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St. Stephen’s Community House Donor Bulletin
Fall 2009
A Special Friend of St. Stephen’s
St. Stephen's Community House is fortunate indeed. We have been successful
in attracting volunteer board members from diverse backgrounds who bring
to the organization a wealth of knowledge, believe in our mission and vision,
and genuinely want to give back to their community.
Keith Durrant is one of those volunteers. A former resident of the Kensington
community and President of ecentricarts inc., a web design company, Keith
first became familiar with St. Stephen's Community House when his son Lucas
attended our 91 Bellevue Avenue daycare as a preschooler.
Today, nearly a decade later, Keith has established a rich history of support
for the House on many levels: mentoring at-risk youth in a new media project,
chairing board committees and championing Global Divas ticket sales, as well
as donating to both operating and capital fundraising initiatives.
In particular, Keith chooses to participate in our monthly giving program, the
Opportunity Fund. “Monthly giving makes sense to me. I know that my support
goes to work immediately, and the House doesn’t have to spend additional funds
and resources in soliciting new gifts. It’s also environmentally friendly.”
Keith Durrant, President, SSCH’s Board of Directors
September 2009 represents the beginning of Keith’s third year as President of
the Board of Directors. We are very grateful to him for his many contributions
and long-standing support to the House.
Liane Regendanz, Executive Director
We still need
your support!
Renovation Celebration
More than 200 members, donors and friends of St.
Stephen’s celebrated the renovations of 91 Bellevue
Avenue on Thursday, April 30, 2009. This remarkable renovation supports much needed programs
for children, youth, newcomers, seniors and homeless individuals in our city.
The memorable evening featured:
•
•
Tours of the renovated space
Refreshments, generously donated by the following local restaurants: Gamelle, 93 Harbord, Cajù,
Wanda's Pie in the Sky, My Market Bakery, The
Free Times Café, and Cheese Magic
• Entertainment provided by the talented Grupo
Vocal Desandann, a Cuban vocal group (in photo), and
SSCH's Mandarin Seniors Group
•
Remarks by Rebecca Leigh (Chair, Capital Campaign), Jack Robertson (former Chair, Seniors Committee, Rotary Club of Toronto ), Liane Regendanz (SSCH
Executive Director), Captain Don Paterson (SSCH’s first
Executive Director (1962-1974), and Olivia Chow (MP
Trinity-Spadina)
•
Ribbon cutting!
Special thanks go out to all our generous donors for
supporting the Changing Spaces, Changing Lives Capital Campaign! Thank you also to our organizing team
for all the hard work that went into making this such an
extraordinary event.
Grupo Vocal Desandann performed at SSCH’s Renovation Celebration
To make a secure online donation to St. Stephen's
Changing Spaces, Changing Lives Capital Campaign,
click on the PLEASE DONATE button and you will be
directed to CANADA HELPS, or call George McKenna
directly at 416-925-2103 ext 232.
Page 2
St. Stephen’s Community House Donor Bulletin
Make Every Celebration A Lasting Celebration
In Honour Gifts are a unique and easy way to acknowledge the important people in
your life and make special events even more memorable and meaningful.
They are a wonderful way to celebrate a friend's or relative's birthday, graduation, bar/
bat mitzvah, engagement, wedding, anniversary, or any other special life event. In Honour Gifts are also appropriate gifts for holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, Mother's Day,
and Father's Day. They are often given to show appreciation for someone's kindness or to
recognize their impact on your life.
Make every celebration a lasting celebration by encouraging family and friends to make
a donation to St. Stephen's Community House to honour a loved one or in lieu of gifts.
Whatever the occasion, show you care by making a gift that really does help improve the
lives of people in our community, and will introduce the special people in your life to a
charity you believe in and support.
For more information on making a gift to honour a loved one or in lieu of gifts for that
special occasion, please contact Sheila Rees, Director of Development, at 416-925-2103
ext 256.
This is a wonderful way to celebrate a special person or event and support a cause that
makes our city an even better place to live.
Coming Soon to High Schools in Toronto!
In the 2007/2008 school year, VENUS program participants began to brainstorm,
develop and write copy for inclusion in a high school survival guide with a shortterm goal to help young women prepare for, and cope with, the day-to-day challenges, issues and realities of high school, with a long-term focus on future career
success. For example, a chapter focuses on preparing for
post-secondary education; post-secondary options and application procedures; applying for OSAP in any number of circumstances (i.e. when bad credit at age 18 denies you the
opportunity to apply); and balancing post-secondary education with personal, family and peer challenges.
SSCH Teacher Wins Mentoring
Award of Excellence
The guide is on track for distribution at the end of September
2009 thanks to a generous grant from The Counselling Foundation of Canada. We are grateful for their support for this
project.
Fatima Pinheiro, Senior Teacher at King Edward Child
Care Centre, received the George Brown College
‘School of Early Childhood Education (ECE) – Mentoring
Award of Excellence’ for 2009. Fatima earned the award
for her outstanding supervision and mentorship for ECE
placement students. Congratulations Fatima and thanks
for sharing your years of caring experience with others!
Keep in Touch
St. Stephen’s Community House
Creating Opportunities. Strengthening Communities.
Our mission is to work with individuals and communities in
downtown west Toronto to identify, prevent and alleviate social
and economic problems by creating and providing a range of
effective and innovative programs.
Welcome General Mills Foundation!
St. Stephen's wishes to thank the General Mills Foundation for their generous donation to the Youth Arcade's Box Fit Program! The Box Fit Program, offered to at-risk youth ages 12-16 on a weekly basis, focuses on
boxing fundamentals, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle choices
The General Mills Foundation was created in 1954
to focus the Company’s philanthropic resources on
community needs. The Foundation’s mission is to
provide financial support to non-profit organizations that create sustainable community improvement in the areas of youth nutrition and fitness,
social services, education and arts and culture.
Thank you! Your support is making a difference each and every day.
www.ststephenshouse.com