Five Counties Unveils its 50th Anniversary Festivities For 2025
PETERBOROUGH, ON (Jan. 27, 2025) – It’s a golden age for Five Counties Children’s Centre, as it celebrates 50 years in 2025 of supporting local children and youth with physical, developmental and communication needs.As Five Counties continues to develop its Northumberland Backyard Project in Cobourg, you are invited to see some of the progress made over the past 12+ months to create a new outdoor accessible treatment space.
Five Counties is planning a year-long celebration to mark the opening of its doors in Peterborough in 1975. From that first year serving 126 kids/clients, the Centre has expanded to support more kids and families in Peterborough, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, and Minden/Haliburton. That growth is reflected in the 6,103 kids/clients in the area who received services last year through the Centre.
“While the numbers have changed, our commitment to enhancing children’s independence, well-being and quality of life has remained a constant for 50 years,” says Scott Pepin, CEO of Five Counties.
While Five Counties will celebrate its golden anniversary with events throughout the year at its sites in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg, Campbellford and Minden, stories of support and success are the centrepiece of the Centre’s 50th anniversary festivities. Throughout 2025, Five Counties will share stories from current and former clients, families, staff members, volunteers and supporters who will detail their different experiences at Five Counties. The stories will be available on the Five Counties’ 50th anniversary web page, on social media and local news sites. Individuals who have a memory to share can still submit their story.
“The Centre is made up of much more than bricks and mortar, as it’s really been built on the magical memories and moments of thousands of clients and families,” Pepin adds. “We’ve been fortunate to collect some amazing stories from members of our Five Counties family and look forward to sharing them with our communities.”
The first 50th anniversary story to be shared by Five Counties features Mike Hannah, a Kawartha Lakes resident who was born with cerebral palsy. Well-known for his athletic exploits and charity work, Mike remembers as a child in the 1970s being bused from school twice a week to the newly-opened Five Counties in Peterborough. He was bused there to receive speech therapy and occupational therapy, as this type of treatment was unavailable in his school and Five Counties did not yet have a location in Lindsay.
At the sod turning for Five Counties Children’s Centre in 1974.
“I would probably not be where I am today. Five Counties changed my life,” says Mike, recounting the treatment and support he received at the Centre.
Providing care close to home for children and youth like Mike was the main motivator for establishing a “children’s care centre” in this region in the early 1970s. Rotary Clubs from Peterborough, Lindsay, Minden, Haliburton, Havelock, Cobourg, Port Hope, Campbellford and Fenelon Falls came together to spearhead the project. They joined with local leaders and families of children with disabilities to convince provincial officials to support the construction of the new Five Counties Children’s Centre in Peterborough.
According to a history of the Rotary Club of Peterborough, Five Counties “was designed for the treatment, educational, social and physical needs of handicapped children within the ‘five counties’ region” – including Peterborough City-County, Northumberland County, City of Kawartha Lakes (then Victoria County), Haliburton County and Durham. This prevented the need for families to have to drive to Oshawa, Toronto or Kingston for treatment.
Over the ensuing five decades, Five Counties added more staff, services, sites and spaces to better support kids and youth across the region.
Five Counties’ commitment to care for kids continues today.
Category: General News