Cheryl J. Brown Centre

Kemptville can boast of several organizations that have contributed more than their share to the community. The Cheryl J. Brown Centre (Kemptville and District Home support services) has been a part of the Kemptville landscape for the last 30 years. Beginning with an informal meeting at the Pines, an apartment complex in Kemptville in 1981, the centre’s organizers have never looked back. In 1982 the fledgling centre received their first bit of funding from the Ministry of Social Services. In 1984 the Kemptville and District Home Support Inc., Community Support Services was incorporated. Their first location was a three room home on George Street in Kemptville. In 1994, after several location changes, the centre established itself in Raina’s Mall. Finally in 2009 the centre moved to a bigger area at the mall, where they remain today. Their original mandate was to provide transportation for seniors who needed help getting to and from their doctors appointments and to make sure that the meals on wheels program that was being dropped by the Kemptville District hospital remained in place. The Cheryl J. Brown Centre’s mandate expanded over the years to include supporting seniors and physically disabled adults who were living on their own. Keeping up an active lifestyle and an active role in the community was something the centre offered to all. Keeping the centre operating as best as it could was not easy but volunteers were determined. “We never thought of giving up,” said executive director Cheryl Brown. The centre now offers more than 12 services and programs, from income tax assistance to meals on wheels. While the programs are used by more than 700 clients, giving these same people the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and offering them a welcome place to go is equally important.