2018 Community Involvement Nominee Information

Q1 Tell us about your business. What is your product, what service do you provide?
We provide dance training and dance education for all ages and all abilities.

Q2 Who are your clients?
If you have a passion and love for dance, or just want to try it out, we are the place to be. Our youngest dancers are 18 months to 70 years young. Parents are following in their children’s footsteps and taking adults classes.

Q4 Please describe how your business or staff have been active in the community over the last year. (Include a description of the type of support, whether it be financial, products in kind, or volunteer time of owners, managers and employees)
The Studio School of Dance is a community in itself. Our staff and parents are truly supportive of each other, with the best interests of the children in mind. We welcome new families weekly with open arms and support each other through the wonderful moments of raising a child as well as the challenging times. With this wonderful group of staff members and families working together, we are able to participate in the Santa Claus parade every year and host fundraisers for the Lanark County Food Bank.

 

Q5 Why is the business committed to community involvement? (Make Carleton Place a better place to live? Help people in need? Partner with specific organizations? Is the policy written or informal? How is it communicated to the employees and the community? How is the policy reflected in the work the business does?)
It takes a village to raise a dancer! We want the community of Carleton Place and surrounding areas to feel as though they are part of our little dance community. Community involvement isn’t a policy it’s who we are as a business. This is our 6th year in business, and we look forward to further growing our involvement with more local organizations in the years to come.

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Parkit360 Inc.

Q21Tell us about your business. What is your product, what service do you provide?
We manufacture and sell Power Trailer Movers.

Q2 Who are your clients?
Our customers are any camping, boat, or leisure trailer owners across North America.

Q3 Please describe how your business or staff have been active in the community over the last year. (Include a
description of the type of support, whether it be financial, products in kind, or volunteer time of owners, managers
and employees)
Throughout the year, we volunteer our services and money to supporting local charities like the Carleton Place Hospital, CHEO, Susan
Shirley, Cornerstone Landing Youth Services, Senators Foundation, and the Calvary Christian Academy. We sponsor and participate in
fundraising events for these charities, for example attending various Charity Golf Tournaments this summer and creating signage for
these events.

Q4 Why is the business committed to community involvement? (Make Carleton Place a better place to live? Help
people in need? Partner with specific organizations? Is the policy written or informal? How is it communicated to the
employees and the community? How is the policy reflected in the work the business does?)
We want to do everything we can to support our local hospitals and charities. At one time or another, these special groups have touched
the lives of many in our community, and this is our way of thanking them for all of their hard work and dedication.

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Luxart Homes

Q1 Tell us about your business. What is your product, what service do you provide?
Homebuilder – we build beautiful and friendly neighbourhoods.
Q2 Who are your clients?
Our neighbourhoods are filled with wonderful people and we welcome new friends every day!
Q3 What were your business’s most important achievements in 2018? (Include examples such as financial success, awards, recognition, growth of markets, new products, job creation, on-going stability. Examples may also include leadership, economic spin-offs, payroll, community involvement, attraction of new markets)
We are proud to continue to be very involved in supporting our community, and to continue to provide the excellent service for which we are known.
Q4 In your opinion what is exceptional about your business? Why do you feel that your business merits nomination as People’s Choice Business of the Year?
We work very hard to make our homeowners and our community happy!
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Black Tartan Kitchen

Q1 Tell us about your business. What is your product, what service do you provide?
Black Tartan Kitchen is a casual fine dining restaurant in the heart of downtown Carleton Place. Our dishes celebrate the current season and showcase local products from Lanark County and the Ottawa Valley. Our service is best described as hospitality: making our customers feel welcome, at home, and well-fed (the wine helps too).
Q2 Who are your clients?
Our clients are the reason we strive to create the best dining experience we can. We cater to a wide demographic. Our clients come from Carleton Place, Ottawa and beyond, drawn by our unique combination of a comfortable atmosphere combined with culinary excellence.
Q3 Please describe how your business or staff have been active in the community over the last year. (Include a description of the type of support, whether it be financial, products in kind, or volunteer time of owners, managers and employees)
We at Black Tartan Kitchen believe in community involvement and helping out where we can. We help the Lanark County Food Bank (LCFB) by making pasta sauce, soups, and croutons for their clients. Chef/owner Ian Carswell also teaches monthly cooking classes to volunteers and clients of the LCFB and donates a dinner-for-two at each class. This spring Black Tartan lead the catering for the BOGO dinner and in partnership with other local businesses organized the 2018 SummerFeast to raise money for the LCFB. Ian participated in the “Three Chefs and a Food Bank” event last fall. We also work with the Owl Cafe by donating the proceeds of the bread service and by donating pizzas to youth events as well as hosting a lunch at the restaurant during March break. Black Tartan participated in the Therapeutic Riding Program’s annual gala by providing appetizers. Ian volunteered with the Junior Achievers and lead financial literacy workshops for Grade 8 students at two local high schools. Black Tartan donates gift cards to numerous community events and organizations and participates in all BIA events to help promote downtown Carleton Place.
Q4 Why is the business committed to community involvement? (Make Carleton Place a better place to live? Help people in need? Partner with specific organizations? Is the policy written or informal? How is it communicated to the employees and the community? How is the policy reflected in the work the business does?)
Black Tartan Kitchen is committed to community involvement because we believe in supporting the community that supports us. We partner with the Food Bank because it is an organization that can directly benefit from our culinary skill set and in-house equipment. We partner with the Owl Cafe because we have a personal understanding of the challenges faced by those with autism. From the beginning, we made it a company mandate to become a pillar of the community and actively find ways to help others. Our business is a small family-run restaurant and we have been fortunate to find caring employees who share our beliefs.
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Lanark County Food Bank – The Hunger Stop

Q1 Tell us about your business. What is your product, what service do you provide?
We provide safe and nutritional food assistance to persons in need using the acquisition of food resources through donations, fundraising events, and collaborating with community partners.
Q2 Who are your clients?
1 in 8 Canadian households experiences hunger. How many houses are there on your street? These are our clients!
Q3 Please describe how your business or staff have been active in the community over the last year. (Include a description of the type of support, whether it be financial, products in kind, or volunteer time of owners, managers and employees)

Beyond providing emergency food assistance to those in need, The Hunger Stop has been engaged in the community in numerous ways over the past year: • Our hands-on education program has reached children as young as 3 and youth as old as 23, and been an integral part of curriculum units with students coming to us who are learning about homelessness, community partners, and social justice issues. These are the leaders and community builders of tomorrow! • Recognizing the food insecurity is not a stand-alone issue but reflective of very tangible physical, social, or financial crises, we piloted a very successful Community Navigator program, connecting our clients with programs and resources, and advocating on their behalf. Filling bellies is the important first step but addressing the many varied root causes for hunger in our communities and attempting to lift people up from this place of hardship and desperation is just as much a part of our mission. No one should have to choose between food for themselves or their loved ones and a warm, safe, place for them to sleep. • Our annual Community BOGO (Buy One Give One) Dinner provides not only a wonderful evening for our community supporters, but an exceptional night out for an equal number of our clients. For a few short hours they can not only enjoy a delicious top-notch meal, but dress up, go out, and participate in community, just like “everyone else”. • We offer monthly cooking classes open to anyone struggling to put food on the table. • We sponsored several children to participate in each session of the “Kidz in the Kitchen” program run by CP & District Youth Centre. • Whatever bounty is more than we can use, store, freeze, or cook into sauce or soup – we share with other organizations that serve marginalized or challenged populations, such as Lanark County Interval House, Lanark People First, The Hungry Lunch, Mills Community Support, Carleton Place & District Youth Services, Mississippi Mills Youth Centre, Lanark County Mental Health, Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre and numerous others.• We strongly believe in buying local, supporting the grocery store owners and butchers that support us. And perhaps by investing in our local economy we keep a handful of people from needing to seek our services. • Just by the nature of our business, we bring together individuals, businesses, organizations, and groups to work together in support of others.

Q4 Why is the business committed to community involvement? (Make Carleton Place a better place to live? Help people in need? Partner with specific organizations? Is the policy written or informal? How is it communicated to the employees and the community? How is the policy reflected in the work the business does?)

Without the involvement of our community, The Hunger Stop would cease to exist. Not only is this the community we serve, it is the same community which sustains us. With no funding from any level of government, we are completely dependent on the engagement of our community members to donate the food we share; donate the money to purchase the perishables, pay our rent and utilities; and donate the time to collect, sort, and distribute the food to those who need it. Over the last year, we have logged an average of 920 hours per month to ensure our neighbours have food on their tables. As The Hunger Stop employs only one part-time manager, the bulk of this work is accomplished by the 75 or so volunteers who offer us their time, their skills, their compassion, their gas, the use of their vehicles, their ability to lift and carry, their discretion, and their willingness to do whatever is needed. This does not include the countless others who drop donations into our store bins, purchase pre-purchased bags, walk in parades, organize food drives, grow garden produce, educate, contribute to the stocking drives, and support their friends and neighbours in finding assistance with us, helping us to erase the shame associated with coming to a food bank. Equally important to this vibrant dynamic are the numerous businesses who donate product, services and advertising; extend discounts; host 3rd party events; provide temporary storage; and generously offer use of their equipment or loading dock. It is only by engaging our youth, reaching out to our faith communities, providing community service opportunities to restorative justice clients, collaborating with other social service organizations, partnering with local businesses, speaking with school groups, including physically challenged volunteers, and providing a means for our clients to give back through the donation of their time, that we can hope to erase the stigma still associated with food bank usage. And it is this same level of community engagement that will continue to provide assistance for those who come to us tomorrow.