CFRU Mobile Community Radio

Original Recording Date: June 1st, 2016 Guest: Uncle Leo This was my final episode from Parkwood Gardens. And it's the return of "Uncle Leo"! Leo came over on a bus, all the way to Parkwood, just to catch up and it was lovely. He's been through a lot, but he is recovering and doing great. What a fantastic final guest! Parkwood was lovely and hospitable - thank you so much for being such gracious hosts, group. On now to the Junction!

Recording/Air date: Friday June 10th 2016 Guests: Parkwood Gardens community members On Friday June 10th Parkwood had an amazing BBQ/party to celebrate their 20th anniversary of being a Neighbourhood Group. I came out with the radio to help celebrate, and to live broadcast radio, in the hopes of capturing enough voices to reach our goal of "20 voices - one to represent each year of Parkwood". And we were successful! We got our twenty voices and more! Tune in to here the recording of the live broadcast. And lots of fun youth guests.

Original Recording Date: May 31 2016 Guest: Barb McPhee, Director of the North End Harvest Market Barb is an incredible woman in Guelph who is responsible for and integral to many of our amazing initiatives, including the Poverty Task Force, the Better Beginnings Program, and the "North End Harvest Market" We could have talked for HOURS about all the various projects she's part of, and I very much hope to have her on the show again. For this episode we focused a lot on the North End Harvest Market. The North End Harvest Market is a free fruit and vegetable market intended to support low income families and individuals to meet their healthy food needs. The Market is open on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 at the small parking lot beside Waverley Drive School at 140 Waverley Drive. In bad weather it will be held at Portable # 6. Families and individuals can register and only need your name and address to qualify and although the market is open every week, registrants can come every second week. Primary funding for the Market has been generously donated by Guelph United Ministries, an umbrella organization of Guelph’s United churches and ministries. Other local groups that support the market are Guelph Neighourhood Support Coalition, Chalmers Community Services Centre, Trinity United church, Holy Rosary Church, New Life Church, Waverley and Brant Neighbourhood Groups, and the Upper Grand District School Board. To offer make monetary donations, fruit and vegetable donations, provide some entertainment or just get more information, please contact Barb McPhee, NEHM Manager [email protected] or drop by the Market.

Original recording date: June 2nd 2016 Guest: Brendan Johnson, Executive Director of the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition Brendan Johnson of the Neighbourhood Support Coalition came by Parkwood and we had a powerful discussion around food security, poverty, and the complexity involved in assisting people while recognizing no two struggles are the same. Here is the pitch: "What if we ran a Food Drive & didn’t ask for food? May 28th – June 12th, 2016 (and ongoing :) This year we are collecting grocery gift cards and money. Why? Because we believe people have the right to choose their own food and what they want to eat. We also want people to be able to increase their access to fresh and perishable foods and not just can goods. The Guelph Community Food Drive supports smaller charitable food-providers in our community, such as neighbourhood pantries and food shelves in faith-based organizations. Your support goes directly to the community. Every dollar. Here’s how you can donate to our Emergency Food Pantry: Money / grocery gift cards can be dropped off at: New Life Church (400 Victoria Rd. N) Mon, Wed or Fri 9am-3pm St. Patrick Catholic School (391 Victoria Rd. N) Mon-Fri 8am-4pm Any Neighbourhood Group Location Donate online to the Community Food Drive: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/guelph-neighbourhood-support-coalition The Guelph Community Food Drive is a collaborative effort of: Neighbourhood Groups of the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition Lakeside HOPE house Chalmers Community Services Centre Salvation Army Community & Family Services Trinity United Church The Guelph-Wellington Poverty Task Force The SEED Community Food Hub North End Harvest Market UofG CSA Foodbank Holy Rosary Parish A big THANK-YOU to all our partners collecting donations, acting as drop-off locations and running workplace drives!"

Original Recording Date: May 4th 2016 Guest: Tracey Tracey grew up in Guelph, over in the Parkwood neighbourhood back when Imperial Rd. was divided by the railroad tracks, and back when there were trees and ponds where the West-End-Community Centre now stands. We had a conversation about how the parks used to look, reminisced about our childhood playground equipment, and talked about the variety of ways things have changed for us as parents and for our children compared to when we were young. If you were a child of the 90's, prepare for a nostalgia trip.

Original Recording Date: May 4th 2016 Guest: Yasmeen Yasmeen is a mother of five who moved to Canada 15 years ago from Pakistan. We spoke about her masters education in Home Economics and our shared love of crafting, as well as her childhood in Pakistan and the changes her life in Canada has brought about. Fingers crossed Yasmeen and I will see a Parkwood Gardens Crafting Club in the future.

Original recording date: April 27 2016 Guest: Sue Sue is AWESOME and has a crazy unique history - her family in Guelph dates back to 1878, being one of Guelph's earliest black families - however every generation folks in her family leave to lead lives passing as white, and only those who maintain a relationship with their black heritage remain here in town. Her own sister has moved away, but Sue has lived in Guelph her whole life. She's a great character, and goes into incredible details describing old Guelph, skating rinks, movie theatres and bars. So wonderful. One of my favourites.

Original recording date: March 30th, 2016 Guest: Owen and Lindsay Owen is a volunteer at Parkwood, as well as summer staff for Neighbourhood Support Coalition day-camps. Inspired by his cousin - Parkwood Program Coordinator and former radio guest "Lindsay" - he enrolled in "Recreation" at College, and is just finishing up his first year. Tune in to hear his thoughts on the "High Five Principles", as well as working with children, the value of community recreation, and his alter-ego musical monicker "Ohzee"'s awesome electronic music track "Peach Tree"

Andrew and Josh are two brothers with physical disabilities that are starting their own company called Andosh Accessible Gaming, specializing in modifying game controllers to match people's specific needs. The brothers live with "Hypermobile Ehlers Danlose Syndrome", which means they live with chronic pain and frequent dislocations. Instead of letting that defeat them, they have turned it into a passion. I am in total awe of these guys, and can't wait to see where their business takes them. Thanks for being my guests guys! Here is some more about Josh and Andrew, taken from their "Andosh Accessible Gaming" facebook page: "When we were growing up, I spent months out of every year without use of my hands.Apart from losing independance and slowing school work, it took away one of my favourite pass times; videogames. We spent years looking for answers, approaching many organizations. Most leads came up with nothing. Others offered an overly convoluted solution that would cost hundreds or thousands of dollars and take a very long time to implement. After years of searching we began building our own solutions. Early modifications came in the form of tools to allow access. By attatching a popsicle stick to a resting splint, I could press the keys to play Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on the computer. The first attempt at a custom controller was made by Josh, at about age 8. Josh plugged a dead calculator (which had died due to a short circuit) into our Nintendo GameCube using alligator clips. The controller worked... until he broke the circuit board. It was decided soon after that Josh should be taught basic electronics before he hurt himself or started a fire. It wasn't until 2013, that we actually modified our first controller. We modified a GameCube controller to allow me to play without rotating my wrist (see pictures). We moved a joystick and altered the grip. The first model was complete within a day of getting the idea. Since then, we have experimented with ways to make the shoulder buttons trigger more easily. Looking online, we found an adapter that would allow the controller to connect to the Nintendo Wii U by using it in place of the Classic Controller accessory for the Wii Remote. Two years later Josh built a hands-free controller for the GameCube using a number of Staples Easy Buttons (see pictures). We have lived through a lot. We understand what it is like to live with a physical disability. We know how frustrating it is to sit on the sidelines wishing to play videogames with friends. That is why we have started Andosh Accessible Gaming. We get it and we want to help."

Original Recording Date: March 9, 2016 Guest: Dave Dave came out to his first ever coffee hour at Parkwood Gardens and we became instant pals. He told me about ten crazy and entertaining stories before I convinced him to join me on the radio. But I convinced him! On this episode we chat about growing up going to high school in Guelph, first music listens, raising children, and organized hoarding. Hope you enjoy it! I sure did!