Rooted is all about the people and the places that make us proud to call our community home.
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For Geoff Richardson and Tracy Richardson-Sloan it boils down to wanting to do something for the betterment of their city. The husband-and-wife duo from North Bay are recognized for their involvement with various charities around the Gateway City and they say it stems from that desire to be connected with their community.
“I saw the efforts going on in the city that help better our city, and I wanted to start putting my energy towards that,” says Richardson.
“By getting involved and doing something for the betterment of our city, whether it's helping those less fortunate or helping cultivate a community garden, it raises the culture of the city.”
The Richardsons are the co-owners and operators of the Voyager Inn Hotel and Richardson-Sloan says it was following their decision to purchase that property she started to think more about some philanthropic efforts herself.
“It was seeing the different scenarios that people were in. A lot of them were down on their luck. But it was also seeing people who were helping these individuals who were living at the Voyageur, and you really see a different side of North Bay and that’s what brought it all together for me,” she says.
“By seeing what people do for each other and by bringing each other up, whether it's through fundraisers or other means, to be a little part of that felt really good. We then got involved with Rib Fest and helping Community Living that way, that’s when the ball really started rolling.”
The first real incarnation of North Bay’s RibFest event was done in 2013, all within the parking lot of the Voyager Inn.
“My brother Tom and I met Jack the Ribber in Thunder Bay during a conference, and we thought, ‘How can we make this happen in North Bay?’” recalls Richardson.
“We wanted to put a different spin on the Voyager when we first got it and change the image it brought with it. So, we thought ‘Why don’t we create a festival here?’ A festival that we would love to attend. Something that was accessible, exciting, interesting and open to having community groups as part of it all, with local musicians playing and sharing the stage. It didn’t have to be an overly complicated festival.”
RibFest started taking place every summer at the Voyager Inn.
“There were a few years where we didn’t make our money back, and there were a few years that we did. But we were personally and financially invested in making this a success. We had the vision and we worked really hard on getting vendors and getting food trucks and creating those relationships in the community and getting people to sponsor us,” says Richardson.
“Once you get those people to sponsor you, the event grows. We also wanted it to be a true community event and so we didn’t charge admission, but we asked for donations that would go straight to Community Living.”
Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Richardson’s felt it was a good point to transition away from organizing RibFest, which now takes place at North Bay’s waterfront. It was also a good time because in 2020 they got more involved with the North Bay Santa Fund.
The Santa Fund is the city’s largest and longest-running fundraising effort. Every year, donations are collected to help those in need during the holiday season with volunteers assembling over 600 baskets of groceries and over 1,500 toys to be delivered to families and children in North Bay.
“It’s not something you ever think you would get asked to do, but the previous organizers had been hinting that they were ready to take a step back,” says Richardson. “Scott Clark and Laughlin McLaughlin had been doing it for so long. We shadowed them for a year, took the reins as chairs and really, we could only make it happen because we inherited a fantastic team. There wasn’t a lot of turnover when they stepped away, so it really allowed us to learn the best way to do things.”
The first few years as chairs presented some challenges for the Richardson’s as they had to navigate the event under COVID-19 protocols and rising inflation.
“We had to change venues because of COVID and we had to re-think how we were going to make our deliveries because the method of making the baskets and taking them to people wasn’t something we could do under those protocols,” says Richarson-Sloan. “Logistically everything changed. At first, we were at Memorial Gardens, then we were at Canadore College and that worked really well,” she says.
Richardson adds, “This past year was extremely challenging as well because of COVID and the increase in food costs and we had to be quick on our feet to reach our fundraising goal, which was the highest we had ever set for this event.”
They managed to surpass their goal of $190,000 raised and Richardson says, even though that was a daunting number, they just kept in mind how important this is to the people that rely on this fund.
“That’s what drives us. That’s what we’re doing is giving people peace of mind, even if it's just for a week, but they get that peace of mind to know they are getting a basket that will cover the basics. It would be great if we could make it happen 52 weeks a year, but we’re glad that we can support hundreds and hundreds of families during the holiday season and we were so honoured to be asked to chair the Santa Fund.
Richadson-Sloan adds, “It is so fun to be out there with Lana Mitchell (Executive Director for Low Income People Involvement of Nipissing) because they have this huge area full of toys and clothes and it's almost intimidating because they give you a shopping cart and a list of families and what those families need, and you are then responsible for picking out all the toys for that family. It just feels good to make that happen.”
Something else they made happen was raising $21,000 for the North Bay Regional Health Centre to purchase a retinal camera for the Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The money raised was through the efforts of organizing the annual Farquhar Chrysler Charity Golf tournament.
“I had participated in this tournament a few times and it was just a really fun tournament, I always had a blast,” says Richardson. “Last year was going to be the final year. Dennis Murphy was ready to take a step back, he had been organizing the event for 10 years and raised thousands and thousands of dollars. I remember being at that tournament and just thinking about how much this means to so many people and I couldn’t just let this end. Somehow, I wanted to keep this going and so I reached out and said to the folks at the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation and said, ‘If you ever want to pass the torch and have someone take on some of the responsibilities, let me know.’ I followed up a couple of times and they eventually reached out and we got together to figure out how to make it work.”
Richardson-Sloan adds, “I’ve never run a golf tournament before and so it was something new and it was for a really good cause and I wanted to see how I could help. All of the money that’s raised stays local and it’s an important piece of equipment for infants.”
“It is more tangible to be able to tell people about the benefits of this piece of equipment. This allows infants to be home much sooner with their families. Most families don’t have to travel, but can’t bring their little ones home until the tests are performed,” says Richardson.
The retinal scan is used to diagnose Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) which is a potential blinding eye disorder which can develop in premature infants. There are no signs or symptoms of ROP when it first develops in a newborn and the only way to diagnose it is through an eye exam. The camera can capture digital images and then be examined virtually by an ophthalmologist. Premature babies who may be at risk for ROP are carefully monitored and examined for the condition at three, six and nine weeks after birth before they can be discharged from the hospital.
“It takes away a lot of the stress on travelling and having to pay for accommodations and food and all those things. Adding that piece of equipment to our hospital takes the burden off a lot of families,” says Richardson.
“Working with Tammy Morison and her team at the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation was incredible. They are fantastic people and that was one of the reasons why I decided to try and get involved. Any time we needed support on their end, they made it happen. It’s huge to have them be so committed to this.”
And the Richardson’s have shown they are committed to helping out where and when it is needed.
“I’ve been a landlord for 20 years and we’ve had a lot of tenants with a lot of different lifestyle experiences and just watching the daily struggles and the hardships that they go through, there’s a lot of things that are very humbling to see on a day-to-day basis,” Richardson says. “I just appreciate the fact that I’m able to have the time to devote to these things. I don’t have to worry about ‘where am I going to eat next week?’ but a lot of people in our community do.”
“Kindness is key. It goes a very long way,” says Richadson-Sloan. “There are so many different charities, and people, and animals that need the help, and because there is so much to choose from, if you want to get involved, my advice is to pick one issue that you feel passionate about and make a positive change. Do it just for an hour and then you’ll know if it's something you want to be involved with.”
Richardson adds, “Sometimes all you need is an hour or two, if everyone could do that it would go a long way, as the saying goes ‘many hands make light work.”
“You meet so many people too. Putting aside how great it is to be helping people or helping a cause, you get to meet really cool people, and your whole bubble expands and you’re networking,” says Richardson-Sloan.
“If you go to something and you’re not really feeling it, it is guaranteed that someone there will have something else going on that you might be interested in. There is always something you can do to help.”
If you have a story idea for “Rooted” send Matt an email at [email protected]
