Trillium foundation funds new training program

January 20, 2016

A 12-week, full time training program will teach basic carpentry skills to eight to 10 trainees, as well as creating a new line of upscale outdoor furniture (deck boxes, water barrels, dock caddies, etc.) out of wood. SIRCH Community Services, a charitable organization that operates the Thrift Warehouse on Hwy 28 south of Bancroft, successfully applied for the $75,000 grant last summer.
Works of Wood will not only provide skills and employment training in carpentry, but will offer high-end, beautiful wood products at Thrift Warehouse and in other select locations.

The North Hastings community has been welcoming to Thrift Warehouse, which opened next to Kawartha Dairy last April.
The Warehouse is a 6,000-square-foot space that takes donated items and sells them at low prices – furniture, lighting, clothing, housewares, building supplies and other used items. The training program was a natural extension, as the Warehouse is part of the now-defunct Bancroft Door and Window Factory. “We are very excited about the potential of Works of Wood” said Gena Robertson, the executive director of SIRCH Community Services.

“Since we opened a Thrift Warehouse in North Hastings, we’ve been able to employ two people full time and up to four others part time.

“With Works of Wood we hope to create a whole new market and employ even more people in North Hastings. This is the first step.”
Works of Wood has been funded as a pilot by the Ontario Trillium Foundation under a seed grant to determine the potential.

The full time course, which is starting Feb. 29, is being co-ordinated by Sherry Hayes who manages the Warehouse, and taught by Don Zilstra, who has previously taught college-level trades. People interested in taking this training program should contact Sherry at 844-847-4382 or bring in their resume.
Submitted