The wall quilt depicts a variety of local flowers representing the 9 founding tenant agencies and took Lippert over 200 hours to  make. The quilt is now hanging in the Orillia Common Roof lobby for everyone’s enjoyment and will later be installed  in  the 1^st floor atrium to make space for the Living Wall.

The Grand Opening festivities, themed to celebrate families, will begin at 1:30 p.m. and will include greetings from local dignitaries, plaque installations, plus  building tours starting at 3:00 p.m. to showcase  tenant programs, an art work display, community kitchen cooking, and native drumming.

The New Path Foundation  event is open to the public and invites community members to attend in anticipation of the Family Day Holiday later in the week.

The showpiece and exciting addition to the entrance of the newly retrofitted 36,000 square foot building will be a living wall, the first of its kind in Orillia. The Living Wall is a vertical hydroponic green wall of plants that will be installed in the lobby of the building, providing clean air while bringing the outdoors in.

Currently, New Path Foundation is looking for support through the Orillia Common Roof Living Wall Fund of which the funding campaign will be chaired by local Real Estate Broker Bob Johnson.

“New Path Foundation has been a client of mine for over 5 years. I believe in the Common Roof philosophy and this Living Wall project will provide a healthy, clean and calming environment for clients as well as those who work and visit the Common Roof. It is very exciting to be involved in a project that will be a first for Orillia.”

The Nedlaw System, with the Active Living Wall, has been selected for the design and installation in the Orillia Common Roof. Nedlaw Living Walls can enhance the value and performance of buildings with clean air, naturally while providing many health and energy benefits.

The goal is to raise $50,000 for the fund to cover the installation of the wall as well as two years of maintenance. Several levels of sponsorship are available and recognition will be prominently displayed in the building’s lobby.

Neville Twine, Vice President of New Path Foundation accepts cheque from Bob Johnson

Johnson feels so strongly about the Common Roof Living Wall project he has injected the fund with a $5000 contribution while at the same time volunteering to work on the campaign.  “After a five year association with New Path I thought it time to provide them with some ‘sweat equity’ for a very worthwhile undertaking.”             

To support the Living Wall Fund please contact Bob Johnson, Living Wall Fundraising Chairperson at 705-330-7115

Alternatively, you are invited to contact Project Supervisor Laurie Herd at 705-259-7663 ext. 3264 or lherd@thecommonroof.ca

Please click on the following links to view more information on the Living Wall:

Living Wall (Page 1)
Living Wall (Page 2)

The Community Project Initiative was developed as a result with the goal to provide social service agencies with support in meeting their project needs, at the same time providing SSW students with additional field education options using project–based placements.

As Angela Foster a Field Placement Officer for Georgian says, “We knew that there were barriers for agencies due to limited staff resources and space restrictions in their offices, however we also knew there were other opportunities in the community where our students could learn through working on an agency specific project.”

Due to the community efforts of the Polar Bear Dippers at the Orillia Winter Carnival last February New Path Foundation received funds to support a Resource Centre in the Orillia Common Roof facility.

The tenant partners thought it important to provide places within the lobby area of the Common Roof for clients or members of the public to access information about a subject prior to treatment visits or during wait times. Creating a library of resources including contact information, available programs and events of community, county and government organizations is required as well as developing creative ways to present both hard copy stations and display areas for marketing and promotion as well as electronic sources for interactive stations and viewing centres. I suppose that Resource Centre is a misnomer because there will be 5-resource areas within the lobby and waiting rooms on the main floor of the Common Roof.

It seemed to me that the Community Project Initiative and the team of 4 Georgian College Social Service Worker students to be involved would be an ideal partnership to develop, plan, source and implement an amazing Resource Centre for the Common Roof.

Through an application process 5 community projects were chosen and posted on-line for the students to choose their work placement experience. The twenty students involved will be working for 14 weeks 2 days per week on the initiative at the Orillia Campus.

Georgian College staff Laura Morgan (centre) Community Project Liaison with Heather Winters (left) and Angela Foster (rigth) Placement Officers discuss the new field placement opportunity for Social Service Worker students in the development of the Orillia Common Roof Resource Centre.

Laura Morgan, Community Projects Liaison has been meeting and working with community partners to indentify agency needs and how these can align with the SSW student program requirements and is excited to see the program roll out for its first year starting this September.

“The program has been designed to give the students a basic grounding with a 3-segment educational component starting week one covering first, Project Management, second, Fundraising, Networking and Marketing and thirdly will be Community Needs Assessment. They are coming to the table with skills for the project and of course they will be meeting with their community partners to determine timelines and deadlines and will attend progress meetings. It should prove to be a beneficial opportunity for everyone.”

Field Placement Officer, Heather Winters agrees, “Our students will benefit greatly from the networking opportunities that will arise with the community partners plus they will really be able to apply the theory they have learned in class to a practical setting.”

Laurie Herd - Project Coordinator Orillia Common Roof, Georgian College Dean - Mary O'Farrell-Bowers, Community Project Liaison - Laura Morgan and Placement Officer - Heather Winters are pleased to have formed a partnership whereby Second Year Social Service Worker students will take part in Georgian College's Community Project Initiative for field placement experience with the planning and development of the Resource Centre for the Orillia Common Roof.

As for the Common Roof Resource Centre, I am positive it will turn out to be a wonderful and inspiring component of this soon to be open active community centre. New Path Foundation is thrilled with this new opportunity to partner with Georgian College as I am pleased to be able to work with these Georgian students; to rub elbows with their tremendous energy, creative ideas and wonderful talents for fourteen weeks. When the project is complete it will certainly be a community driven resource to be proud. 

We are in the final stretch as the Common Roof construction continues with various groups taking residency at the 169 Front St. S property later this month. There is space still available for your agency to have a home within the Orillia Common Roof. Contact Laurie at the Orillia New Path Foundation office at 705-259-7663 or visit www.thecommonroof.ca for information about the Orillia Common Roof Project.

And so the fact remains that there are numerous groups, all doing good work for our community, out there competing for support dollars so that their programs or services can survive.

A lot of energy, time and people power is expended to research possible funding sources, build a proposal, and apply to the funder with follow-up. Usually even more resources are required to run an event. The rate of success can be directly related to the ‘talent’ that your office employs for writing, publicity and engagement and the time that can be devoted to it.

Most of the human service organizations that I have been involved with would far rather focus on the work that they do rather than ‘fundraise’ to see that it happens. The Common Roof model is a vehicle to help these organizations sustain their program while assisting with their operating budget.

To become a Common Roof partner an organization provides capital funds to accomplish building retrofits. This partner designation provides opportunities that ensure high visibility and affordable space and more importantly future sustainability and potential growth for the agency. What this means is that they are able to participate in a 10-year fixed rate plan and once the mortgage is paid they receive an unrestricted grant equalling 60-65% of their rent.

Nadine Ritchie, Coordinator of the Orillia Housing Resource Centre believes this is a great opportunity. “The benefit for us and for our clients is that we can focus our energy on the work we do, front-line services assisting people to find appropriate housing and less time on fund raising.”

However, fundraising does do more than just raise funds; it provides an opportunity to advertise your group’s vision and mission for those who need the services. Fundraising helps to engage the public about your program; helping to build a volunteer base. Fundraising efforts publicize the need filled by the organization’s mandate and can strengthen the bonds of the people doing the good work.

New Path Foundation has been fortunate to be the recipient of several funding opportunities for the Orillia Common Roof facility since the project started last year. One of the most fun and effective fundraiser for getting the word out about this project was the Orillia Winter Carnival’s Polar Bear Dip that took place in February.

Records of numbers of people came out to brace the cold waters of Lake Couchiching in support of our Common Roof Community Resource Centre and Couchiching Jubilee House’s new ‘house’.

Common Roof ‘chilly dippers’ included 9 Orillia Parks & Recreation aquatics team, New Path staffers Michelle Vennard and Doug Moore with family member Nick and friend Ely who all did a chillingly fine plunge. Media both before and during the event helped to create even more excitement and special thanks goes to Rob Reid of Swisssh Radio.

Jim Storey presenting his pledge of $2500 to Neville Twine of New Path Foundation

However, New Path had a sponsor in the Common Roof corner that got the funds rolling in for this ‘fundraising’ event. Jim Storey, Bradanick Construction’s general manager and contractor for the Common Roof retrofit pledged $2500 to the dippers and challenged others to offer support as well. This challenge started an internal fundraising frenzy and along with pledges from the community dippers resulted in an overall total raised of $9695 for the Common Roof.

Thanks to all who participated, donated or produced to the dip’s efforts the Common Roof is now a house hold name in Orillia.

Other fundraiser events this month by New Path Foundation include: Expand the Reach initiative with speak by Theo Fleury ‘Don’t Quit before the Miracle’, Tuesday, June 7 at 8p.m., Georgian Theatre in Barrie.

Not Just Jazz, Music, Mirth & Magic, Friday, June 17 at 7p.m. South Shore Centre, Barrie. Both events are to support children/youth mental health. For tickets see www.newpath.ca

Common Roof construction is ongoing and should be completed in July with various groups taking residency at the 169 Front St. S property in August. There is space still available for your agency to have a home within the Orillia Common Roof. Contact Laurie at the Orillia New Path Foundation office at 705-259-7663 for information about the Orillia Common Roof Project.

Glen Newby, President and CEO, and Ken Edwards, Director of Finance and Administration, along with Laurie Herd, Orillia Common Roof Coordinator, presented at the recent NonProfit Centres Network (NCN) conference in Los Angeles, California on May 9 – 11, 2011.  The NCN is a bi-national network of non-profit organizations which have realized, understood, and taken the first steps at ensuring agency sustainability through the use of shared space and shared services.  New Path, through the Common Roof projects, has been active on this network for a number of years, attending conferences regularly throughout the United States.  This past presentation focused on New Path business tools and assessment considerations that help determine the viability of going to scale and building the Orillia Common Roof.  The New Path team joined up with the United Way of Greater Houston, which has also successfully accomplished some similar initiatives throughout Texas.  The team was very pleased that over sixty Canadians attended this conference, more than ever in the past.  There is no question that the movement towards multi-tenant facilities is well underway now in Canada.

The NonProfit Centres Network has also just released the first-ever assessment of organizations sharing facilities across the US and Canada, and have documented evidence of what we have known for sometime about the Common Roof:

 “Significant improvements in overall effectiveness and efficiency, ultimately yielding greater impacts for the communities we serve”.

New Path’s Common Roof projects were active participants in this research.  The Executive Summary will be available soon at http://www.nonprofitcenters.org.

Glen Newby has been invited to sit on the NCN Steering Committee for the next three years to help further support and help guide future directions.  Perhaps one day the NCN conference will be held here in Southern Ontario.

According to the Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008, some human factors of adequate lighting in the work place include creating a pleasant atmosphere which gives workers a sense of well-being; improving productivity and efficiency. On the other hand poor lighting can lead to visual fatigue as well as neck and back pain due to poor posture.  Incorporating natural light into the work place has positive environmental spin offs, as well due to less reliance on artificial light sources.

Since the project incorporates an existing building retrofit the construction techniques must work with the overall design of the building from a structural or engineered stand point together with the visual aesthetic while creating a functional and efficient environment for human service program tenants.

Orillia Common Roof project management and engineering rep. from Steenhof Building Services, James Worrall examines one of four corner frames soon to be filled with glass that will provide natural light within the 3-storey building.

“The placement of full 3-storey windows in the exterior corners and end walls helps to incorporate lots of natural light into the building without taking away the structural integrity,” said Steenhof Building Services Group project management and engineering representative James Worrall. “Clean modern lines in the building design create a modern feel while harnessing a look that acknowledges the industrial roots of the area.”

The Common Roof Orillia, a highly visible multi-tenant facility will enhance the mission of partner non-profit organizations, as it allocates efficient use of resources through shared space, services and infrastructure.

The shared component in this case is the natural light. An interior floor plan must work so that all tenants can access this light equally; a challenge when you consider that tenant space requirements on the 2^nd floor range from 100 to 2500 square feet of dedicated floor space within a square structure.

Tenants, as a result, must collaborate and work closely with the designer to see that this situation is addressed fairly, in a timely matter. Finalized interior plans are required before mechanical and cabling systems can be finalized or interior walls are erected.  It all comes down to working together to make the most with what we’ve got; a concept which is driving this project forward.

The Common Roof facility at the corner of Front Street South and Queen Street East will make a statement when it is done in June of this year.

As Designer Douglas Hamilton said, “It will be a handsome building, not pretty or extravagant, but a good strong building with the real beauty being in the way it functions. Sharing space and resources and reducing waste while fostering an atmosphere of collaboration will ultimately enhance the delivery of services.”

A positive outcome that Common Roof tenants, their clients, partners and neighbors and the whole community will benefit as the building becomes alive with human service programs and is fully functioning later this year.

There is space still available for your agency to have a home within the Orillia Common Roof. Contact Laurie at the Orillia New Path Foundation office at 705-259-7663 or visit www.thecommonroof.ca for information about the Orillia Common Roof Project.

Young people, who participate in sports, music or the arts, have unique relationships with their coach for these activities. Our goal is to create a “tool-kit” that would provide coaches with resources to better assist the youth they work with, and therefore capitalize on the close relationship. We hope this means that young people exhibiting mental health problems will receive the support they need earlier. 

We don’t yet know what the “tool-kit” will be, or what will be in it.   It could include a book of resources/phone numbers, mental health information/facts on early identification and intervention, how to approach coaching from a youth engagement model etc. We won’t know until we hear directly from the coaches, and that’s why we’re asking them about their experiences on the front lines. 

New Path Foundation and New Path Youth and Family Services will be celebrating the launch of this initiative with an event on Tuesday, June 7th 2011, Theo Fleury – Don’t Quit Before the Miracle.  Theo Fleury is a former NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup winner and Olympic Gold Medalist. Recently, Theo fascinated readers with his #1 bestseller, “Playing With Fire”. Now he is one of the country’s most in-demand keynote speakers. He shares funny stories behind the scenes with the game’s biggest stars. Theo tells jaw-dropping anecdotes of living hard at the top of the NHL, the crash that followed, and finally his comeback and redemption. Theo knows what it takes to become a champion, build a strong team and overcome incredible odds. His presentations entertain, motivate and inspire.

Details for this exciting event are as follows:

                                  Tuesday, June 7, 2011
                      Georgian Theatre, Georgian College
                                               Barrie, ON
                       8:00 pm – doors open at 7:30 pm

                              General Admission Tickets
                 Adults $20    Youth (24 yrs and under) $5

Tickets are available at the following locations:
Common Roof Barrie 705-725-4970
Common Roof Orillia 705-259-7663
New Path Barrie Office 705-733-2654
New Path Orillia Office 705-325-6161

For further information about this project or event and tickets please contact: Lisa Cluett, 705-458-4338 ext. 248

Multi-tenant here means a centre of collocation; where any number of organizations has the benefit of sharing space, resources, and infrastructure under a common roof.

It is known that office /program space is usually the second largest budget item for human service organizations after salaries.  Add to that the concern for irregular and fluctuating market rents presents difficulties as these agencies attempt to deliver their mandated programs.

Many agencies that serve our community do not receive transfer payments from government departments and so must raise dollars primarily through individual fundraising endeavors. A lot of staff and volunteer energy and time is directed to fundraising efforts just to maintain operating budgets and cherished service programs.

The Orillia Housing Resource Centre has been searching for a home to deliver their service based on the desperate need to ensure privacy for their clients with space that fit their budget. Program Coordinator Nadine Ritchie says, “Coming into the Common Roof presents many benefits including, reasonable rent and privacy for our clients as well as partnerships with other agencies located within the building that can assist our clients. We will be able to focus our energy on the work we do, front-line services assisting people to find appropriate housing and less time on fund raising.”

The services arm to New Path Foundation the lead agency of the Common Roof project, New Path Youth and Family Counseling Services is situated in seven communities within Simcoe County. Six of these offices are collocated with other non-profit agencies and while the model for some of these sites is not identical to the Common Roof model there are synergies and benefits equally important; opportunities for collaboration, improved service integration, and of course ‘one-stop’ shopping for clients.

“Multi-tenant facilities for non-profit organizations are successfully proven as an approach to ensure human service agency sustainability, especially during difficult financial times.” Says Glen Newby CEO and President of New Path Foundation. 

The Common Roof collocation centre provides sustainable costs, long term financial planning, and increased visibility leading to enhanced and expanded program services available to our community residents all within a social enterprise program model.

What is Social Enterprise? The Buzz in non-profit board rooms today is the quest for sustainability…..how to protect and generate funds to support the mission.

Social Enterprise is the vehicle for income generation and social impact with a substantial emphasis on the group’s mission. It can be described as any nonprofit business, venture, activity or strategy conducted for the purpose of generating earned income in support of a nonprofit’s charitable mission. It has a triple bottom line including; do good for people and community, generate a profit and be environmentally friendly.

“Social Enterprise partnerships are now a recognized approach to doing business that enhances the resources available for non-profits to accomplish their mission. The concept has been recognized and endorsed for some time and just recently in the Ontario budget released on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.’’ commented Newby. “New Path Foundation’s leadership has been able to bring together these two “new ways” of doing business by developing the Common Roof projects. The Common Roof model has great benefits for not only the local human service organizations and their client group, but also serves as a stimulus for economic community development wherever we are located.  We are thrilled to have the opportunity to assist the Orillia community.”

The Common Roof^TM was developed by, and is currently governed and operated by, a registered non-profit organization, New Path Foundation, for the sole purpose of maximizing benefits to other non­profit agencies and ultimately the community.  All net revenues generated are directed towards The Common Roof™ mission.

Contact Laurie at the Orillia Common Roof office at 705-259-7663 or visit www.thecommonroof.ca for information about the Orillia Common Roof Project.