New Path Foundation with the development of the Common Roof Project is excited to be part of the significant growth presently occurring in Orillia. With the expertise and support of many local building and business professionals New Path is proud of the beautiful functional building located at 169 Front Street South in Orillia. It is currently home to eight non-profit human service organizations; soon to be ten with room for more, all which address the basic but vital needs of our families in the community through counseling, support services, access to resources and group therapy programs.

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 Orillia Common Roof officially opened it doors in October 2011.  A welcoming lunch was held for all staff in the building on November 23rd, hosted by New Path Foundation.  Glen Newby, President and CEO of New Path Foundation, along with Paul Pratt, Board Chair, welcomed the staff of the various agencies to their new home.  Each staff was presented with a welcome letter and small gift.

This past June, while attending the Coffee Time Network meeting I heard that Georgian College was initiating a new work placement opportunity for their 2nd year Social Service Worker Program students. Traditional work placements usually involve a one on one approach where a student works in an agency or setting that mimics an after graduation job experience. However, with potentially 140 students vying for these placements it became clear that another option was needed.

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.

Months ago designer Douglas Hamilton spoke of some of the features that were to be incorporated into the retrofit of the Common Roof building at 169 Front Street South in Orillia. The addition of natural light through massive walls of floor to ceiling glass as well as well as a skylight in the centre atrium open to 3-floors have been incorporated into the design of this building as one of these features.  Harnessing lots of natural light into the Common Roof centre was identified by those who will be working in it as a vital commodity.

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.

The Common Roof is a multi-tenant, community-based social enterprise centre that provides quality, affordable, sustainable, and professional work and program space for human service non-profit agencies.

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.