football Clash, NDA Tennis and Lakers Lacrosse Remains Perfect
This week features a big win for Algonquin over West Ferris in Sr. Football at the Baron’s field last Friday. NDA Tennis also held their fall tournament with winners getting a place in NOSSA next week.
Our Spotlight Interview features the Lakers women’s soccer team. Coach David Bitonti and players Annika Nolte & Cassidy Brooks joined us in studio to talk about their season and what to expect during the playoffs. The Lakers varsity-club lacrosse team continued their perfect season with wins over Brock and McMaster.
In this week's The F Bomb Show, we dive deep into discussion with our guest Gisele Roberts on her experiences to becoming a well known leader in research, commercialization and development.
Nipissing Serenity Hospice’s signature fundraising event smashed its goal
Credit: Nugget.ca
Nipissing Serenity Hospice management was thrilled to announce that this year’s Hike for Hospice fundraiser has now raised over $141,000, surpassing the $100,000 goal. It’s now the largest, single fundraising event in the history of the Hospice.
Since its inception in 2016, Hike for Hospice has raised over $800,000. “We appreciate all the support that we’ve had from the communities that we serve. The ongoing commitment never ceases to amaze us. We truly are grateful,” said Gil Pharand, executive director of Nipissing Serenity Hospice.
Fundraising is essential to the Hospice’s operations, said Pharand, even though the hospice is funded by the provincial government...
Rebuilt Resources celebrates 33 years of recycling and over $1 million donated locally
Credit: BayToday.ca
Celebrating 33 years of serving the community, North Bay’s Rebuilt Resources continues to turn people’s unwanted items into treasures for others and ultimately, money for local organizations.
Over its three-plus decades, Rebuilt Resources has made substantial contributions to local organizations.
“It has been well over a million dollars. We did $160-thousand just last year,” CEO Maureen Brazeau noted.
Some of the recipients through the years have been One Kids Place, the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation, the Crisis Centre, the Gathering Place, and the North Bay Food Bank. Rebuilt is also proud to “provide job training and employment to people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged individuals.”
Province funding nearly 70 internships across Nipissing
Credit: MyNorthBayNow.com
The province is providing $2.1 million to help 68 job seekers across Nipissing gain work experience. MPP Vic Fedeli announced the funding through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund’s Workforce Development Fund.
“The Ontario government is helping people access meaningful career development to grow the skilled workforce needed for Nipissing’s economic growth,” says Fedeli. “Today’s $2.1 million investment provides internship opportunities for a variety of companies and organizations, including small businesses, not-for-profits, post-secondary institutions, and manufacturers, which reflects the diversity of the NOHFC’s People and Talent Program.”
West Nipissing schools come to the aid of the food bank at a critical time
Credit: CTVNews.ca/northern-ontario
Five schools in West Nipissing are celebrating after coming to the aid of the municipality’s food bank by collecting thousands of pounds of food at a critical time.
There were cheers and clapping outside of École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité on Thursday afternoon as the students lined up Lévesque Street in Sturgeon Falls. They formed a human chain, passing bags of donated food to one another into a trailer, which was driven to the food bank.
Students from École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, École élémentaire catholique La Résurrection, École élémentaire catholique Saint-Joseph, Sainte-Marguerite-d’Youville Catholic Elementary School and Christ-Roi Catholic Elementary School went door-to-door across West Nipissing, collecting non-perishable food items, other food products and cash donations for the West Nipissing Food Bank.
This is the 25th annual Thanksgiving food drive fundraiser. It brings schools and the community together, said high school teacher Yves Lafrenière. Last year, the schools broke their own record, collecting 22,000 pounds of food and $4,300 in cash...
The Costs of Hospice Care, Advancing Outdoor Education, & the NDA Football Finals is Set! Echo Podcast Roundup Provincial Support and Fundraising with The Nipissing Serenity Hospice This week on Echo Essentials, Chris sits down with Bernadette Lindsay, Fund Development Coordinator at the Nipissing Serenity Hospice, to uncover the financial truths behind hospice care in Ontario. From eye-opening budget gaps to community fundraising efforts, Chris and Bernadette dive into what it really takes...
What's Next for the Trout Lake Watershed Development Study? Echo Podcast Roundup What Froze Development on Trout Lake for 40 Years? In this episode of Echo Essentials, Chris sits down with the City of North Bay’s Planning Manager Beverley Hillier to unpack the long-awaited Trout Lake Watershed policy review. Beverley reveals the reason why lot creation was frozen in the 90s, what 400+ new lots could mean for Trout Lake, and how phosphorus, septic systems, and shoreline buffers are now at the...
Discover The Von Doeler Ranch Origin Story! Echo Podcast Roundup How a Missed Trip on the Titanic Led to a 100-Year-Old Ranch What do a missed voyage on the Titanic and a single curly horse have to do with one of Northern Ontario’s most beloved ranches? Elana von Doeler sits down with Lisa and shares the story behind her family’s ranch: a beautiful ranch built by hand, powered by horses, and shaped by generations of hard work and heart. The Von Doeler Ranch is more than just land and animals....
