February 2008 - Good News Toronto

Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
February 2008
Grace Ng’ang’a at Friends’ Restaurant
Grace and Dignity
By Eva Karpati
O
nly when the floor
is swept, the tables
set with tablecloths,
and the dishes paired
with cutlery, does Grace
Ng’ang’a open the doors
at Friends’ Restaurant, located in the Fred Victor
Centre. Her customers —
homeless,
marginalized
adults coming off the
streets for a hearty meal
— are always greeted with
a warm smile and an open
heart. Grace welcomes everyone to the restaurant
where she has created a
space of caring and courtesy. “She is a mother to
the
community,”
says
Sami Abdurahim, a kitchen staff member at the
Centre. “She gives people
respect.”
Grace became manager
of Food Services in 2002.
“Every human being needs
to be treated with dignity,”
she says, and she wanted
Friends’ Restaurant to reflect that value. She set
about to improve the health,
safety, and aesthetic appeal
of the kitchen and restaurant area. To start, Grace
put in new low-maintenance floors and tables, so
the restaurant always looks
clean and welcoming. Next,
she modified the menu to
incorporate healthy foods,
offering plenty of fruits
and vegetables, as well as
a variety of ethnic flavours
to reflect the culturally
diverse community frequenting the restaurant.
Every Friday, Friends’ Restaurant offers a new taste: it
could be Chinese, African,
or Eastern European day.
“The clients have been keen
to try these new dishes,”
says Grace, “and word has
spread that Friends’ Restaurant is a wonderful place
to get nourishment for the
body and the soul.” Grace is
gently opening new doors,
to everyone’s benefit.
“She is a mother
to the
community.”
The Fred Victor Centre,
located at Queen and Jarvis
Streets, offers a continuum
of community services, of
Grace continued on 6
O
ur names are Michael
Forrester, Amanda
Doyle, Maria JoseBouey, and I am Paul Moody,
and together we make up
Student Team SickKids
(STSK). This summer, we
had the pleasure of representing the Hospital for
Sick Children (SickKids)
at charity events in and
around the GTA. Our goal
was to raise awareness of
the Hospital, fundraise
through inspiration, and,
most importantly, serve as
Ambassadors for the Hospi-
tal, Research Institute,
and Foundation. We are
a group of four university
students, all of whom have
a personal connection to
SickKids, either as a patient
or as a family member of a
patient.
Michael’s personal relationship with SickKids
began through his little
sister, Liane, who was a
patient in the hospital for
five months in the winter
of 2002. Sadly, on February 12, 2003, she passed
away at the age of 14 from
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
(a blood cancer). This event
S
ix years ago, the
parents of Northlea
Public School’s young
students began petitioning for a crossing guard at
the notoriously dangerous
intersection just north of
the school. Three years
later, when certified School
Crossing Guard (SCG) Jake
Apacible
assumed
his
position at Rumsey Rd.
and Broadway Ave, the petitioners realized that they
had gotten more than they
hoped for.
Commuters heading south
towards downtown often
use Broadway Ave. during
the morning rush. These
busy drivers seem to turn a
blind eye to the numerous
stop signs along this residential street. “Cars just
don’t stop,” Sandy Northmore, a resident in the
community, says. “The police have to follow a car for
two or three blocks to pull
drivers over, because they
don’t even know that they
broke the law.”
“I stand at my
crosswalk no
matter what.”
ogy — childhood cancer
medicine. Amanda’s
relationship
SickKids continued on 11
Jake continued on 3
Back row: Maria Jose-Bouey, Michael Forrester, Paul Moody
Front row: Amanda Doyle and Kirkland Kilbride
has become a cornerstone
of Michael’s life, and has
placed him squarely on
the path to a career in
clinical paediatric oncol-
By Mary Levitski
Things have changed. Ask
people in the neighbourhood, “What is it like to
have Jake here?” and you’ll
hear words like caring,
conscientious, friendly, and
wonderful, over and over.
Each person takes the opportunity to mention how
much the kids love him. “I
became almost a celebrity,”
Jake says. Every resident
also points out Jake’s great
commitment to his job.
“He’s very careful,” says
Marie Blanchet. “If he sees
somebody who is starting
[to cross] ahead of him,
he’ll run out and stop all
the cars.”
“Considering how many
SickKids Ambassadors
By Paul Moody
Jake’s Crossing
2
Good News Toronto
February 2008
Letter of Gratitude
Dear Reader,
Thank you. Thank you
for picking up Good News
Toronto: Our Everyday Heroes, and reading it. Thank
you for helping to celebrate
the amazing people around
us. You know who they are
— your family members,
your neighbours, your colleagues. This newspaper
is just the start of the
recognition of thousands
of Torontonians performing kind, generous, caring
actions every day that have
a positive imprint on our
community. Good News
Toronto is giving them
the headline space they
deserve.
The idea for this newspaper came about when I was
at dinner with friends who
were lamenting the dangerous city that Toronto had
become. They personally
had never encountered any
problems, but that was their
perception. Then and there,
I decided to change their
view, and, hopefully along
the way, other despondent
Torontonians. My journey
since that conception has
only reinforced my view of
the supportive community
we live in. I am constantly
encountering people who
are looking for and in fact
craving opportunities to do
good things.
Good News Toronto: Our
Everyday Heroes only materialized because of the
extraordinary
contributors who have embraced
this not-for-profit project.
The young, as well as the
experienced writers and
artists have all enthusiastically given of their time
and talent. Each person on
this incredible team has
somehow come to be a part
of Good News Toronto from
a different path — further
reinforcement of the validity of celebrating Our Everyday Heroes. To me, they
are all heroes because they
have deliberately dared to
go into this unknown territory with a shared vision of
the desire for good news. I
am so extremely grateful. I
thank you.
My gratitude goes out to
each of the “Heroes” who
have graced this issue. All
of them started by insisting
that they were not heroes.
How just like a hero! I am
honoured that they trusted
us with a view into an important part of their lives.
Each person has a unique
story, a unique gift, and a
unique way of expressing
that gift. In October, H.H.
The Dalai Lama visited Toronto and spoke to an audience of 14,000 people.
He imparted to us all that
the road to achieving true
happiness is through practicing compassion. The Heroes in this issue are living
examples of that.
A great big thank you
goes out to the little writers
of this issue (every month
will feature a different
school). In the excerpts
from their essays, the children from the Grade 2/3
class of Ashton Meadows
Public School point out that
their heroes are the people
who spend time with them
and show them that they
care. They are not looking
for Super Heroes. We all
need everyday loving and
lovable heroes.
My gratitude goes out
to the sponsors who have
trusted the integrity of
this project and therefore
made it possible with their
contribution.
Finally, I look forward to
all of you being involved in
Good News Toronto. I know
that you are all heroes. You
are all kind and compassionate. Let us recognize
the hero in each other and
be proud of it. I believe that
eventually every Toronto-
Quote
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
February 2008
Feel-Good Book
By Juli Smollan
E
nian will be featured in
this monthly newspaper.
Help me make this a reality
by letting me know about
your everyday hero, by
reporting your sightings of
random acts of kindness,
and by joining this exuberant team of contributors to
Good News Toronto: Our
Everyday Heroes.
I hope that Good News
Toronto:
Our
Everyday
Heroes brings a smile to
your face and touches your
heart. It certainly has done
that for me. Let us continue
to inspire each other daily.
In addition, let us walk as
proud Torontonians, knowing that the person beside
us is an everyday hero.
In gratitude,
Eva Karpati
Publisher/Editor
ach and every day,
ordinary people do
extraordinary things
by giving back to the communities they inhabit.
Here is how one Danforth
area resident has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of visually impaired
children and their families.
Wishing to get involved in
some aspect of community
service, Lynn Yamazaki
chose to become a volunteer for the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for
the Blind) in 2002. After
a couple of years, Lynn
jumped at the opportunity
to learn Tactile Illustration, a year long course
offered by the CNIB. This
appealed to Lynn on many
levels, but mainly because
it incorporated her passion
and training in art, having
worked for many years as
an animator.
Once Lynn mastered
Tactile Illustration, she
embarked on a long and
arduous project. Monthly
volunteer meetings at the
CNIB spurred her to act on
a suggestion, after learning
about the severe need for
tactile children’s books for
visually impaired children.
Lynn spent the better part
of a year creating, molding
and sculpting various objects for her book, utilizing
modeling clay, cardboard or
foil. The finished product
is an amazing tactile-picture storybook for visually
impaired youths and toddlers. The book is visually
appealing to all and a much
needed addition to a very
sparse collection of books
for the visually impaired
tot.
“He still to this
day carries the
book around with
him, and it is still
the first book we
read at bedtime.”
This children’s book,
entitled Where’s My Ball: A
Hands-on Book, has pages
with raised shapes and
textures as well as Braille
to complement the story.
Lynn’s book is the third offering of a tactile storybook
for children from the CNIB
volunteer department.
Where’s My Ball was also
a recent entry for the IBBY
award (International Board
If you want others to be happy,
practice compassion.
If you want to be happy,
practice compassion.
people come through here,”
Marie adds, “[it is impressive that] he remembers
just about everybody’s
name.” Many share this admiration. Says Sandy, “He
can really get people talking, which is good because
a lot of the time people
don’t. He doesn’t have to be
this way,” she say, pointing
out that he makes the extra effort. “He really adds a
sense of community.”
Queen Street Tree — Compassion comes in many forms.
Send us your
heroes
Publisher
Eva K arpati
Report acts of
kindness
Copy Editor
Emmanuelle Hertel
Give us your
comments
Graphic Designer
Illustrator
Hye Kyong Son
Join our GNT
team
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GNT Team:
Sabina Bunin
K ate de Freitas
Nicole Georges-Bennet
David K ates
M ary L evitski
Rosa Soo Young Park
Gillian Prupas
Jason Prupas
A ndi R éti
Juli Smollan
Samia Tecle
A lexandra Yeboah
M arni Zaretsky
on Books for Young People.
The a sizeable donation
made it possible for the
CNIB to print 500 copies
of this book, which have
now been distributed to
approximately 250 visually
impaired children across
Canada.
The production of this
type of book is a slow and
painstaking process, as
each page must be manually passed through a special Thermoform machine,
then individually collated
and bound.
Many parents sent very
positive feedback to Lynn
regarding this book —
comments detailing the excitement and enjoyment
shared by the young people
who received it. “The excitement on his face showed me
that his books didn’t have
to be oversized.” wrote one
parent. “He still to this day
carries the book around
with him, and it is still the
first book we read at bedtime — in fact, he has it
down pat and he reads it to
me, and has me feel the different textures.”
For now, Lynn is focused
on passing the high standards set by the CNIB for
the Braille course she is
currently taking. This will
Jake continued from 1
The Dalai Lama
Tibetan Buddhist religious leader
Good News Toronto offers stories about the multitude of diverse,
generous, caring, and inspiring people who live in Toronto, with
the goal of motivating all of us to continue to make this a city
rich in everyday heroes.
3
Each person takes
the opportunity
to mention how
much the kids
love him.
Jake Apacible on duty with Morgan
Originally from Santiago
City, Isabela, in the Philippines, Jake was once a military man. Twelve years ago,
he and his wife left their
homeland for a new life
Lynn Yamazaki and her creation
allow her to transcribe
books into Braille for the
visually impaired reader.
This busy Toronto native
is also an avid runner,
quilter, and mother of two.
Her sense of community
spirit extends to the animal
kingdom as well. She and
her family have adopted 2
dogs, 1 cat and a rat from
local shelters — all thriving
in a loving environment
fostered by Lynn’s caring
nature. Thanks for making
a difference, Lynn.
in Canada. Before becoming a SCG, Jake worked at a
Burger King Restaurant in
Markham.
He speaks of the experience very fondly. He smiles
proudly as he recalls that,
when he left to pursue a
career as a SCG, Burger
King awarded him with
“a Plaque of Appreciation
for a job well done.” This
new occupation offered
him unexpected perks of
its own: “Susan Anderson,
the principal [of Northlea
Public School at the time]
was very kind,” he says. “She
gave me a locker, a chair,
and access to the refrigerator and microwave.” His
facial expression and tone
of voice reveal that these
things mean a lot to him.
With a military-inspired
sense of duty, Jake embarks
upon the hour and twentyminute commute from
Markham to Toronto every
weekday morning. That
same sense of duty compels
him to be vigilant even in
the winter months: “In the
cold, in the rain, in blowing snow — I stand at my
crosswalk no matter what,”
Jake says.
Listening to the dignity
with which he speaks of his
work experience in Canada,
it quickly becomes obvious
that Jake is a man of integrity, who commits to every
task with full effort and
responsibility. “The police
have more important things
to deal with,” he says, “they
are counting on me to take
care of things here.”
“You can tell he loves
what he’s doing,” Sandy
points out.
“The most significant factor in giving [me] inspiration,” says Jake “is the kids.”
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Tuesday, March 11th
Good News Toronto
February 2008
Visions of Science
and an educator all at the
same time,” Francis recalls.
“He expected that I would
perform
academically,
and so I did. I didn’t know
there were supposed to be
obstacles to my success
because I was a person of
African descent. I thought
the sky was the limit.”
Francis Jeffers
is probably best
known for founding the Visions of
Science Network
for Learning
Science Fair.
Francis Jeffers — Passionate scientist
By Nicole Georges-Bennett
I
t is strange to say Francis Jeffers’s love affair
with science started
with a flame as low as a
simmering Bunsen burner.
Yet today he is one of the
most passionate advocates
of science and technology
in Toronto.
Francis Jeffers is probably best known for founding the annual two-day
science and technology
symposium, the Visions of
Science Network for Learning Science Fair. Since 1991,
Francis has dedicated his
time to convincing young
African-Canadians
that
they can be scientists and
engineers, too.
Francis understands the
importance of instilling a
confident attitude in young
people. As a child growing up on the island of
Dominica in the late 1950s,
he was raised in a loving
home. His parents told him
he could achieve anything
if he put his mind to it.
“My father was successful
on several fronts, being an
entrepreneur, a politician,
Francis’s early plans were
to study political science
and West Indian History. It
was politics that first held
sway over Francis’ affections, but that relationship
was not meant to be. When
he immigrated to Canada, it
did not seem economically
prudent to pursue West
Indian history or politics.
His high school counsellor
suggested science, “Up to
that point I had not been an
exceptional student in science, but since there were
opportunities in that field,
I thought I’d try it,” Francis
says.
He got a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto. He was
subsequently hired by Con-
naught Laboratories, a vaccine manufacturer and the
largest biotech company in
Canada. With his excellent
work ethic, Francis moved
through the ranks of the
company effortlessly. He
has been with the company,
now Sanofi Pasteur, since
1980.
Although he was successful, Francis noticed that he
was always one of just a
few black scientists in the
company, and in Toronto in
general. “There weren’t a lot
of black university science
students, either,” he says. “I
participated in a program
called The Black Education
Project where I met young
people who had low expectations and didn’t think
they
could
accomplish
certain things. I realized
that there was obviously
a systemic aspect to this
situation. Black folks have
internalized the negativity
they hear and act it out.”
After becoming the father of three children, he
joined The Black Heritage
Program, whose mission is
to teach kids about history
from a black perspective.
It was run by the first and
only community-controlled
black heritage organization
in Canada.
“In 1991, during Black
History Month, the Ontario
Science Centre sponsored
a show as a Black History
Month activity,” he explains.
“It was a song and dance
routine, nothing to do with
science.” Francis still laughs
at the ludicrousness of the
fiasco. The Black Heritage
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Program approached the
Centre with an offer to collaborate and provide proper
science programming.
For three years, Francis
and his colleagues at the
Black Heritage Program
hosted a series of one-day
symposiums at the Ontario
Science Centre, showcasing
presentations by international black scientists. In
1995, they relocated the
symposium to the Medical
Sciences building of the University of Toronto campus,
where it has been staged for
the last ten years.
Francis credits a fellow
scientist for the title of
the symposium: “‘Visions
of Science’ was coined by
IBM computer scientist Dr.
Sheila Husbands. She and
I, with Dr. Leighton James
developed the event as it is
today,” he says.
The Visions of Science
Network for Learning is
now a not-for-profit organization that advances the
educational achievements
and career aspirations of
African-Canadians and other under-represented youth
in the fields of science,
mathematics, and technology. It has established over
20 year-round science clubs
throughout the GTA, as
well as the annual Science
Symposium at the University of Toronto.
“There is no end to what
these kids could accomplish
if they have the chance,”
says Francis. “They just
need the right tools, and
the confidence to go after
their dreams.”
Eden and I Are Playing Go Fish
Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
February 2008
Breaking Down Barriers
By Kate De Freitas
S
ixteen
years
ago,
Cheryl Peever was selfdestructing.
Having
her first drink at the age
of thirteen and addicted
to drugs by age 30, Cheryl
found herself living a lifestyle that she was ashamed
of, yet unable to break free
from. “I had no soul, no
personality, and no skills.
I was basically a container
you put drugs in.” Cheryl
was spiraling into a terrible
depression with nowhere to
turn. In an attempt to save
her life, she called help lines
and visited doctors, only to
find that these efforts left
her feeling more afraid and
more ashamed of her addiction. “There was a lot of
stigma around substance
use and substance users,
and medical professionals
wouldn’t take you seriously
if you were a drug user.”
As a last resort, Cheryl
attended a Cocaine’s Anonymous meeting where she
experienced the breakthrough she needed: “I
had an epiphany there. It
dawned on me that your
problems don’t ever go
away, you just learn how
to respond to them in a
healthy way.” From that
day forward, Cheryl started
down the road to recovery.
After a year on the
straight path, Cheryl realized that she could do
anything if she could live
Cheryl Peever at CAMH
through her addiction. Recovery was difficult like
nothing would ever be
again; this feat gave her the
confidence to go back to
school. Cheryl, who started
out believing she would
never amount to anything,
graduated university with
high distinction and even
went on to complete her
masters in social work.
She was hired at the Centre for Addiction & Mental
Health, where she works today. Over the years, Cheryl
has worked with clients
with addiction problems,
major mental illness, and
even sex offenders; because
of her past, she knows not to
judge people. “It is not use-
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She stops
and studies her cards,
points one by one, silently counting spades.
You make me so very happy.
her workplace; her co-workers knew nothing of her
past.
She worked at CAMH for
years before ever admitting
that she was a recovering
addict and had suffered a
mental illness because she
was afraid of the stigma that
would be attached to her.
In 2006, Cheryl’s past came
to a forefront when she accepted an award honouring
her accomplishments as a
recovering substance user.
As a result of this award,
her past became public
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sixes?
Her mother shakes with laughter,
soundlessly,
clears away tears, touches
Eden’s chin.
ful to someone’s recovery;
in fact, it presents a barrier.” Cheryl understands
the pain and fear that her
clients feel on a daily basis.
However, she began to notice that other caregivers
often stereotyped clients,
judging them solely on
their diagnosis.
“Mental
health professionals would
often talk about substance
users in a discriminatory
way.” This was chilling for
Cheryl because, as she puts
it, “They were talking about
me.” Cheryl lived a secret at
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Copyright © Susan
Petersiel Berg, 2007.
Reprinted by permission
of the author. This poem
first appeared in ARS
Medica Magazine in Fall
2007. Eden is currently
a healthy, active 7-yearold with an excellent
prognosis.
knowledge, and she began
to notice the changes in the
way her co-workers treated
her. There were some positive comments and some
negative comments, but the
overwhelming reaction was
silence and discomfort.
Cheryl did not cower away
from this, nor did she accept the assumptions being
made about her. Instead
Cheryl fought back.
Cheryl’s goal is
to breakdown the
stigma attached
to addiction and
mental illness.
HOLISTIC DENTISTRY
She wears a pink cap to cover her bald head.
She misses her hair.
A lot.
She’s five.
There’s a tumour on her brain.
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Cheryl’s goal is to breakdown the stigma attached
to addiction and mental
illness and to create a more
accepting environment for
people in a workplace to
admit their problems, and
seek help. “I want to speak
to health care workers and
try to educate them and
try to make it a little more
tolerable environment for
staff to disclose, because
nothing’s going to change
until more people do this.”
Over the years, Cheryl has
tried to educate people
about stigma and has challenged health care workers
to look at their own biases.
Cheryl’s strength and
desire to make a difference is inspiring. She puts
herself at the forefront on
a daily basis, bearing the
criticism and stereotyping that comes along with
admitting her past; but
she continues to educate.
With a will to break down
barriers and terminate the
stigma attached to substance abuse and mental
illness, Cheryl is making a
difference in the lives of so
many people.
Good News Toronto
February 2008
I am Judy
By Judy Hazlett
I
am one of 100,000 Canadians and 6,000,000
people worldwide who
are challenged by living
with Parkinson’s disease.
The average onset age for
Parkinson’s is 60, but about
15 percent of Parkinsonians are under 50. I’ve
lived with the disease for
more than 30 years. There
is no definitive medical
test for Parkinson’s — its
diagnoses rely on physicians’ clinical judgment.
Unexplained
symptoms
may come and go for years.
When Parkinson’s is finally
diagnosed, it is often a relief just to have a name and
an explanation.
I’ve lived with the
disease for more
than 30 years.
My earliest symptoms
manifested when I was 24,
followed by bizarre motor dysfunctions strung
out over five years, each
an isolated, short-lived
inconvenience. I worked
as a graphic designer.
At 6 a.m. one morning,
when I was in my late
20’s, I realized that I had
taken the whole night to
draw two sets of parallel lines! At 9 a.m. I was
in my doctor’s office.
He astutely recognized
Grace continued from 1
housing options, and advocacy for adults who are experiencing homelessness,
marginalization, and poverty. “When these clients
come into the restaurant
for a decent meal, they are
more likely to feel better
physically and thus more
able to cope with their difficulties and seek further
help,” points out Grace. “It
is extremely gratifying,”
she says, “to see people returning and then coming
off the street and being able
to sustain a place to live in
the Fred Victor Housing
and then [to get] back into
mainstream employment.”
Grace is also proud of
another aspect of Friends’
Restaurant: the opportunity for skills development
it as Parkinson’s. Looking back at the time, I
saw indications of Parkinson’s — my handwriting had gotten small and
cramped, and I had lost
physical dexterity and
coordination.
Initially, the seriousness of Parkinson’s and
the inevitability that it
will progress are difficult to believe and accept.
For the first 20 years after the diagnosis I functioned almost normally.
I continued to work full
time as a special education teacher, to dance
and to hike and to figure
skate, thanks to medication. However, by 1992 I
was visibly and functionally handicapped. Medication became less effective. A couple of years
later, I had to go on longterm disability, leaving a
job I loved.
Suddenly, my world was
very small. I fluctuated
between moving violently
and being virtually immobile. The only activity outside the house in which I
participated was dancing.
Dancing has been a comfort and joy throughout my
life. During this time when
everything else shut down,
my Nia classes and Gabrielle Roth’s Five Rhythms
were not only my physical
fitness but also my social,
emotional, and spiritual
refuge.
and employment. About
70 clients volunteer in the
kitchen; some have even
received their certificate in
food handling. “A few have
graduated from George
Brown College Chef School,”
beams Grace as she introduces Gerry Heaney — one
such success story. He now
works in the kitchen with
Grace. “She can’t see the
bad in a person,” says Gerry, “there must be something good in everyone.”
“[They] need to be
treated with
dignity.”
Grace came to Toronto
eight years ago from
Nairobi, Kenya. With her
degrees in Food Sciences
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Despite my difficulties,
I must not make Parkinson’s a burden. Instead,
I have decided I can be
a caring and committed
member of society. By
sharing my experience
with the challenges of
living with Parkinson’s, I
can contribute to making
a more compassionate
world, where we accept
differences and imperfections of all kinds in
ourselves and in each
other.
Despite my
difficulties, I
must not make
Parkinson’s a
burden.
Judy Hazlett hiking last summer
I received the transplant in April 1997, and
noticed changes within a few weeks. Being
able to hold my head up,
walk, and be calm had a
profound impact. With
a renewed good diet,
sleep, and exercise, my
health improved, and so
did my outlook. I was
able to pursue projects
and activated again. As I
regained independence, I
could renew friendships.
These
improvements
have been sustained over
the ten years since the
transplant.
However, I
had a better experience
than most other study
participants,
which
makes me feel responsible for supporting others with Parkinson’s, and
advocating for Parkinsonians to the world.
Parkinson’s demands
that I be ruthlessly
honest with myself. As
it advances, I have had
to downsize my activities and adjust my goals.
To accomplish almost
everything I need to ask
for help. I survive largely
because of those who
care for me. They dedicate their lives to maintaining mine.
We are all born with
unique gifts. Parkinson’s
is just a shell I live in; it
is not who I am. I have
a box which is a symbol of how I view living
with Parkinson’s. On the
outside of my box I have
written words which keep
me alerted to the way
the world sees me with
Parkinson’s. On the inside surface of the box I
have written my reaction
to how I think I am seen.
In the box I have placed
words which represent
my gifts. This is to remind me that I have the
responsibility to communicate in spite of my
symptoms. To remember
that I am not Parkinson’s,
but that I am Judy.
Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
A Dog Walker’s Tale
By Sabina Bunin
I
t is two in the afternoon
and Cathy Collins — one
of the Toronto Humane
Society’s volunteer dog
walkers — is anxiously
swerving through Toronto’s
busy streets to get to her
assigned kennel. She steps
into the building, straps
on her fanny pack full of
dog treats, plastic bags,
and a warm pair of gloves.
Every day she volunteers,
she checks a “walk signout sheet“ which lists the
names and colour codes
of all the shelter’s dogs to
see which ones are due for
their regular walk.
“I
try to concentrate on the
happiness I’m
giving them.”
According to the THS
website, the shelter uses
a colour code system with
five levels based on the
dogs’ behaviour type. Upon
entering the shelter, each
dog is assessed and assigned a colour level by a
Canine Coordinator. Cathy
takes care of red-coded
dogs, who have high energy
levels, dominant personali-
ties, and are generally more
difficult to handle than
the other colours. Like all
red walkers, Cathy had to
undergo a ten-week group
training session to earn
herself the label of “red
walker.”
First on her list is Caesar
— a Shepherd mix. While
walking
Caesar,
Cathy
opens up about her personal love of dog walking,
which started five years
ago. Cathy’s father, Bob Collins, had owned a Miniature
Schnauzer by the name of
Sadie, whom Cathy adored
and would take care of
whenever her dad was out
of town. She had grown so
attached to the dog, that
after Sadie had passed, she
was left with an empty void
that only a dog could fill.
She first became involved
with the Toronto Humane
society by subscribing to
the shelter’s publication
“Animaltalk” and donating
money on a regular basis.
After seeing an article
about the shelter needing
dog walkers, she decided to
help out and join. She found
her first tour of the kennels
heartbreaking, seeing all
the dogs waiting for homes
and love: “I wondered at the
time, can I really do this?
Yet once I saw how much
the walks mean to them
and Hotel Management,
Grace worked in various
teaching, fundraising, and
entrepreneurial positions.
She started a cooperative
cafeteria for young girls in
Nairobi, raised money for
schools and hospitals, and
catered many corporate
conferences before arriving in Canada in 1999. She
started her life in Toronto
by volunteering as a cook
at Sojourn House, a refugee
shelter, where she soon
made her mark. She identified with the new immigrants and “their need to be
treated with dignity.” Here,
Grace found her mission:
“making a difference in
people’s lives.”
At Friends’ Restaurant,
Grace serves over 100 meals
a day, making a difference
with each one.
Please share the GOOD NEWS – pass it on!
February 2008
Cathy Collins starting her shift
— it’s really the highlight of
their day — I was hooked.
I try to concentrate on the
happiness I’m giving them,
rather than the sadness of
their situation.”
After seeing Cathy volunteer, her father grew inspired, and he too became
involved. At the age of 78,
Bob volunteered for four
years before his death last
summer. “I remember we
used to get on the phone
and yak to each other for
hours about the dogs we
had walked earlier that
day.” Making friends with
other volunteers has been
another wonderful part of
the experience for Cathy.
“We’re
all
like-minded
people who are here because we love dogs; we
feel compassion for what
they’ve gone through and
we want to help make their
lives a little happier.”
When asked if she ever
gets
nervous
around
slightly challenging dogs,
she answers, “In the beginning I was a little tense,
but we’ve been trained to
handle dogs who are acting
up. Red-level dogs require a
firm hand, being dominant
personalities and being
super-eager to get outside
to run and play. But they respond to walkers who show
them they’re in charge.”
Cathy takes advantage of
the full 15 minutes of time
that she spends with each
dog, throwing Kong balls,
giving them rubdowns, or
simply socializing with
them.
During our interview,
Cathy took out a Pit Bull
named Zania, who, like
many of the breed, is very
loving with people. “Before
volunteering,
I’d
never
really met a Pit Bull and
believed the bad reputation
they have was true. I discovered quite the opposite.
They are wonderful dogs
— affectionate, playful,
and intelligent. I absolutely love the breed.” The
genuine love and warmth
that Cathy offers to these
dogs turns these very sad
souls happy in a matter of
seconds. After watching
Cathy’s tender nature with
these animals, it is hard to
accept that these dogs are
without a loving “Forever
Home.”
After interviewing Cathy,
this writer was inspired to
volunteer in the Dog Walking Program as well.
Philmore adoring Cathy
Cathy handing Tyler
a treat
Pit bull Zania on her
afternoon walk
Cathy playing ball with Philmore
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Good News Toronto
February 2008
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Humanitarian on a Motorcycle
By Andy Réti
F
or more than 30 years
Sid
Rochwerg
has
helped to raise millions of dollars for various
charities by doing what he
loves — riding a motorcycle.
Good News Toronto caught
up with this busy man in
between projects.
If looks were deceiving,
Sid is living proof of it: he
is short and fit — not the
“biker” image often portrayed in the media. The 52
year old is a director at ADP
Canada, a firm specializing
in payroll and HR solutions.
He is married to Evelyn and
is a father of two teenagers.
He is quick to point out that
he has been a motorcycle
rider — not a biker — for
32 years. Interestingly,
this distinct difference is
exactly what started Sid
on his amazing journey to
help others.
“What I have
learned is that
you can decide
to act on an idea
to do some good.
It’s easy to find
excuses not to get
involved but when
you do, the result
is that each of us
can make a difference.”
According to Sid, the term
“biker” is often associated
with gang activities, as is
the case both today and
back when Sid began his
charitable work in 1976. In
an attempt to change this
image, Sid and a number of
other like-minded individuals from York University involved with the motorcycle
club, “The York Wings,” used
their club as a vehicle to do
some good. They organized
a toy run for underprivileged children. Over the
years, this benevolent idea
of helping others began
to popularize and soon
became an integral part of
most motorcycle clubs. In
fact, all major motorcycle
clubs in existence today
have a fundraising or charity component included
in their ride calendar, the
causes varying from club
to club, and ranging from
cancer research to distresshelp telephone lines.
The York Wings, original
toy run evolved into the
“Ride for Sight,” which Sid
was instrumental in promoting across Canada. This
toy run is the most successful and longest running
charity ride in the country,
still going strong after 30
years! Today, Sid is also a
member of HOG (Harley
Owners Group), the Silverados, and YOWs (Yidden On
Wheels) motorcycle clubs,
all located in Toronto. As a
member of these clubs, Sid
has helped create events
such as BAD Ride (Bikers
Against Despair), which is
going into its 11th year, and
Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Children’s Heroes
Children’s Heroes Project Excerpts
ASHTON MEADOWS PUBLIC SCHOOL Grade 2/3 Class
This Markham school
has a wide variety of
ethnicities and cultures.
Many families are new
immigrants and therefore
English has not been the
first language for many of
the children. The children
have learnt to balance
Canadian culture with
their own background and
perspectives to bring a mix
of histories and values.
“My students embraced this
writing activity with enthusiasm and an eagerness
to share their lives with
their greater community.
We hope you enjoy reading
it as much as we enjoyed
writing it.”
— Ellyn Waldman, teacher.
Sid Rochwerg on the Paper Clip Ride
also the Paper Clip Ride. To
understand the successes
of these events, last year‘s
BAD Ride raised over
$230,000 and registered
more than 1,450 motorcyclists who roared through
the scenic Halton Hills area
just west of Toronto.
Sid is proud of all the
charity rides he has assisted with; however, the
ride he found most fulfilling to lead was the Paper
Clip Ride. At a whopping
1,435 kilometers, this event
was the longest ride, and
was unusual in its scope.
A small school in Whitwell,
Tennessee created a Children’s’ Holocaust Museum,
which is housed in an
original German cattle car
that was used to transport
Jews to death camps. The
museum was the culmination of a school project
to collect 6 million paper
clips to represent each Jew
who was murdered in the
Holocaust.
After hearing about the
Paper Clips project, Sid
became so inspired that,
together with a number
of friends, he organized a
Greenpark continues to be inspired
by all of Toronto’s everyday heroes.
Your extraordinary contributions
make life better for all of us.
www.greenparkgroup.ca
visit to the school. In May
of 2006, over 400 people
including 250 motorcycles
from across Canada, USA,
Israel, and Australia congregated in Whitwell, Tennesee. They raised more
than $60,000 and presented the school with eleven
Promethean Boards — an
interactive computerized
whiteboard. The Paper Clip
Ride itself was made into
a documentary, and Sid
made over 35 presentations
about the project to various organizations, such as
schools, service groups, seniors’ homes, and religious
congregations.
When asked what motivates him, Sid’s answer
is modest but profound:
“What I have learned is that
you can decide to act on an
idea to do some good. It’s
easy to find excuses not to
get involved, but when you
do, the result is that each
of us can make a difference. Whitwell is the best
example. The school’s motto is changing the world
one classroom at a time. I
wouldn’t want to be sorry
for the missed opportunities when I had the chance
to make a difference. In the
meantime, it gave us a lifetime of memories”.
Good
News
Toronto
wishes him and his groups
Godspeed, open roads, blue
skies, and many more years
of helping others.
For their complete stories, please visit out website: www.goodnewstoronto.ca
10
Good News Toronto
February 2008
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
The Power of Tea
By Eva Karpati
N
orma Cowan, a
77-year-old grandmother, brings the
world together in friendship every Wednesday
afternoon. Sensing a need
in the community, she
and her friend Audrey
Martels created a casual
drop-in
conversational
English class at Donway
Covenant United Church,
nine years ago. It had
become evident to Norma
that “graduates of formal
ESL classes still needed
practice speaking English.”
“Doctors, lawyers, dentists from around the world
[from such countries as]
Russia, Sri Lanka, Burundi,
and Hong Kong, gravitate
towards this informal environment,” says Norma.
Under her guidance, the
students
practice
their
skills while they drink tea,
socialize, and learn about
one another’s countries
and cultures — and about
their new home in Toronto.
“Laughing and bonding,”
Norma remarks, “is what
takes place.”
Born in Kingston, Ontario
on a farm, Norma graduated
as a nurse. Shortly after
their wedding, she and her
husband started their family in Toronto. A stay-athome mother, who raised
four children, Norma always
found time to volunteer
and give back to her community. She was active with
leadership roles in Brownies and is currently helping
patients at the Sunnybrook
Regional Cancer Centre.
When Norma began leading
the conversation group, she
took the responsibility very
seriously. “I would scour
the newspapers to bring
in articles that would be
relevant and interesting
to talk about, as a way to
encourage conversation,”
she says.
She recounts her favourite anecdote: “Two doctors
met at the conversation
group, one from Russia and
the other from Iran. As their
connection continued, they
started studying together in
order to pass their exams;
two people from two different worlds coming together
to help each other overcome
their difficulties.”
At the last tea party
before the summer break,
Jonathan, an electrical engineer from China, praised
the group. Despite being
able to read and write English, Jonathan explains that
he could not speak the lan-
guage. “This group taught
me about Canadian culture,
and it was a way to immerse
myself in English.”
Sami, a Palestinian, explains, “This group enabled
me to keep up with my children who had learned the
language quickly [as well as]
to make friends.” Although
still shy about his English
proficiency, Sami feels very
comfortable
conversing
with his fellow students.
Melody, a young florist
who emigrated alone from
South China, describes the
group as being “like home.”
This group gave her confidence and helped her find a
job in her profession.
Norma has created a safe
haven where adults from
across the globe can unite,
leaving behind the worries
and concerns associated
with being new immigrants.
As Norma says, “We are
here to make a difference.”
There are benefits for her,
too. “I have learned so much
from them,” she says.
Norma Cowan and her students
Good News Toronto
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
February 2008
Surviving Strength
By Kate De Freitas
I
Daniel Bachmutsky in class
Daniel Will Get It Done
By Gillian Prupas
D
aniel Bachmutsky is
a young man with a
dream: to make his
school a better place for his
fellow students.
An enthusiastic and articulate 14 year old, Daniel
is a ninth grader at Fisherville Junior High School,
where he continuously
gives of himself to better
the school.
Arriving from Russia
eight years ago, it took him
some time to come out of
his shell. “Before, I was
really shy,” he says. “Right
when I got to Fisherville I
wasn’t shy anymore.”
Daniel credits Fisherville’s encouraging environment with allowing him
to grow into his own skin.
Since arriving there two
years ago, he has kept busy
performing in school plays
and finding other ways to
get involved. “I really like
the school and wanted to do
more,” he says. This year,
Daniel was elected student
president, his goal being
“to make a difference.” His
campaign slogan was “I will
make it happen!”
“Daniel was elected by
his peers,” says Fisherville’s
Principal, Ellen Austrom.
“His peers recognize him.
[He wants to] bring fun to
the school [and] add to the
school community. [He]
brings students’ voice forward to teachers. He is sensitive, caring, and fun.”
Another of Daniel’s major
achievements at his school
arose out of an unexpected
tragedy that swept through
Fisherville two years ago.
“It really scared me,” he
says. “If we have counselors, then why is this happening?”
Realizing the need to
address the problem, Daniel created a peer support
group. “I started the peer
support group because students might not want to talk
to adults. Students understand each other.” Through
the peer support group,
students will be able to talk
to other each other, with the
help of social workers, in a
safe and relaxed environment, about anything that
concerns them. “The point
of the peer-group is to have
a big group of people looking out for each other,” he
says. “If we had the peergroup before, [the tragedy]
would’ve never happened
and now it will hopefully
never happen again.”
Daniel has taken his
role as President seriously,
raising money for cancer
research, organizing Terry
Fox walks and coordinating Culture Day, which
celebrates the school’s inclusiveness. “He shines at
Daniel continued on 11
had the pleasure of being introduced to Susan
March seven years ago
as her eldest son’s girlfriend. Immediately, I was
captivated by her loving
spirit, and giving nature.
She welcomed me as a
daughter instantly, and we
have formed a beautiful
friendship over the years.
At times I sit back and
wonder how she finds the
strength to withstand the
pain, and find the will to
move forward with her new
life; then I hear her voice
citing that old proverb,
“God doesn’t give you what
you can’t handle.” Perhaps
this is how Susan has made
it this far on her journey
through life — there was
never any doubt she would
not.
It only takes a few moments upon meeting Susan
to realize that she is truly
an inspiration. Mother,
wife, daughter, sister, friend
— she is your typical loving, down-to-earth human
being, put on this planet
to live, breathe, and simply
astound those around her
with her strength and will.
Diagnosed with a rare
form of breast cancer in
1994, Susan was given six
months to live. One can
only imagine the terror she
must have felt. “I wasn’t
going to just sit there and
SickKids continued from 1
with The Hospital for Sick
Children began seven years
ago when her very close
cousin Alison was admitted with severe stomach
pains. The amazing doctors at SickKids were able
to diagnose her chronic
disease as intestinal lymphangiectasia (a breakdown
of the lymphatic system).
Although Amanda lost her
cousin this past December,
she maintains a great deal
of respect for the hospital,
its foundation and the incredibly dedicated staff at
SickKids.
Maria-Jose is a Chiléan native who moved to Canada
when she was 8 months old
to seek medical treatment
from one of the world’s top
paediatric facilities -- The
Hospital for Sick Children.
Susan March welcoming us to her home
be told I wasn’t going to be
around for much longer,”
she sternly remarks to me
as she sips her tea. Jumping
from doctor to doctor, Susan would not give up until
she heard the words she
was searching for: “We can
help you.” Susan stumbled
upon a doctor researching
her rare form of cancer, and
offered to include Susan in
the study.
Though it was a difficult
time, Susan took comfort
in the caring nature of her
family, friends, and neighbours. “My boys never went
without a full meal on the
table, clean clothes, or a loving home. My neighbours
took turns cooking us
meals each night, visiting
me, and praying for me.”
Born with cloacal extrophy
(a disease that affects all
the
abdominal
organs
rendering them virtually
useless), Maria-Jose has had
more than 40 major operations since birth, including
a kidney transplant from
her mother. With perseverance, determination, and a
committed staff working
with her, she has survived
the astonishing odds to become a vibrant and radiant
young woman.
My connection began at
the age of two. My family
physician diagnosed me as
having narrow eustacian
canals (the canals that
drain the excess fluids
from one’s ears), which
were causing chronic ear
infections, hampering my
ability to hear properly and
negatively affecting my
speech development. The
doctor made it clear that if
I did not undergo a series
of restorative surgeries,
I would lose my hearing
entirely. For the next four
years, I underwent surgery
every four to six months,
and by the age of six my
hearing had been completely restored.
SickKids has this
magical way of
never leaving any
person’s heart.
In the summer of 2006, I
came back to the SickKids
community to extend my
gratitude and become a
member of Student Team
SickKids in its first year.
This gave me a wonderful
opportunity to volunteer
The love and encouragement that surrounded her
helped Susan to recover;
and for this reason, fifteen
years after her diagnosis,
Susan sits before me, wideeyed and smiling, telling
me her story. “The prayers,
my children, my husband,
and my friends, they are
what kept me alive. I didn’t
know I was a fighter, it’s
something that just happens.”
A fighter she is. Three
years ago, Susan had a
pace-maker put in due to
her weakened heart, a result of her chemo therapy.
She continued to go to the
doctor, each time reminded
of the severity of her condition. She was placed on the
heart donor list: she waited and hoped. On August
6, 2006, Susan received the
phone call she was praying
for: “We have a heart for
you.”
“I wasn’t going
to just sit there
and be told I
wasn’t going to be
around for much
longer.”
Susan underwent heart
surgery while her three
sons, her husband, a loyal
friend, and I sat by. Probably the longest night of
my life, I remember feeling
truly touched by the love
that surrounded Susan
with patients, work in a
fundraising and public
relations setting, and meet
people who have been
equally as touched by the
hospital.
SickKids has this magical way of never leaving
any person’s heart, and
as a result, people never
want to leave it. Almost
every staff member, from
the researchers, to the
fundraisers, to the doctors, nurses, volunteers,
and custodians, has had a
personal experience with
the hospital that has made
them choose SickKids over
other places to work. Mike,
Amanda, Maria-José, and I
are only four examples of
people who have felt the
need to give back to SickKids and work in such an
inspirational environment.
To others who wish to
Please share the GOOD NEWS – pass it on!
11
that evening. The worry,
the hope, the fear, and the
devotion: these feelings
seized us as we sat with
anticipation in that empty
hospital-waiting room. She
survived yet again.
She is giving, welcoming, and caring. Her love
is distributed evenly to
each person she meets. Her
motto is, “My door is always
open,” and open it always
is; her house has become
the neighbourhood retreat,
and Susan relishes in the
company. It is truly moving
to watch each young visitor
in Susan’s home greet her
with a simple hello, present her with a warm hug,
or stop for a small chat by
the door. When dinner is
made, all are invited; when
lunch is being prepared, all
are included. When trouble
finds these kids, her sofa
is offered as a bed. When
sickness overtakes them,
her warm palm tests their
forehead; when sadness
strikes them, her soft voice
soothes them. She is their
Mother and their friend.
Her home is open to them,
and they know this.
Her will to live impresses
them, and her humbleness
moves them. She does not
exclude; considering other
people before herself, she
acts on instinct and love.
Her sickness did not diminish her; in fact, it made
her stronger. She is a hero
because she inspires. She is
alive because she has yet to
meet a challenge she cannot overcome.
pursue this type of position
— as an “Ambassador,” no
matter the cause — I would
ask that you carry your
passion to the next level:
unbridled passion is what
connects best, no matter
the audience. Hold nothing
back — that’s a reward unto
itself.
Daniel continued from 10
everything,” says Irina, a
fellow classmate. “He is a
people person and is always
willing to help everyone.”
He manages to do all this
while nevertheless being
on the Honour Roll.
“I wanted to leave something behind me,” Daniel
says. If his accomplishments are any indication,
he appears to have done
just that.
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