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Monday December 24, 2007. It's 9am and it's cold out, but the rain finally stopped. Volunteers and staff are tired but determined. The line-up of people needing help begins. Toys are arriving from the Balmy Beach Club. Sunday December 23, 2007-FINAL ANAYLSIS ( 2:30pm entry-it's been raining all day and the people keep coming. A burning desire to provide a dignified Christmas for their children. We are going til 4pm and then back at it tomorrow morning) . It's dark, it's raining, it's 8:30am and there are people at the door waiting to access our toy distribution program. It's a different day. People will be coming from all over the City of Toronto for help. Yesterday's program was all local. Hopefully we can keep up. Staff and volunteers are exhausted, but buoyant. I think that's the Christmas Spirit again. Here are some 2007 Share A Christmas facts:
B.M. Saturday December 22, 2007. D DAY! Please note that Saturday January 26 at 10am we will be awarding the Bachelor of Christmas, Masters of Christmas and the PHDC. Check this blog for updates. (7:00pm entry-496 deliveries were made in 3 hours. An all time record! It was a tough season but our "war room" operating style helped to ensure a great Christmas for those who otherwise would be locked in a depression with their children. More to do in the morning.) White Knuckling Share a Christmas It’s a damp, rainy day, similar to last year. Although there is a copious amount of snow struggling to be decorative, most of it has turned to black and gray. That’s the work of the automobile I suppose. Despite the weather and the condition of the snow, the air around us is ignited with hope, expectation, and rejoicing. I think that is called the Christmas Spirit. It touches people and moves them. It's ticklish, irresistible and overwhelming. It compels us all to be happily generous and forgiving. To complement the jollification we wear silly hats without embarrassment and wish each other a Merry Christmas without reservation. It brings out the best in us. It reminds us to be respectful and decent and loving. Dickens defined it as “the spirit of active usefulness, perseverance, cheerful discharge of duty, kindness and forbearance!” Given the nature of this night’s work, we are given to quote Dickens frequently in these parts. One would think that after 26 years of doing this program, I would know better. I do confess that I white knuckle every Share a Christmas Campaign. I never truly know if our supply will satisfy the demand until the last minute. I should know and remember that neither man nor beast nor weather can extinguish the light or smother the Spirit of Christmas. It is the continuous generosity of those people who live, work, play, visit and connect to our community that makes Christmas possible for those who can't. It is the wealth of their donations, entrusted to us, to distribute on their behalf that humbles me. This is a sacred trust that we honour each year. Christmas is a time when “abundance rejoices and want is most keenly felt”. (Yes, Dickens again). In 6 hours, 100’s of people will be here to deliver the Christmas Miracle to over 600 families. When this day is done, we will have two more days just like it. The next two days supports those who would have otherwise been forgotten. When our noble work concludes, we will have reached out to over 1,000 families. We owe a big thanks to SNC-LAVALIN POWER ONTARIO INC. and to Ted, Tracy, Tracy and Deeanne and all of those who donated to our 26th Annual Share A Christmas. They may a major impact on our program this year. They get the Hamper hoof print of approval!!!!
Our fresh food trailer has just arrived, I must now attend to the turkeys'. B.M. Friday December 21, 2007. We are very close to meeting our Share A Christmas goal. Debra Bain and the fine folks from Remax on Queen just made Christmas brighter with a check for $3,000 and Canadian Tire donated a truck load of toys. Tomorrow is our Delivery Day. We are so close. If you have time, toys, food or money to donate please call us at 416 691 1113 ext 225. B.M. Wednesday December 19, 2007. Our volunteer reindeers will be happy-all 200 of them. Thanks to Councilor Bussin's Office and to the City of Toronto Transportation Services, the huge obstructing banks of snow on the north and south side of our street have been removed. This allows us to park our 53' fresh food trailer on the street and provides safe access and egress for our volunteers as they load their sleighs to deliver Christmas to about 600 local families on Saturday. CHUMCity Christmas Wish just gave us 30 bags of toys. The Toronto Police Services Toy Drive gave us a similar amount and we expect a donation of toys from the Toronto Firefighters. We still need products for infants and teens. 3 days to our "D" ( delivery) Day and we are getting close to reaching our goal. B.M. Tuesday December 18, 2007. Tonight the work begins. Volunteers will begin the packing process by sorting all of our non-perishable foods. I hope there is a lot of work to do. Local schools have worked really hard this year and have sent us boxes and boxes of non perishable foods. Forest's Lock Service Inc. just dropped off a $2,000 donation. That's the spirit and we are deeply grateful. CHUMCity, one of our toy donors, has fallen on hard times. It seems the only promotion they are getting is from Cable Pulse 24. Not sure how many people watch Cable Pulse 24. There are four days left until we deliver Christmas and we need non perishable foods, and gifts for infants and teens. If you can help please call me at 416 691 1113 ext 225. B.M. Monday December 17, 2007. Well the "hits just keep on coming"! One of our major toy donors has just told us they have run out of toys for children and products for teenagers. Monday December 17, 2007. Well we didn't need that! While we'd love a white Christmas , yesterdays snow storm caused us to cancel two food drives and donations are at an all time low. The snow banks at the curbs are so high and intrusive that volunteers will have a difficult time climbing over them on Saturday as we begin delivering Christmas to over 600 families. To make things worse, the trailer that contains all of our fresh vegetables, fruits, turkey and ham, will not be able to access the street. The snow piles have choked-off a lane. We have called for snow removal help and hope we get in time. We have 5 days left until our delivery day and we need help. If you can donate cash or food please call us at 416-691-1113. B.M. Thursday December 13, 2007. Although there is a depressingly long way to go, I can see the sun rising and I sense the Christmas Miracle is unfolding before me and here's why. Keith Burton from Royal LePage Estate Realty located at 2301 Queen Street East called with a $5,000 donation to our Share A Christmas Program. 100% of Keith's donation gets to the Christmas Tables of those people in our community who are struggling to provide a dignified Christmas for their children. Keith just bought the equivalent of about 167 turkeys. That's the spirit! Please remember, when looking for goods and services, support our local businesses. Especially those, who so generously give back to their community. I am about to confirm our fresh food order for our Share A Christmas Program- 230 hams, 285 turkeys, 525 bags of apples, loaves of bread, turnips, bags of carrots, potatoes, milk and cakes. In addition we have over 100 corporations adopting families. We need your help. If you can make a donation of time call Nancy at 416 691 1113 ext 224 or money call 416 691 1113 ext 225. B.M. Wednesday December 12, 2007. Paul B just dropped by. Paul is a member of the Balmy Beach Club's Old Boys. He confirmed that they are donating turkeys to our Share A Christmas Program again. Thank you Paul-we need them! We are dreadfully behind and need a miracle to meet our goal. 416 691 1113 ext 225. Here's the spirit- Christmas Cut-A-Thon Deb’s Rainbow at 870 Kingston Rd. (at Beech Avenue) is holding a Cut-A-Thon Dec. 9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. All proceeds will be donated to Community Centre 55’s Share-A-Christmas. Women $25, men $15. To book an appointment contact Deb at 416-690-4247. B.M. You can help produce the Christmas Miracle and we need your help. Please call 416 691 1113 ext 225. Monday December 10, 2007. Things are grim. There are only 11 days left until we deliver our Christmas Hampers to those in our community who need our help. We have almost 600 families asking for relief and at this time we can only provide for less than 100. We need your help and would deeply appreciate it. Cash helps us buy fresh foods for the kids. If you can make a donation please call 416 691 1113 ext 225. Non perishable foods go a long way too. Here's a list of the kinds of foods we need. On a happier note, Breakfast with Hamper and Santa was sold out and so was our Pub Night! B.M. Monday December 3, 2007. There's only 19 days left. We deliver our Share A Christmas donations to needy families on December 22, 2007. Donations are slow and we need your help. We have over 600 local families asking for help. We have enough for about 35 now. We need a miracle! SNAP magazine took some fabulous photo's of our recent Christmas Parade click here to see the Christmas Spirit and call us now to exercise it. We need all the help we can get for our Share A Christmas Program. 416 691 1113 ext 225 B.M. Monday November 26, 2007. It's frightening! The requests for help this year, compared to last year at this time, is "way up". Funds raised so far this year compared to last year is miserable. We have such a long way to go, so many people to help and such a very short time to do it. Please help us. 416 691 1113 ext 225. B.M. Friday November 23, 2007. And this is why we need your help with our Share A Christmas Program...... "...I wanted to thank you so much for allowing me to drop off my Share a Christmas form just after 5pm. I also wanted to thank Centre 55 for all their help and support at this time of year. I have been lucky to receive help from Centre 55 in the when I lived at ***********and was lucky to get my house by Habitat for Humanity in the same area." "I thought that I wasn't going to need any help again after I got married by my husband left us in June and I had to go from working part-time to finding a full-time job that I started in September." "I now have 3 children to take care of and everything else that goes with it and Christmas is a very difficult time, especially this year under the circumstances." "So I just wanted to thank Centre 55 and you for all the help and time you put into helping families like mine, it's truly appreciated by the parents but even more so by the kids." "God Bless" RD Thursday November 15, 2007. Take a look here at a beautiful piece of graffiti transformation art we have been working on with the Beach Business Improvement Association. It's over 100' long and about 25' high. The pdf file isn't the best representation, but it provides a rough visual idea of the beauty and magnitude of the work. B.M. Monday November 12, 2007. What a great parade! The weather was perfect. The Toronto Police Services and Parking Enforcement did an impeccable job for us keeping the parade route clear. Thousands of people attended. We had more floats and bands than last year. The only disappointment was only 1 of the 4 big financial institutions on Kingston Road participated. Other than that, Santa is making his way over to his secret location for this Saturday's City of Toronto's Santa Claus Parade. It's never to early to register for our 2008 parade and an application is on this web site. B.M. Tuesday November 8, 2007. Our friends at Lation Fitness Studios, in Henley Gardens at 1089 Kingston Road, are helping us raise funds to support our Share A Christmas Program. On Friday November 30 from 5:30pm-Saturday December 1, 2007, 5:30pm they are running a 24 hours of Pure Fitness Fun event. All you have to do is:
There's tons of fun and tons of prizes visit them at www.lationfitness.ca Everything is set and ready to go, including Santa for this Saturdays Christmas Parade. The weather looks good, but Santa doesn't understand why his friends at the CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, and RBC aren't involved in their community. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved. Monday November 5, 2007. More and more people and businesses are joining our Christmas Parade- The Great Escape Book Store; Evelyn walking her dog Shania and Evonne walking her dog; the Dunsten Maplewood High School Drum Band; a dad driving his 1966 Mustang and his kids. Now that's a great example of residents and businesses working together to improve the quality of life in our neighbourhood. But we are still missing the millionaires- the CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, RBC. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved in their community. The weather for Saturday looks good! B.M. Thursday November 1, 2007. Toronto Fire Services just confirmed they are joining our parade this year and so is The Art of Cheese. LOCALS STILL MISSING-CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, RBC. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved in their community. Note: Scotia bank is one of our founding parade partners. Wednesday October 31, 2007. The new Kingston Road Starbuck's Franchise knows how to party-they just joined our Christmas Parade! So did the YMCA and there is the possibility of the Shriners Pipe Band too! LOCALS STILL MISSING-CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, RBC. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved in their community. Monday October 29, 2007. ...and this just in....... Mike Shearling is shooting a documentary film on Santa's for Global TV and he is featuring ours! So, Mike will be taping our parade on November 10th as part of the documentary!!!LOCALS STILL MISSING-CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, RBC. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved in their community. HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS! Our 2nd annual Christmas Parade will be bigger, bolder, brighter and better than last year. So far we have the following confirmed: Beaches Lions; Beaches Recreation Centre; Beaches Speeches; Citizens of the Year ( all 6 of them); Dance Fusion; Danforth Lumber; Fred's Sports; Giffen Mack; Malvern Band; Malvern Choir; Maria Minna MP; Michael Prue MPP; Mulligan Pipes and Drums; Pegasus; Prudential Properties Plus; Toronto Beaches Rotary Club; Sandra Bussin-City Councilor; Scotiabank; Historical Canadian Flags Group; Sheila Carey Meagher; St. John's Roman Catholic Church; Toronto Honda; Toronto Signals Band; Celestial Stained Glass; Angela Kennedy; Beach Metro Community News; Girl Guides; Streetsville Pipe and Drum Band, and yes Santa and there's more to come! LOCALS STILL MISSING-CIBC, NATIONAL BANK, RBC. Give your local bank branches a shake and get them involved in their community. B.M. Tuesday October 23, 2007. She loves our children's programs and she writes: "...I would like to take this opportunity to let you know on behalf of myself (and "A") what a fantastic group of people you have at Community Centre 55 and what a pleasure it has been to get to know you all. Hilary is a volunteer with Community Centre 55 and now a star, and here is the casting call for her new television show.......... "Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am part of the production team for a new series on CBC Television called 'The Feud', which helps take feuding people from war to peace with the help of Hilary Linton, one of Canada's top mediators. Our format is best suited to help resolve a head-to-head conflict between people so we're looking for individuals who are locked in a genuine, ongoing dispute in civil, family or youth cases. If you know of anyone presently engaged in a Feud who wants a chance to have it professionally mediated for free, make an appearance on television, and have a chance to win as much as $5,000 please let them know about our show! Mediation is on the verge of becoming a well known answer to conflict and 'The Feud' is the first series based on this powerful dispute resolution technique. We're definitely ahead of the curve by showcasing your industry in our series. To be considered for an episode, applicants can start the process by simply emailing us at: thefeudinfo@franticfilms.com Please feel free to circulate and/or post the attached Casting Call amongst your coworkers and friends". OK, there's your opportunity. B.M. Saturday September 29, 2007. Well, it was a Cecil B. DeMille-like day! Under a blue sky and in the polished air another Community Centre 55 epic was occuring. Over in Woodbine Park, in our Millennium Garden, we installed Mary Christie as the 2007-2008 Beach Citizen of the Year (BCOY). David Breach (our immediate past BCOY) presided over and delivered a fabulous induction. All of the right people were in attendance and Mary accepted the honour and privilege most gracously and was humbled, proving yet again, we chose the right person for the distinction. While in Kew Gardens we participated in the Celebrate the Beach Event and ran a BBQ and a passel full of children's activities. Meanwhile, over at Lee and Queen our artists began prepping the 110' X 30' IGA wall, for a magnificent mural. This project is a joint effort with the Beach Business Improvement Association. We are transforming a problem plagued wall, which has been destroyed by graffiti vandals, into a breathtaking portrait of Beach Life. A busy day....and now the clean up. B.M. Thursday September 27, 2007. Our first Flu Shot Clinic will be Monday November 26, 2007 from 6-8pm. Bring your OHIP card. B.M. Wednesday September 26, 2007. We get letters............. Now that the boys are settled into school, as am I, I wanted to provide you
with some feedback around Community Centre 55 summer camp. This was the
first time our boys went to Centre 55 day camp. 'J' (8) and 'M' (11) 'T and D A' and....................... I wanted to thank you and all the staff on behalf of my son "J". He had a wonderful summer with all the counselors and really enjoyed being with all of them and really had a great time. He said this was truly the best summer camp that he has been too; all I could say was WOW! I had 'J' registered at 2 others camps this summer as well. He said that nothing compared to CC55 summer day camp. All the counselors were fantastic and great with all the kids, when I told him that we had a week for holidays in August he wanted to skip holidays and stay at camp. I just wanted everyone to know that he had a great summer and he wants me to register him again for summer /08. Thank you for a great summer and he said that he will miss all the staff and hopes to see them all next summer. P.S. Can you please let me if you have a program for the March Break? J.H. As we say goodbye to summer, our attention now turns to our Christmas Parade and Share A Christmas................ B.M. Tuesday September 11, 2007. According to a local newspaper, Community Centre 55 hosted Toronto's only 9/11 memorial service today. Today's reflections, were as sad as they were when we started our ceremony 6 years ago. Firefighters, police officers, the clergy, our political leaders and the community joined us in our Millennium Garden at 2pm. It was a solemn occasion to say the least. As we have done each year, the crowd took four minutes of silence, two for the time each tower was hit by an airplane and two more for the time each tower collapsed. These four minutes of quiet reflecton was complimented by the playing of Ray Charles' version of Amazing Grace and then laying of flowers. Here's a reminder about what happened from Wikipedia... "The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced "nine eleven") consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist suicide attacks by Islamic extremists on that date upon the United States of America." "That morning nineteen terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. Each team of hijackers included a trained pilot. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners (United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11) into the World Trade Centre in New York City, one plane into each tower , resulting in the collapse of both buildings soon afterward and irreparable damage to nearby buildings. The hijackers crashed a third airliner (American Airlines Flight 77) into the Pentagon in Arlington County Virginia near Washington D.C. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft (United Airlines Flight 93) attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In addition to the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died as an immediate result of the attacks, and the death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner to be a result of exposure to WTC dust. Another 24 people are missing and presumed dead. The victims were predominantly civilians." Meanwhile in New York City, this is the first year that a name of a person who did not die at the World Trade Center will be included in the reading of names during the New York City Remembrance. The city agreed to add a name of an attorney, Felicia Dunn-Jones, who died of lung disease five months after the attacks. There are hundreds who have become sick as a result of breathing in the toxins that filled the air after the site imploded. Many of those are rescue workers who spent days at the site. The dying continues................ Monday September 10, 2007. Our graffiti busting summer students succeeded in rubbing out 2,900 units covered in graffiti vandalism crap this summer. They did a great job! Do you know where your kids are? Do you know what your kids are doing? Watch for permanent markers and spray paint in their back packs. Warning! When the police apprehend graffiti vandals, or the courts have graffiti vandals before them, they may be referred to us by the police or the courts. Should this happen, we are pleased and delighted to put these vandals to work, by cleaning graffiti off of public and private places. So far and observing the labour intensity of the removal process, each graffiti vandal, who has had the benefits of our program, have complained the work is "to hard". Oh well... We don't expect to see them again! B.M. Wednesday September 5, 2007. We get letters... "I wanted to thank you and all the staff on behalf of my son "J". He had a wonderful summer with all the counselors and really enjoyed being with all of them and really had a great time. He said this was truly the best summer camp that he has been to; all I could say was WOW! I had "J" registered at 2 others camps this summer as well. He said that nothing compared to CC55 summer day camp. All the counselors were fantastic and great with all the kids, when I told him that we had a week for holidays in August he wanted to skip holidays and stay at camp. I just wanted everyone to know that he had a great summer and he wants me to register him again for summer /08. Thank you for a great summer and he said that he will miss all the staff and hopes to see them all next summer. P.S. Can you please let me if you have a program for the March Break? Best Regards, J & P G"
Monday August 27, 2007. It's been another dirty summer-to date 2,494 units of graffiti vandalism has been cleaned by our hard working summer staff. B.M. Wednesday August 1, 2007. Another truly deserving person earning a significant award! Read all about it here. B.M. Monday July 30, 2007. Our weekend Boathouse Concert featuring El Diablo and Sons of Beaches was a great success. While Beaches ( Beach ) Jazz Festival goers got microwaved in Kew Gardens from the heat and humidity of the weekend, we enjoyed fresh lake breezes, cold drinks, a spicy BBQ and great "toe tapping" performances. See you next year. As always we wish to note our appreciation to all of our volunteers who continue to make this event worthwhile. B.M. Monday July 23, 2007. PIPESTOCK © We are currently planning our first Annual PIPESTOCK ( Bagpipe Festival named after the famous Woodstock concert of the 1960's) and part of the annual competition will be the Beach ( Town ) Crier © Competition. Warm up your tonsils and stand by for details. B.M. Wednesday July 18, 2007. Community Centre 55 is well known for its quality children's programs. Here are 3 photo testimonials...
Monday July 9, 2007. "LET THE STONES CRY OUT" This is kind of neat! "Poetry on the Beach", Wednesday August 1, 2007 at 7:15pm. Join the 7 poets on the move along the Boardwalk. The readings begin in the Park Shelter at the foot of Kippendavie Avenue. The 7 poets are: Aron Tager, Simon Leigh, Peter Austin, Kathleen Zindell, Ann Page, Kate Marshall Flaherty and Suad Burale and the guides are Susan Helwig and Felix Chakirov. This program is supported in part by Community Centre 55. B.M. Thursday June 7, 2007. Michael Prue-our Member of Provincial Parliament just stopped by and handed us a batch of soccer tickets for the 38th Match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup! Thanks very much Michael, the kids here really appreciate it! B.M. Wednesday June 27,2007.
Thanks to Jon Muldoon and the BMN for the photo and support. We were honoured to have had another opportunity to host Anne Swann's Bard In The Park. This year Anne produced The Tempest at the bandshell in Kew Gardens from June 14 to 17. All performances were very well received, and the weather held out for the entire production of the Shakespeare classic. We have received a multitude of compliments about this program and its professionalism. Intimate, local artistic impressions, such as this, tend to round off the edges of our lives and we look forward to a long association with Bard in the Park. B.M. Tuesday June 5, 2007. Christina Kaufman's "24 Hour Right To Move Family Fun Fit" was and is a brilliant idea. Last weekend she achieved an amazing success. She raised $10,000 for a group of causes, one of which is Community Centre 55 and we are very appreciative to her and her volunteers and participants for their herculean efforts. Christina is a mother of three children, a coach and an Ironman triathlete. Her credentials, combined with her competitive spirit and that rare kind of tenacity of purpose that compels someone to want to over-achieve by spreading the good news about health, fitness and family had precipitated her "24 HOUR RIGHT TO MOVE FAMILY FUN FIT" program. I recall a conversation I had with Christina in January. At 9am she left me the message, that she would call me back at 10am after her run. What I found remarkable about the message was the outdoor temperature at that time was -19 degrees celsius. Ouch! Family Fun Fit was formed in 2005. "The goal was to organize a kid’s triathlon in our own neighborhood and introduce as many kids as possible to the wonderful sport of triathlon. Family Fun Fit presented/hosted East End Kids of Steel Triathlon. East End KOS turned out to be the largest Kids of Steel event in the history of the Ontario Association of Triathletes. East End Kids of Steel was the second largest KOS in the Country in 2005. In its inaugural year " 339 children participated and over 70 volunteers from our community gave of their time to ensure the kids were safe and had fun." This year the "24 HOUR RIGHT TO MOVE FAMILY FUN FIT" will be on Saturday May 26, 9:00am to Sunday May 27, 9:00am at Ashbridges Bay Park. 100% of the donations raised by the participants will be shared with several organizations and Community Centre 55 is privileged to be a recipient of a portion of the proceeds. Thank you very much Christina. B.M. Tuesday June 5, 2007. A national organization called to complain that we used their trademarked or copy written words/phrase "Women of Distinction" in one of our small neighbourhood volunteer recognition programs. So we are changing the name of our program to "Ladies of Distinction" © and/or "Distinctive Women"© " and/or "Distinctive Ladies" © and/or "Women Who Make A Difference" © " and/or " Ladies Who Make A Difference"© . B.M. Monday June 4, 2007. Community Centre 55 is honoured to continue to host this program and Bill MacLean of the Beach Metro News explains it... “It’s getting more and more popular,” says Anne Butler of her Bard in the Park series. “It’s our third year here in the Beach.” The Bard in the Park Series is Butler’s annual production of Shakespeare plays performed in the bandshell in Kew Gardens. Now that ShakespeareWorks has folded its tent pending a rethink, Bard in the Park is Beachers’ only chance to see Shakespeare performed in their neighbourhood. This year Butler is staging The Tempest. Playing the role of Prospero is veteran actor Peter Higginson and playing the role of Alonso, the King of Naples, is another veteran Beach actor, Patrick Rose. The Tempest originally included six songs written specially for the play. Butler said that her musical director, Donald Guinn, an excellent jazz pianist, will be playing the piano for the production and several of the company, including Sean Killakey, 26, playing the role of Caliban, will be singing. The costums are being done by Marni Collins. Although Bard on the Beach is considered amateur theatre, Butler wanted to stress that amateur doesn’t mean poor quality. “The word amateur means to love theatre,” Butler explained. “The standard for this production is very professional.” Butler said that she will be staging the play in the classical mode, meaning that she will not be restyling the dialogue as some contemporary productions have. Higginson echoed that sentiment when he said that The Tempest contains beautiful writing and fascinating characters. “It’s a compassionate handling of man’s frailties." The Tempest runs June 13-16 at 8 p.m. at the Alex Christie Bandshell in Kew Gardens. There will also be 2 p.m. matinees on June 16 and 17. The performances are free to the public and all are welcome – encouraged – to come down, enjoy a magical tale and support this worthwhile community theatre company.
Monday June 4, 2007. It's the Beach Citizen of the Year time again and here is some information written by Carole Stimmell for the Beach Metro News.... Determining the next Beach Citizen of the Year is up to you. That’s right, if you do not take the time to nominate someone whose volunteer efforts on behalf of this community deserves recognition, they will never be chosen Citizen of the Year. Acknowledging the extraordinary efforts that those special people within this neighbourhood make is important. Not only because their contributions warrant the public honour, but because it also reflects positively on the organizations they volunteer for. Marie Perrotta, said that her organization, Pegasus Community Project, received a great deal of additional visibility because she received the Citizen of the Year award in 2004. The current Citizen of the Year David Breech said “You represent the entire group when you are honoured." The deadline for nominations is fast approaching. You must have them in by June 12. All you need to do is submit a letter to the Beach Citizen committee telling them why your nominee deserves the award. The more complete the information, the better chance your nominee has. Make sure that your candidate is agreeable to be nominated first, however. You can e-mail to editor@beachmetro.com; mail it to: Citizen of the Year, Beach Metro News, 2196 Gerrard St. E., Toronto, ON M4E 2C7 or fax it to 416-698-1253. Friday May 25, 2007. I love talking to professionals. This afternoon I had the pleasure of speaking with a gentleman with Summer Jobs Canada. He answered most, if not all of our concerns, and the end result is we got all four Summer Jobs we applied for. Thanks Devon. B.M. Wednesday May 23, 2007. Here's good news. Really good news. Canada Summer Jobs approved 3 of the 4 positions we applied for and we are grateful to everyone who helped us with this. I can't however, understand way they didn't fund the Councilor In Training position. That job helps kids 12-15 years old to become employment ready when they reach 16. Those of you with transitional aged children ( 12-15) will know the value of such a position and program. Thank you very much. B.M. Wednesday May 23, 2007. Several people have been asking, including businesses and concerned residents and the media, about the status of our request for an appeal and copies of our adjudication from Canada Summer Jobs. We requested funding to subsidize four Summer Positions and all were rejected. Unfortunately there is not much to report. We have sent emails to the Minister and to Services Canada Staff and have had no replies. We returned one call from Services Canada Staff-4 times, and no one calls us back. In the mean time, students with crushing student loans and others are calling asking if we have any summer employment to offer. Pathetic, isn't it! B.M. Thursday May 17, 2007. Check this out! Tuesday May 15, 2007. Subject: Canada Summer Jobs "Thank you for your application for funding under the Canada Summer Jobs Initiative. CSJ is about creating jobs that would not otherwise be created; helping students who need it the most because of where they live and/or other barriers; and providing high-quality, career-related summer jobs". "Your application was assessed and received a rating of 30 out of a total of 70. It did not rank high enough in the list of assessed applications to be funded. Since the demand exceeded the budget, we were unable to offer you CSJ funding at this time. We are keeping a ranked list of qualified candidates. If any successful applicants do not proceed with hiring, funding will be freed for other qualified applicants. In this event we will contact you immediately." HRDC ( Human Resources Development Canada) aka Service Canada has funded summer jobs here since 1975. What happened? This will negatively impact the amount of Graffiti we can remove and the number of kids we can accept in our Day Camp. I know a load of B.S. when I see it! I wonder what the 70 point criteria was? We are going to call them to see what the appeal process is. B.M. Thursday May 10, 2007. Interested in helping our Graffiti Removal Program? We need clean rags please call 416.691.1113 ext 226. Thanks very much. B.M. Tuesday May 8, 2007. We get letters about our Licensed Children's Programs and here is part of one such letter..... "Centre 55 is such a special place and we feel very blessed to have our son being nurtured by such wonderful women." Best, L.B. Tuesday May 1, 2007. A big thanks to Lee Wellbanks and The Beaches Connection, who recently raised a "handsome sum" for Community Centre 55 at their inaugural Mix and Mingle event for local business people and residents at the Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club. Thank you very much. B.M. Friday April 27, 2007. Chances are you knew someone who had it, or, you know someone who has it, or will get it. You can be part of the solution on Saturday May 26, 2007 from 8am! Details are here. B.M. Thursday April 24, 2007. We are now looking for local residents to serve as volunteers to help supervise young offenders as they remove graffiti vandalism from our community. If you have the time and agree to a criminal reference check, and some orientation and training, give Bob a call at 416.691.1113 ext 225 B.M. Thursday April 19, 2007. Community Centre 55 accepts young offenders to remove neighbourhood graffiti . While we continue to promote the establishment of our Restorative Justice Model, (because we feel it is the right program with the potential to yield the best results), and we remain hopeful that someday soon this model will become operational, we have decided, at least for the interim, to accept Phase One Young Offenders, who have been disposed of by the courts with an order to serve the community. These young offenders, from time-to-time, will be mixed in with our staff and volunteers and will be put to work removing Graffiti Vandalism in our neighbourhoods. We of course, have responsibilities and obligations to respect their privacy and identities and will do so, as they scrub and clean. They say that "mistakes are wonderful learning opportunities". These 12-18 year olds now have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and get on with their lives. My guess is, that after 20 or 30 or 40 or more hours of removing graffiti, these young offenders will think twice about committing a second crime, because the sentencing, at least here, is hard labour. And so it is a multiple win. The referring agency and the courts get a good placement for appropriate offenders, the offenders have their opportunity to learn and serve the community and the community can see and benefit from direct results. For those you don't want to learn, well, that's what the courts are for, and we won't waste any time sending them back. B.M. Monday April 16, 2007. There is a significant, and practically exponential backlash from local residents and businesses to the ongoing and ever increasing damage to personal and public property done by Graffiti Vandals. During a meeting today, a business owner asked if victim impact statements would be useful to the Police and to the Courts when dealing with Graffiti Vandals. The answer from an attending police officer was an absolute "yes"! The Police and the Courts need to hear from you. They need to know what the impact of Graffiti Vandalism is on your home or business or just the negative effects it has on our neighbourhoods, communities and city. Possibly suggest that the Graffiti Vandals should be returned to the community to clean up their mess through Community Service Orders. Currently Graffiti Vandals are consider nothing but mischievous. In fact, if and when they are charged, they are charged with Mischief. There are an unusual number of people asking how to help eradicate this vandalism, and one way is to write to our Police Chief and let him know what you think and how Graffiti Vandalism impacts you. William Blair B.M. Monday April 2, 2007. About 80 kids had Breakfast with the real Easter Bunny, here, on Saturday.
"Hi Bunny, I will see you in the Beaches Lion's Easter Parade this Sunday OK? Thursday March 29, 2007. As Kool and the Gang wrote in their lyrics from-"Ladies Night" - Oh yes, it's ladies night Last evening, at the Balmy Beach Club, we held a gala event for Beach Women of Distinction. Over 30 women were recognized and honoured for their continuous service to causes that they are passionate about. The room was at capacity and had enough energy in it to animate a lifeless universe! B.M. Friday March 23, 2007. Well, you could see this one coming.... Beach-Riverdale Mirror, March 23, 07: Ed The Sock shooed out of Easter parade "Ed The Sock has been booted from the upcoming 41st Annual Beaches Lions Easter Parade. " "Slated to be one of the parade's grand marshals, the popular late-night television personality was deemed "too raunchy" to participate in the community event, according to an e-mail from the parade co-chair ." "Due to an overall negative response we've had to pull Ed "The Sock" from the Lions Easter parade," the co-chair wrote. "Ed The Sock... could not be reached for comment by The Mirror's deadline." Despite how you may feel about Ed getting the boot, the Easter Parade is a real "beachapalooza". Please don't forget to pack a Looney for the Lions, your donations help to fund a whole sock drawer of great Lions programs and services. Oh and before I forget, our Hamper the reindeer was hoofed out of the City of Toronto's Santa Claus Parade a few years ago, but that's a blog for some other day. The Lion's like him and that's all that matters right now. B.M. Thursday March 20, 2007. A testimonial............................ " I wanted to thank you for putting on such a good March Break Camp. Both of our children thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was reading my child's school journal last night and he wrote about all of his highlights at the camp and he also wrote that this 'was his best March Break ever'. High praise indeed! " "Each night at dinner the kids would recount their day and quite frankly we were envious and wish we could have been at the camp as well. We were told about the time that you were in a bake store with the girls and you personally bought a brownie for the girls who were not carrying any money with them. She was more than appreciative of your gesture and so were we." "Again thanks very much, and please let us know when you have any information on your summer camps". If I were you, and you are interested in Summer Camp for your child-I would call us now-416.691.1113 ext 222, before we are full! B.M. Friday March 16, 2007. Beach-Riverdale Mirror, Friday March 16, 07: "Mischief charge" "A teenage boy arrested Saturday after allegedly tagging Community Centre 55 on Main Street at Swanwick Avenue is claiming to be an artist, police say" . "It's private property, so it doesn't quite wash, said Const. Rob McDonald, alleging the accused was caught in the act." "McDonald, of 55 Division, alleged the youth used a marker". " The incident occurred at 10:30 a.m. ". "Graffiti vandalism has been an ongoing concern at the community centre". "The teen, who can't be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with mischief". As I mentioned on March 12, 07, I have an Academy Award performance of this vandal tagging our building captured by our CCTV Camera's. Again- mistakes are wonderful learning opportunities, so lets see what happens. Oh, and before I forget, I have photo's of this vandal's signature, which appears twice on a local bus shelter. I wonder if the TTC is charging him too? Several people are suggesting that the parents of the vandal should pay for the clean up. What do you think? bob.murdoch@hotmail.com B.M. Monday March 12, 2007. Hey-some people are enjoying their March Break in warmer climes, sipping margaritas, spending quality time with each other. Organized March Break Programs are under way, the libraries, and gyms, are full and some kids work during the week to earn a little extra cash. There are the few who prefer to spend March Break in handcuffs. Yes handcuffs. What better way to celebrate the beginning of March Break than recording, on Security Video Camera, a graffiti vandal applying his skill or what ever it is. Yes, live on camera, detained by staff, arrested by the police, and taken away in hand cuffs and going to court and we will be there!! Mistakes are wonderful learning opportunities, so lets see what happens. B.M. Friday March 20, 2007. As we shovel, and as we dig, and as we salt, and as we rip ice off of our windshields, and as we cut, and as we chop and as we squeegee ourselves out of last night's snow, snow pellets, freezing rain, rain, and wind storm, it seems ironic that Community Centre 55, in Association with the Musical Theatre Group will be presenting a Bard In The Park production of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", in June, and you can find some details about it here. Breathe........and think about summer in the park........................... B.M. Friday February 16, 2007. Some vandal trampled across the breast of the new fallen snow last night and vandalized our emergency exit door with graffiti. That will cost the tax payers about $100. He/she must be proud-especially his/her's parents. Better hope we don't catch these vandals. If we do, and with the cooperation of the Police and the Courts we have a nice full time summer job waiting for them. If you have any information about this please call Crime Stoppers. When you call Crime Stoppers, you will be completely anonymous. No one will ever know your name and no one will ever know you called. If an arrest is made as a result of your tip, you may be eligible for a CASH reward of up to $2000---> 416.222.TIPS ( 8477 ) By the way, a friend of mine was born in one of the eternal cities. Last summer he went back for a visit. He told me the ancient city is "filthy and destroyed by graffiti vandals". He said he won't go back. B.M. Monday February 12, 2007. It's Tax Time, so what better way to celebrate than to offer some of H&R Block's Tax Tips for students....
B.M. Friday February 9, 2007. The planning for any good parade, starts immediately following the parade you finished. Our next one will be bigger, better, bolder and brighter than the last. So it's never too early for us begin planning our 2nd Annual Village of East Toronto Christmas Parade scheduled for Saturday November 10, 2007. We just booked and confirmed our first two Pipe Bands and our friends at Prudential Properties Plus is sponsoring one of them! B.M. Tuesday February 6, 2007. The "24 Hour Right To Move Family Fun Fit" is Christina Kaufman's brilliant idea. Christina is a mother of three children, a coach and an Ironman triathlete. Her credentials, combined with her competitive spirit and that rare kind of tenacity of purpose that compels someone to want to over-achieve by spreading the good news about health, fitness and family has precipitated her "24 HOUR RIGHT TO MOVE FAMILY FUN FIT" program. As a testament to Christina's devotion to fitness and as matter of fact, Christina called me yesterday at approximately 9am and left me the message, that she would call me back at 10am after her run. What I found remarkable about the message was the outdoor temperature at that time was -19 degrees celsius. Ouch! Family Fun Fit was formed in 2005. "The goal was to organize a kid’s triathlon in our own neighborhood and introduce as many kids as possible to the wonderful sport of triathlon. Family Fun Fit presented/hosted East End Kids of Steel Triathlon. East End KOS turned out to be the largest Kids of Steel event in the history of the Ontario Association of Triathletes. East End Kids of Steel was the second largest KOS in the Country in 2005. In its inaugural year " 339 children participated and over 70 volunteers from our community gave of their time to ensure the kids were safe and had fun." This year the "24 HOUR RIGHT TO MOVE FAMILY FUN FIT" will be on Saturday May 26, 9:00am to Sunday May 27, 9:00am at Ashbridges Bay Park. 100% of the donations raised by the participants will be shared with several organizations and Community Centre 55 is privileged to be a recipient of a portion of the proceeds. Here's how this year's program works:
For details email Christina at: familyfunfit@rogers.com Mens sana in corpore sano! B.M. Monday February 5, 2007. It's Tax Time, so what better way to celebrate than to offer some of H&R Block's Tax Tips for Seniors.... Effective for the 2006 taxation year, the maximum pension income amount has been increased from $1,000 to $2,000. The increase translates into a federal tax saving of $152.50 on private pension income, annuities or RRIF withdrawals (but not Old Age Security or CPP retirement benefits). - The age amount was also increased by $1,000 - from $4,066 to $5,066. This is in addition to the amount by which it was increased because of indexation. - Any senior receiving Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) through Old Age Security should file on time to ensure their benefits continue uninterrupted. - If your spouse is unable to completely offset his or her age amount, pension income and disability amount against tax payable, he or she may transfer the unused portion to your return. - If you live with your children, they may be able to claim a caregiver amount for you if your income is less than $17,363. - Pensions from foreign countries may be subject to special tax treatment under the terms of a tax treaty. Always check with a tax professional to find out if the pension you receive from a foreign source is taxable in Canada. - You may be able to split part of your CPP retirement benefits with your spouse depending on how long you lived together when you were contributing to the plan. This is an advantage if one senior is in a higher tax bracket than the other. However, to do so, you must apply to Human Resources & Social Development Canada. It cannot be done at the time of tax preparation. - Remember that there are tax credits available for federal or provincial political contributions, medical expenses and charitable donations. A tax professional can advise you as to what can be claimed and the best way to ensure maximum deductions. - Starting in 2007, seniors will be allowed to split eligible pension income between spouses or common-law partners. Income splitting will allow seniors to take advantage of a significant tax break. In the situation where the lower-income spouse has very little income, the tax savings will be substantial. B.M. Wednesday January 31, 2007. Here's a new one-"Residual Holiday Stress". A research group reports that mental health problems increased in January. Suicidal thoughts, feelings of anger, and depression appear to spike in January. In fact one psychologist appointed "Monday, January 22, 2007, as the most depressing day of the year. Most people have just come out of the holiday season with high expectations and now that the holiday season is over, these people find themselves dealing with residual holiday stress. Most are struggling to adhere to New Year's resolutions, are worrying about receiving post-holiday credit card bills, or trying to maintain a work-life balance. This can leave us all feeling like we are fighting for survival during the post-holiday season". If you find you are the victim of Residual Holiday Stress, try focusing your attention to your Easter Bonnet. Get it ready for the Lions Easter Parade on Sunday, April, 8th, 2007. You'll find it to be a real pick-me-up. B.M. Tuesday January 30, 2007. Three more days until the big event? "SHALLOW LAKE - On February 2, Wiarton Willie may not poke his head outdoors because of his comfy new digs. With time and all materials donated by the Wiarton Rotary Club and Shouldice Designer Stone, Willie's old aluminum sided, weather-worn home was transformed into a castle last summer, with a Canadian-invented masonry veneer called Fusion Stone. Durable and easy-to-install to match the quality appearance of fine masonry, the system uses pre-cut slots along the top and bottom of each pre-cut stone slab to fit perfectly into the supporting framework of metal clamps, allowing a professional level of precision with no tedious custom measuring, cutting and fitting. Willie's home was perfect because there was no foundation for regular stone and the job was completed in one week. We've heard that Willie's pals (Punxsatawney Phil, Balzac Bill, Brandon Bob and Gary the Groundhog) are envious." What follows Wiarton Willie you ask? Well it's the annual Toronto Beaches Lions Club Easter Parade, and we've just booked our Pipe Band. The Toronto Beaches Lions Club's Easter Parade is one of those "must attend" community events. Last year the parade drew an estimated 45,000 spectators. The Lions added children's author, Robert Munsch, to their pre parade event, and Robert read stories in Kew Gardens to over 250 kids. The Dog Day Parade was and will continue to be part of the Lions "Cecil B. DeDalions" spectacular production. The 2007 annual Easter Parade will be held on Sunday, April, 8th, 2007. It begins at 2:00 pm and runs for approximately one hour. The parade begins at Neville Park and proceeds west along Queen Street ending at Woodbine Ave. Don't forget to bring a "Looney for the Lions". Your donation assists them with the copious amounts of community work they do year-after-year-after-year................ B.M. Tuesday January 23, 2007. Referencing yesterday's blog entry, our simple suggestion to include garbage bags as a moisture barrier for sleeping bags, which will also help to keep in body heat, was immediately adopted by Jody Steinhauer of the Bargains Group. Here is Jody's comment-"I love what you did on your blog...Garbage bags will be added to the list of "needs" in the kits for next year...great idea!!!" Man, she is quick and she doesn't miss much. Next time you are looking for a bargain click here and note their $2 t shirts! BM Monday January 22, 2007. Community Centre 55 deeply appreciates the assistance from "Hockey for the Homeless" and the Bargains Group. On Saturday we received a number of survival kits. These kits contain items that make the frigid nights spent, by the homeless, on city sidewalks, a bit more bearable. In fact, we believe, these kits not only increase someone's comfort level, they save lives. Each kit contains mittens, socks, scarves, a sleeping bag and some personal hygiene products. The Survival Kits Project is funded in part by "Hockey for the Homeless". Their hockey tournaments raise the money necessary to purchase these kits. Hockey for the Homeless couples with Jody Steinhauer of the Bargains Group. Jody leverages their buying power and in her warm and wonderful way, she sweetly appeals to others to make product donations and to volunteer to help assemble each of the kits. She's real good at that! In their inaugural year, Hockey for the Homeless produced 50 survival kits. This year they provided 4,800. We wasted no time distributing our allocation of kits. They were in the arms of the homeless in our area the same day. The Bargains Group has invited comment from the agencies respecting the contents of the Survival Kits. I would respectfully suggest they consider including an extra large industrial-type green garbage bag. This bag can be pulled over a sleeping bag and would do two things-help keep the bag dry and help to seal in body heat. As an aside and maybe of interest to some. There is two general classifications of homelessness:
We look forward to the day, when Survival Kits are not needed. B.M. Thursday January 18, 2007. The majority of today and yesterday has been spent signing charitable tax receipts. We certainly are the beneficiary of a lot of people's affection and trust. These charitable receipts, each and every one of them, serve as a constant reminder of their investment in us, and their anticipation of an honest return on their investment. Donors expect that, in a tangible way, their money is used to help alleviate someone's burden or to help fund an important program. We honour that trust. Last spring, at our annual Charity Fundraising Golf Tournament, I remarked about differences of perception that I have with some of the golfers. Some golfers watch their golf balls fly through the air on their way to the appointed target. As a fundraising event, I see golf balls morphing into flying turkeys or toys, or summer day camp subsidies, some of which go uncontrollably scampering around each of the 18 fairways. I was abruptly reminded by several of the golfers that "turkeys can't fly". I responded that " as God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly". A moment of tremendous levity followed, as we compared this real life adaptation to the "Turkeys Away" episode of the popular WKRP in Cincinnati Show, which was a situation comedy featuring the misadventures of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The point being, from a fundraising perspective, every little bit helps. It all adds up. Each golfer donated a portion of their fees to our charity and at the end of the tournament we raised the equivalent of 200 turkeys for kids at Christmas. I signed their charitable tax receipts yesterday. B.M. Tuesday January 16, 2007. By now, most of us who made New Year's resolutions have either broken them or want to ignore them. Not us! We have a great Senior's Fitness Program here call 416.691.1113 ext. 222 for details. The Drive Wise Program, offered here today, was full. The program was an O.P.P.-delivered driver education seminar that offers attendees a shopping basket of tips, suggestions and strategies, which help prevent the most likely causes of accidents and mishaps faced by older Canadians on the road. Drive Wise also provides important advice on what to do if you are involved in a collision or have a disabled vehicle. It's not too early to begin thinking about Summer. Community Centre 55 has an excellent Summer Day Camp for school aged children, a Kinder Camp and a DEED'S ( Councillor In Training Program ). B.M. Monday January 15, 2007. I almost blew a heart valve on Saturday. At our Annual Hamper's Christmas Convocation, we Philosophiae Doctor's of Christmas presented a PhDC to the youngest person ( 11 years of age ) in our history to have received such a distinction. I swear by Jack Frost, that I almost started crying. What dash this young woman has! Talk about an ignited imagination. This youngster, (now referred to by we Philosophiae Doctor's of Christmas as, Dr. Emma) was so excited, that the power of her anticipation alone, could have pulled Santa's sleigh with a single wink. This academic year requires, Dr. Emma to research Santa's mutated agouti gene. We believe he fails to receive an inhibitory signal from his brain and thus consumes excessive amounts of milk and cookies. Santa consumes about 20,655,000,000 calories in one night. By the end of his work, which is about 31 hours, he weighs approximately 5,901,428.6lbs, which is 2,950.7 tons. Obviously, Dr. Emma, has her work cut out for her. And now........Free Income Tax Clinics-Every Wednesday in March from 6-9pm. By appointment only. Some restrictions apply. Call 416.691.1113 ext. 222 for details and/or an appointment. B.M. Friday January 12, 2007. Can reindeer fly? Why is Santa Claus such a big boy? Could scientists clone the perfect Christmas Tree? Was the Star of Bethlehem really a comet? Why is Rudolph's nose red? How does Santa manage to deliver presents to an estimated 842 million households in a single night? What could we do to guarantee a white Christmas every year? These are among the research and development questions contained in irresistible courses of study at Hamper's Christmas Academy. We Philosophiae Doctor's of Christmas, contemplate these cherished rituals daily. Our conferencing is deliberately punctuated with brief, but frequent recesses, during which we have tea with cookies, followed by a nice nap. After the nap, the cycle of academics begin once again, as we struggle to nudge each other awake. Tomorrow is our Christmas Convocation, which is the honouring of our volunteers. It concludes our Share A Christmas work for 2006. On Monday I'll be blogging about tax clinics. B.M. Thursday January 11, 07. As we Philosophiae Doctor's of Christmas Meritus, indicated earlier, the Parking Authority Officer who ticketed one of our volunteers as they were taking toys from their car to the home of a teary eyed and appreciative mom, won't be graduating this year at our Christmas Convocation to be held on Saturday January 13, 2007, 10am at the Beach Cinemas- 1651 Queen St. E. He/she has to repeat this course of study through Hamper's Christmas Academy-"Working With The Community 101". B.M. PhDC M Wednesday January 10, 07. We- the board, staff and volunteers of Community Centre 55, are touched by the following letter we received, which validates our work and increases our resolve: " There are not enough words for me to appropriately say thank you for the generosity and thoughtfulness my family received from the Centre at Christmas. Due to my disabilities and the financial disaster that comes with living off of ODSP, I had been very concerned as to whether or not I would be able to show my family a Christmas-I had my prayers answered when the Lord blessed me with your Christianity. It is comforting to know that in these chaotic times there are still wonderful Christian and loving people like yourselves. May the Lord bless you this coming year with His rewards for all the love and kindness you give to this community. If you could have seen three year old D's face Christmas morning, then you would know the joy you gave to me this Christmas. God Bless all the staff and volunteers and all who made my families holiday season truly joyous!" Sincerely, D.V. January 9, 07. B.M. Tuesday January 9, 2007. Come and join the cartoon world with me for a moment. Saturday January 13, 2007 will be an exciting day. We, the Philosophiae Doctor's of Christmas Meritus, will be bestowing upon worthy students of Hamper's Christmas Academy, the prestigious Bachelor's of Christmas, Master's of Christmas and Philosophiae Doctor of Christmas on Saturday January 13, 2007, 10am at the Beach Cinemas (Alliance Atlantis) 1651 Queen St. E. We, the stuffy Professor's Meritus that we are, are pickled in our anticipation, that 11 year old Emma, will be the youngest student in our long and proud history to receive her Ph. D.C. She, among others, will have achieved with distinction, all of the terms, conditions and other imperatives of Hamper's Christmas Academy and will consequently, by decree of the Academy Directors, be presented with the prestigious Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.C.). Those who have earned their Ph. D. C's are entitled to use the post nominal letters Ph.D.C. on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary. The recipient of the Philosophiae Doctor of Christmas has made sustained voluntary contributions to charity, demonstrated a selfless devotion to the welfare of others and made differences in the lives of thousands of children and their families who would otherwise be faced with a Christmas of despair. Therefore at the appointed hour and day, by virtue of the authority vested in us, by the Universita Committeeatum of Hamper's Christmas Acadium, we will unanimously confer the Philosophiae Doctor of Christmas, the Master's of Christmas and the Bachelor's of Christmas upon members of the graduating class. ( The Parking Authority Officer who ticketed one of our volunteers as they were taking toys from their car to the home of a teary eyed and appreciative mom, won't be graduating this year. He/she has to repeat Working With The Community 101). B.M. Friday January 5, 2007. Graffiti vandals have disfigured the back of our historic building again. We're checking our CCTV Security Cameras with the hope of making their acquaintance very soon. Can't wait to see the expression on their parents face when the police show up! Last I looked, lawyers are about $300 per hour. We have a constant flow of requests for information from the public, about the graffiti vandalism products we use to remove graffiti vandalism. The following is a list of some of them. Depending on the application, we use a variety of solutions: Tagaway; Taginator; Porous Graffiti Remover; Facto 62 and Facto WC62; Enviro Solutions ES73; SOYsolv Graffiti Remover; SOYsolv II; SOYsolveIIplus. The products are not cheap, so I regret to inform you that, as a general rule, you should expect to pay, depending on the product- $10 - $30 per litre plus taxes. Some of these products may be available through us. Please note that we don't endorse these products, the suppliers or the makers of the products. The products we use seem to work rather well. There may be other products, we are unaware of, that are just as, if not more effective. If you know of any, please let us know. B.M. Thursday January 4, 2007. "Post-Christmas Ball Hockey Game Shows Spirit of the Season". The bastion of brawn known as the Balmy Beach Club is finally ending one of the most storied competitions in the long history of the east-end institution. For a half a century, a group of hockey lovers has gathered together the day after Christmas and played a game of ball hockey often under weather conditions that would have deterred the most resolute of athletes. For many years, they played on a patch of cement at the filtration plant, but although circumstances have forced them to play at different venues in the neighbourhood the team lineups have remained basically unchanged. Household names such as Howard the Duck, Bing, Zzivio, The Colonel, Detroit Tom and Farouk have matched skills with opponents such as Chubby, who is allowed to play in goal mostly because he weights 235 pounds, but also because he is the only one with a pair of nets, the Lad, an ex-Beacher who comes in from Calgary, and a guy named Horse, who I believe is a call-up from the farm team. Oh, and there's another fellow who plays in a Santa suit and has a no-trade Claus in his contract. (And I deserve a match penalty for that one.) The teams are divided into Big Guys and Little Guys. If you're under 190 pounds you are a Little Guy and if you are more than 190 pounds you qualify as a Big Guy and the only rule is no bodychecking. What with the ravages of time there are more hip replacements than there are hip checks, which is a good thing because most of the players have more miles on them than a TTC bus, but they still scamper around the playing surface with a great zeal and skill. The contest lasts about 40 minutes with the only break in play coming on those occasions when a stray dog has picked off an errant pass and run away with the tennis ball. After a replacement ball is found, play resumes an the game is not over until Chubby picks up his nets and goes home. Balmy Beach Club historian Ken Bingham has played every game and has also kept meticulous records of statistics such as height, weight, weather conditions and final scores. One fact he doesn't mention is that following the games, the contestants have a banquet at the club. Everybody pays his own way and profits are donated to Community Centre 55, which proves they are not just good hockey players, they are also good citizens. How good are they as hockey players is a question I am often asked. All I can see is you have to like their chances against this year's edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Finally and the from the heart, Season's Greetings everybody and may you enjoy the magic this Christmas. " Community Centre 55 received a very generous donation of cash and turkey and we are honoured and privileged to be the recipient! B.M. Wednesday January 3, 2007. They'll be others, but, 11 year old Emma, is expected to be one of our youngest students to receive her Philosophiae Doctor of Christmas (PhDC) from Hamper's Christmas Academy at our annual Christmas Convocation. The ceremony will be held on Saturday January 13, 2007, 10am at the Beach Cinemas. B.M. Wednesday January 3, 2007. Here are some 2006 Share A Christmas facts:
And so... it was a very Merry Christmas for 1,426 kids. As for their families? Our program is cherished by those, who we attempt to help provide a dignified Christmas for their children. B.M. Tuesday January 2, 2007. "As usual you guys have pulled off a great Christmas miracle!" D.P. "Michael and I had a wonderful time delivering the packages on Friday night. We had one particular experience that I'd like to share with you. We went to a small apartment on Coxwell and were greeted at the door by the mom. When we went inside, the woman's mom was living there as well as her 18 year old daughter, and the 5 month old baby of her daughter (four generations shoe-horned into this little apartment). Michael and I brought box after box in and you could see the look of shock on the mother's face. By the time we brought the huge bag of toys in, she was overwhelmed. You knew that it was all she could do to put food on the table and to keep her family together. She asked my son what his name was and she told Michael how special he was for helping out. She reached out to me, began to cry, and I gave her a big hug. I told her what a wonderful family she had and I wished her a beautiful Christmas. As Michael and I walked down the stairs to return to our comfortable car and our comfortable life, I began to cry. Michael asked me why I was crying and I told him that we just received the best Christmas present we could ever hope for..." With some charities, you hope you are making a difference. With Community Centre 55, you KNOW we are making a difference." D.A. "Lots of people talk - that's easy. CC55 acts! - Your energy and
committment are a great reflection on the entire community, and on what
decent people can do if they stop thinking about themselves and get off
their butts." M.B. B.M. Tuesday January 2, 2007. Happy New Year. The results of the Tuesday December 19th unscientific poll were inconclusive, but with the following three exceptions: when asked, what was the "Best Community Event of 2006", 98.6% of the respondents chose The Village of East Toronto's First Annual Christmas Parade; when asked about the Best Community Newspaper of 2006 the respondents chose the Beach Metro News; and when asked about the Best Community Service Club, respondents chose the Toronto Beaches Lions Club. It is now time for us to analyze our Share A Christmas data and our impact on the community and prepare for the Christmas Convocation. In our primary Share A Christmas Program we had 622 children, 322 were males and 300 females. Our corporate partners "adopted", through our Adopt-A-Family program, 202 of the 622 children. The secondary component of our Share A Christmas Program was our Emergency Christmas Toy Depot program, which is associated the CHUMCity Christmas Wish and at the moment we are putting together the metrics of the program and will report the results in a couple of hours. Stand by for details. B.M.
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