Another Gear Up for Good campaign is coming to a close, and before we say anything else, we want to say thank you.
What started as an effort to help kids head back to school with the supplies they need has become something much bigger. Gear Up for Good is a community effort, bringing together individuals, families, local businesses, organizations, and media partners who all share one goal: helping kids start the school year feeling prepared, supported, and confident.
This year, we are proud to support the Kawartha Haliburton Children's Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters Peterborough, and United Way Winnipeg, helping us extend the impact of the campaign to children and families in multiple communities.
The success of Gear Up for Good belongs to everyone who contributed, and we want to take this opportunity to recognize the incredible people and organizations who made it possible.
Some of our community partners went above and beyond this year, contributing everything from fully stocked backpacks and school supplies to gift cards, pizza vouchers, haircuts, and financial donations.
A very special thank you to DBIA / The Boro and Community Futures for coming together to provide 200 $20 Boro Gift Cards for this year's campaign.
The gift cards were included in backpacks, giving families additional flexibility to purchase items they need while also encouraging support for businesses within our local community.
We are incredibly grateful for this partnership and for the additional support it provided to families heading into the new school year.
A huge thank you to Domino's Pizza Peterborough for generously providing 200 pizza vouchers.
Back-to-school season can be busy for any family, and having one less meal to think about can make a difference. These vouchers provided an opportunity for families to enjoy an easy meal together during an already hectic time of year.
Thank you for helping us add something extra to this year's campaign.
Our thanks also go to Domino's Pizza Winnipeg for generously providing 100 pizza vouchers.
With Gear Up for Good supporting families through United Way Winnipeg, contributions from Winnipeg businesses help us extend the spirit of this campaign into another community.
Thank you for helping make the back-to-school season a little brighter for Winnipeg families.
A colourful thank you goes to Crayola Canada for donating an assortment of markers and pencil crayons for this year's campaign.
These classroom staples helped us add even more essential supplies to the backpacks being distributed to students. We appreciate Crayola Canada for helping kids head into their classrooms ready to learn, create, and explore.
Thank you to Ricart Branded Apparel & Promo for generously donating 22 backpacks, along with toques and hats.
The backpacks helped us reach even more students, while the additional hats and toques provided practical items kids can continue using as the seasons change.
We are grateful for the generosity and for helping us provide support that extends beyond the first day of school.
A special thank you to Kawartha Property and Legal Services for contributing four fully stocked backpacks.
Each fully stocked backpack means another student can walk into school with the supplies they need from day one. We appreciate the time, thought, and generosity that went into putting these backpacks together.
Thank you to the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce for also contributing four fully stocked backpacks to the campaign.
Gear Up for Good has always been about community, and having organizations within our local business community step forward to participate makes the campaign that much stronger.
We are grateful to the Chamber for getting involved and helping more students start their school year prepared.
A huge thank you to McDougall Insurance for an incredibly generous contribution of $320, along with school supplies, lunch bags, and water bottles.
This combination of financial support and practical essentials helped us address several different back-to-school needs and add even more useful items to the campaign.
Thank you for showing up for local kids and families in such a meaningful way.
Thank you to Peterborough Friends for contributing bulk school supplies and bags to Gear Up for Good.
Donations of supplies in larger quantities help us fill more backpacks and make every contribution stretch even further. We are grateful for your generosity and for helping us reach more kids this year.
A very special thank you to Asta Hair Styling School for dedicating two full days to providing haircuts for kids.
Gear Up for Good is about more than filling a backpack. We want kids to walk into school feeling good about themselves and excited for a fresh start.
By donating their time, skills, and services, the Asta Hair Styling School team gave kids an opportunity to head into their first day with a fresh haircut and an extra boost of confidence.
Thank you for bringing such a thoughtful addition to this year's campaign.
A special thank you to Celebrating Small Spaces for getting behind Gear Up for Good and supporting this year's campaign.
The involvement of local businesses is a big part of what allows this initiative to grow. We are grateful to have Creating Small Spaces among the community partners who chose to step forward and support local kids and families.
A heartfelt thank you to Peterborough Petes defenceman Thanasi Marentette and the Marentette Mission for an incredible $500 donation to Gear Up for Good.
This generous contribution helped us continue building the resources available through the campaign and supporting more kids as they prepared to return to school.
Thank you for using your platform to give back and for showing what it means to support the community around you.
Gear Up for Good doesn't grow through donations alone. It also grows every time someone shares the campaign, talks about it with their audience, covers the story, or encourages someone else to participate.
We are incredibly grateful to the local media outlets and platforms that helped shine a light on Gear Up for Good this year.
A special thank you to PTBO Today, KawarthaNOW, PTBOCanada, WOW 96.7, Freq 90.5, Pete 99.7, The Examiner, YourTV Peterborough Lindsay Cogeco, Global Peterborough, Jonesy's Corner Podcast, Metroland Media, and PressReader Canada for helping bring greater awareness to the campaign through media coverage and community storytelling.
We also want to thank DBIA, Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce, PTBO Friends Community, Innovation Cluster, Kawartha Property and Legal Services, The Hub PTBO, Hustle & Heart, Glowup District PTBO, and Venture North for sharing and supporting Gear Up for Good across their networks and social media channels.
Every interview, article, post, share, and mention helped us reach someone new. Thank you for lending your platforms and voices to the campaign and helping us rally even more people around this cause.
While we've highlighted some of the larger contributions above, this campaign was truly a collective effort.
Every backpack mattered. Every package of school supplies mattered. Every financial contribution mattered. And every person who decided to participate helped us make a bigger impact.
We are proud to recognize the individuals, families, and businesses who donated to this year's Gear Up for Good campaign:
To every person on this list, thank you for choosing to Gear Up for Good.
Your generosity became part of something much bigger. Together, these individual contributions helped us put more supplies into backpacks and provide more support to children and families.
When we talk about Gear Up for Good, it's easy to focus on the backpacks, pencils, markers, lunch bags, gift cards, and other items collected.
But the real impact goes beyond what's inside each backpack.
For a child, starting a new school year prepared can mean walking into the classroom with greater confidence. For a parent or caregiver, having some of those back-to-school expenses covered can mean one less thing to worry about.
And for our community, Gear Up for Good is an opportunity to show families that they aren't doing it alone.
That's why we are so proud to support the Kawartha Haliburton Children's Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters Peterborough, and United Way Winnipeg through this year's campaign.
Gear Up for Good wouldn't be possible without a community willing to get behind it.
To the businesses that made significant contributions, the individuals and families who donated, the organizations that partnered with us, the media outlets that shared our story, and everyone who helped spread the word: thank you.
You helped turn a back-to-school campaign into a community effort that will make a real difference for kids and families.
From all of us at Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory, thank you for Gearing Up for Good with us.
We couldn't have done it without you.