I Thank You - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel

Winter 2013/2014
Celebrating our Centennial Year…
Centennial Celebration walk at Celebration Square in Mississauga!
On September 18th Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across Canada celebrated 100 years of mentoring by organizing
activities and events to bring heightened awareness about Big Brothers Big Sisters. In Peel we held three awareness
walks in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The walk was a call to action to let the community know about our need
for volunteers for the 300 children and youth who are currently waiting. After each of the walks our destination point
was Boston Pizza, who provided unlimited complimentary pizza and drinks for everyone who participated.
Thank you to our Volunteers and Donors!
On September 27th we were proud to recognize our top volunteers and donors at our Centennial Gala. The evening
had a 'Las Vegas' flare with showgirls, gambling tables run by Mississauga Fire Fighter volunteers, and live music by
'New Hollywood'. Little Brother Dashawn kicked off the evening by singing 'O Canada' and we were honored to have
Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans on stage to recognize our award winners.
Congratulations to all of our volunteers and donors for making a positive difference!
Michele Darling Big & Little Sister of the Year
Deanna D'Ambrosio and Riley
Couples for Kids Match of the Year
D.J. & Brittany Marchese and Cameron
Peel Regional Police Chief Mike Metcalf
Youth of the Year
Manreet Yadev
Community Partner of the Year
Peel Regional Police Court Bureau
(accepted by Inspector Sam Checchia)
Group Leader of the Year
Tim Norris (photo with Little Brother)
In-School Mentor & Mentee of the Year
Maureen Harrison and Morgan
Johnston Equipment
Volunteer of the Year
Rio Trapani
Conversation Club
Volunteer of the Year
Gurpreet Brar
Corporate Partner of the Year
The Keg Steakhouse + Bar
(accepted by Charlene Trahan & James Mozes)
Local Business Partner of the Year
Razor Creative
(accepted by Roberto Carreiro)
Centennial Gala raises $113,000
For the first year ever, in celebration of our 100 year anniversary
across Canada, we combined our Annual Gala and our Volunteer
Recognition Evening. It was an elegant evening of great food,
entertainment and awards with close to 400 guests in attendance.
A special thank you is extended to our Presenting Sponsors: Michele
Darling & Michael Eagen and M-O Freightworks; Platinum Sponsors:
Crawford Chondon & Partners LLP, The Sharpe-Way Group at
ScotiaMcLeod and Dynamic Employment Solutions and Gold
Sponsors: Peel Regional Police and MNP.
Our thanks is also extended to your dynamic Gala committee for
their expertise and hard work.
Celebrating our Donors
(Fiscal year: Jan - Dec 2012)
President's Circle
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ministry of Education
TD Financial Group
The Ontario Trillium Foundation
United Way of Peel Region
Director's Circle
Halo Foundation
Johnston Equipment
Region of Peel
UPS Foundation
Leader's Circle
L-R: Las Vegas showgirls from RS Divas with Presenting
Sponsors, Michael Eagen, Michele Darling, Doug Munro from
M-O Freightworks with Glen Way, Board Chair of
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel.
Amgen Canada Inc.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
Brampton Guardian
City of Brampton
Charitable Foundation of the Ontario Grocery Industry
Community Foundation of Mississauga
Government of Canada HRDC
George Weston Ltd.
Keg Steakhouse & Bar (Spirit Foundation)
Mattel Foundation
Michele Darling
Mississauga News
RBC Foundation
Samsung Electronics
Tim Hortons Advertising and Promotional Fund (Canada)
Champion's Circle
Big Brothers Big Sisters 2013 Centennial Gala Committee
Mississauga Fire Fighters'
volunteering to run our gambling tables.
American Eagle Outfitters Foundation
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ontario
Bill Kanellopoulos - Clark West Plaza
Bonanza Gardens
Brampton and Area Community Foundation
Chum Charitable Foundation
Crawford Chondon & Partners LLP
Dynamic Employment Solutions
Ernest Alligood
Jack Greedy Limited
Mississauga Fire Fighters Association Benevolent Fund
Ontario Ministry of Tourism Culture & Sport
Peel Regional Police
Polar Securities
Rogers Television
Scotia Private Client Group
TD Commercial Banking
Telus
The Joan and Clifford Hatch Foundation
The Sharpe-Way Group at ScotiaMcLeod
The Silent Auction Company
Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund
Z103.5
*Italicized font indicates an In-Kind donation
As the holidays are fast approaching this is a time for us all to reflect on 2013. At Big Brothers Big Sisters we have
had a year of growth in many ways. We are proud to be providing service to over 1,500 children and to have had
very successful fundraising events this year. Our Centennial Gala was incredible, bringing together close to 400
of our strongest supporters, both volunteers and donors, and raising $113,000 – $13,000 over our goal!
We are now in the midst of our Staff United Way campaign, hoping to raise $5,000 from the BBBS staff to
contribute to their Annual Campaign. The United Way does wonderful work in our community ensuring that
donor dollars reach those who need it most. Please give generously to the United Way through your own
workplace campaign. Supporting the United Way enables the creation of meaningful change in our community
today, so we can be stronger tomorrow. It benefits us all!
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel would also like to thank the Boston Consulting Group for their recent generous
contribution to the Social Return on Investment Study on the Big Brother Big Sister Mentoring Program. The
findings demonstrate the power of investments in Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring to deliver strong economic value over time. The
research compared the life outcomes of 500 former "Littles" with a control group of individuals from identical family and economic
backgrounds. Four categories of differential life outcomes were examined: employment, philanthropy, life skills and general well-being.
Some of the key findings included:
 68% reported being employed full time, compared to 58% among those in the control group. The BBBS participants
were also significantly more likely to have higher full time salaries (an average of $59,600 compared to $52,700)
 66% reported volunteering for community service compared to 43% of those in the control group.
 Almost eight-in-ten BBBS participants (77%) reported that they donate to charities compared to 67% of those in the control
group and the average annual charitable donations were also higher ($395 compared to $329)
 52% of the former Littles strongly agreed that they make good life choices compared to 39% of those in the control group
 Every dollar invested in Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring generates $18 in social return on investment.
From all of us at Big Brothers Big Sisters we wish you well over the holidays and a healthy and happy 2014 for you and your family! We look
forward to a year ahead of growth and impact as many new life changing friendships are created! Until next time...
Celebrations!
Happy Riel Day, Birth of Bahá'u'lláh, Day of the Covenant, Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, All Saints Day, First Day of Advent, Day of Hajj,
Eid-ul-Adha, Diwali,Birth of Guru Nanak, Bodhi Day, Amitabha Buddha's Birthday, First Day of Advent, Birthday of Imam Agakhan,
Maun Agiyaras, Yule/Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas Day, Maitreya Bodhisattva's, New Year's Day, Lohri, MakarSankranti,
Milad-un-Nabi, Birth of Sri Guru Gobind Singh, Maghi, VasantPanchami, Lantern Festival, Valentine's Day, Family Day and any other
holidays and celebrations we may have unintentionally left out!
Keep connected to Big Brothers Big Sisters...'Like' us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Next issue: February 2014
Thank you for helping to. . .
'Take a Little to the Legislature Day'
Big Brothers Big Sisters created the 'Take a Little to the
Legislature' Day to give our Little Brothers and Little Sisters the
opportunity to learn, first hand, about the career options
available to them. Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP)
were invited to host a BBBS youth for one day and provide
them with a workplace experience in politics. A special thank
you is extended to Minister Linda Jeffrey for participating in
this educational day where our Little Brother Nolan had the
opportunity to job shadow her, along with Little Sister Jaime
from BBBS of Toronto for
the afternoon on October
29th.
Following the great
afternoon of learning was
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Queen's Park Reception
where all MPP's were
invited to the Legislative
Dining Room for hors
d'oeuvres and presentations
from a panel of Little
Brothers and Little Sisters.
Queen's Park reception - Shari Lynn
Ladanchuk - President & CEO of BBBS
Peel, Little Brother Nolan, Minister Linda
Jeffrey, Little Sister Jaime, Cathy Denyer President & CEO of BBBS Toronto.
Back to School Donations
A special thank you to
Gibraltar Solutions Inc. for
choosing to support Big
Brothers Big Sisters as a part
of their ongoing support to
United Way. During the
month of August they held a
school supply drive where
staff all contributed supplies
of the children and youth at
BBBS!
start something
Thank You!
Thank you to the following donors who generously supported
Big Brothers Big Sisters between August - November 2013:
United Way of Peel Region
Standard Life
RBC Foundation
Ontario Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport
Polar Securities
Crawford Chondon& Partners LLP
Peel Regional Police
BMO Bank of Montreal
Johnson Matthey
MNP
Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund
John Howard Society
TD Commercial Banking - Mississauga
The Beer Store
The Staffing Edge
Scotia Entertainment Services
City of Brampton
Johnston Equipment
Cowan Insurance Group
Kiwanis Club of Brampton
WinMagic Data Security
$131,801
$ 17,900
$ 15,000
$ 8,000
$ 7,000
$ 5,000
$ 4,140
$ 4,000
$ 4,000
$ 3,500
$ 2,500
$ 2,160
$ 2,000
$ 2,000
$ 2,000
$ 1,800
$ 1,500
$ 1,250
$ 1,133
$ 1,000
$ 1,000
Thank you to General Mills!
A special thank you to General Mills for
their support of Big Brothers Big Sisters Go
Girls Program. Look for the Go Girls logo
on boxes of Multigrain Cheerios beginning
in January 2014!
Pictured here is George Pabi, Peter Lee and
Ghiyas Butt of Gibraltar Solutions
presenting the supplies to Susan Nomi (left)
and Deirdre Morrison-Mohamed of BBBS
We would also like to thank
Aimia who donated a variety
of backpacks and other school supplies to give our children
and youth a great start to the school year!
Beer Store Fundraiser
Thank you to Bill and Andrea
Bates, Ernestine Sharron, Steve
Dranitsaris and Janet Muir
who volunteered their time
raising funds for Big Brothers
Big Sisters at the Meadowvale, Streetsville, Bramalea City
Centre and Airport Beer Store locations. A total of $6,098 was
raised!
'I Thank You' Song,
written for Big Brothers Big Sisters!
A song was written for BBBS
by the Tenors, featuring Laura
Kaeppeler, and performed at
our National Convention in
the summer in celebration of
our 100 years. It is now for
sale on iTunes, has been
promoted in many
mainstream media outlets and a video has also been created.
Additionally a revised version of the video was shown at all
Cineplex Odeon theatres in the last 2 weeks of October.
Featured in the video are some volunteers and youth from
Peel Region! Check out the video by visiting our website at
www.bbbspeel.com. For every download of the song from
iTunes, 50 cents comes back to Big Brothers Big Sisters!
NEW! Big Brothers Big Sisters Mobile App!
United Way Day of Caring
The Little Big Activity App is a whatto-do idea generator for your mobile
device. Big Brothers or Big Sisters can
use it to find inspiration for activities
and events to share with Little
Brothers or Little Sisters - based on
location or search criteria. But it's not
only for our volunteers! The Mobile
App is useful to anyone interacting
with young people. Visit our website
at www.bbbspeel.com to find out
more and download the new app.
We were pleased to host 3
volunteers for United Way's Day
of Caring on November 14th. Day
of Caring allows individuals from
supportive local companies the
day off of their usual job to come
to a United Way member agency
and assist with various projects.
Our volunteers completed an
important data entry task to help
us with the management of our
archive files.
L-R: Roger from Region of Peel; Janine
from Chubb Edwards and Estrela from
Town of Caledon preparing our filing boxes
for shipment to Iron Mountain.