SIRCH moves to downtown Bancroft

April 23, 2019

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

SIRCH has been a big part of the Bancroft community for the past five years. Originally located on Hwy 28 South next to the Kawartha Dairy, SIRCH recently moved into a new space next door to the McDonald's on Hastings Street North.
SIRCH, which stands for Supportive Initiative for Residents in the County of Haliburton is an incorporated non-profit organization with charitable status. Having originated in Haliburton in 1989, SIRCH has since grown to work with both the County of Haliburton and the County of Hastings. The organization now has a location in both Haliburton and Bancroft.
The organization hosts programs in both areas to help with food security and poverty reduction. In the Bancroft area they are looking to partner with other area organizations to help locate gaps in area programming and find ways to fill them to ensure that area families and community members do not fall through those gaps.
SIRCH moved to its new location to make it easier for people with transportation issues to find them and get to them easier. All programs, except for the smash room, that was held in the old location will continue in its new home.
The warehouse also helps the area by keeping household items and clothes from being tossed into the landfill, and by providing shoppers with an opportunity to purchase items that are affordably priced. They also hold fundraisers and events such as their coat drive last year that gave away 420 coats to those in need. The volunteers on that program hope to beat that benchmark this year.
The warehouse employs six people and they are currently working to raise funds for more programs in the future and they appreciate donations of any sort of items.