Founded in 1976, Alexandra Park Community Centre (APCC) is a non-profit charitable organization located in the Atkinson Housing Co-op. APCC serves approximately 500 racial and culturally diverse households. The centre is a central gathering place that hosts and presents a variety of engaging social, educational and recreational programmes for toddlers to seniors. Before the pandemic APCC was already running a Senior Meals Program, providing a nutritious home cooked lunch to 110 isolated, racialised seniors in a low-income high-rise tower, Monday to Friday. During the first weeks of the pandemic, demand for APCC’s Senior Meals programme rose rapidly, as did requests for food support across their community. APCC responded swiftly by launching an emergency food bank and reassigned their Youth Program Coordinator to run it full-time.
The relocation of its Youth Program Coordinator left APCC without an essential figure to keep their Youth Programs running. It quickly became clear that the local youth were suffering and more than ever needed the support services that APCC provided. The Scheinberg Relief Fund supported APCC by covering 6-months’ salary for two part-time Youth Workers to run APCC’s youth programmes until the food insecurity situation improves and the Youth Program Coordinator can return to her pre-Covid role. The support has enabled APCC to effectively run its Food Bank and meet the additional demand for its Meals for Senior Program, and provide essential support to vulnerable youth through their Youth Programs. In the words of the organisation, “support from The Scheinberg Relief Fund has also significantly impacted APCC’s ability to expand, reach, provide essential services, build partnerships and leverage other resources to better support the broader Alexandra Park community.”
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