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Monday December 29, 2008. Our organization is now at rest and in recovery. We are only available to the most vulnerable populations that have difficulties this time of year. We will be back January 5, 2009 and shall be ready for a great new year. Wednesday December 24, 2008. 1105hrs. NORAD just reported Santa has returned from our Beach Community to his home at the North Pole and is reving his reindeer engines. This must be true because I heard it on 96.3 Classical Radio. He is at DEFCON 5-Normal Christmas readiness-on target, achieving objectives. And finally, a Very Merry Christmas to the Grinches I referred to earlier in this blog. The one's who stole a young widowed mother's Christmas from her young daughter who has Down Syndrome. Christmas bells, in your cells, shame on you, hope you turn blue and step in Who poo. 0900hrs. If it isn't snowing, it's raining making it harder to deliver our services. There is a line up in the parking lot. People patiently waiting for us to open, to get toys for their children. The cars they are traveling in, don't appear that could make it to the end of the parking lot. I hope they get home safely, considering the slushy road snow. We will be going at it until 2pm today. At that point we expect to have served hundreds of kids in our Emergency Toy Distribution Program. Christmas is immanent and truer words have never been spoken. Tuesday December 23, 2008. A couple of visual memories...
Some kind hearted City workers keeping our delivery pathway safe for our volunteers.
A team of Teen Elves hauling fresh Share A Christmas fruits and vegetables 1500hrs. We are still serving and the line up for toys and left-over's is sporadic, but very busy at times. Just in time for Christmas and a great family venture-one of our suppliers just donated two skids of Ginger Bread Houses. Thank you! 0945hrs. Aw, and now some metrics, although we are still serving, the following represents our preliminary numbers for 2008's Share A Christmas Campaign:
And so... it shall be a very Merry Christmas for 1,298 kids. A great debt of gratitude belongs to our donors and volunteers, all of whom delivered the Christmas miracle to those who needed and wanted our help. 0830hrs. It's a cold gray day and folks are lined up at the door for our Christmas toy distribution. This is the last phase of our program and today they come from all over the City for help. Our toy room is well stocked, but very little is suitable for children over 12 years of age. I think the following, expresses it well, although a mere sampling of gratitude from those who may have otherwise been forgotten this time of year. "Thank you so much for your help. It is a great assistance to my family at this time of year"..."Thank you so much for all of your hard work and your generous contribution. It is so welcomed. Merry Christmas"..."Thanks very much and all the best in 2009"..."Thank you for making our Christmas a better one. You truly are God's little angels on earth"..."Happy Holidays and thanks for all the good stuff you shared to my family"..."Thank you to Hamper"... Monday December 22, 2008. 1930hrs. Over 400 Christmas Hampers were delivered in under 3.5 hours. That really shows the tenacity of purpose of our volunteers and staff. Tomorrow is phase 2-our emergency toy distribution and we expect about 200 families here for help. We thank the CHUMCity Christmas Wish for the products we are about to distribute. 1503hrs. DEFCON 5- is the condition used to designate normal Christmas readiness. Well in our Christmas Language it means we did it. I just paid the fresh food bill-$24, 140.10. When I came back to the Centre, a Foundation, whose name will be kept private, only because I do not know if they wish to be advertised, forwarded to our Share A Christmas Program a whopping $10K!!! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we did it. All that remains is tonight's delivery and then off for a long winters nap.
DEFCON 4 Normal, increased intelligence and strengthened Christmas measures- a bit worried. DEFCON 3 Increase in Christmas force readiness above normal readiness- worried DEFCON 2 Further Increase in Christmas force readiness, but less than maximum readiness-frightened DEFCON 1 Maximum Christmas force readiness-freaking out, not enough food or toys and deploying maximum forces. 1235hrs. Well...our supplier processes our fresh food order as they always do. They request, as usual, the order to be delivered to us in a 53 foot trailer. So the transportation company sends the cab only-there is no trailer attached to it and consequently there is no food. So, our supplier digs out one of their own trailers from severe banks of snow and loads our food on it. The driver grabs the trailer, and begins to deliver it to 55 Centre Street! (Our address is Centre 55 at 97 Main Street). Following several interventions, the trailer arrives at the corrected address. The driver doesn't know that he is expected to leave the trailer and sits in it as our volunteers unload. ( We usually leave the diary and meet products etc. on the trailer and off load it direct to the delivery volunteers ). We, then make the diplomatic calls and convince them, that they must leave the trailer, as they have done for the past 10 years. We then discover, the driver left some of our fresh food at our supplier so off we go to get it. A rough start, on a cold winters day. Despite it all, Christmas is immanent and the miracle is unfolding before our very eyes. We, being mortal and frail human beings, and regardless of our efforts and mistakes, cannot extinguish the light of the season. For those of us who have done this for over 10 or 20 years, we take it all in stride and with patience. Anyway this very important and busy day has just begun and we will see other problems occur and we are prepared. We hold at DEFCON 4. 1100hrs. Our Share A Christmas program has now moved to DEFCON 4. We are almost there. A 53' trailer is expected to deliver tons of fresh foods within the hour-turkey, ham, bread, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables and dessert. Our volunteers worked all weekend to prepare the toys for the kids. Hundreds will be here tonight to make the deliveries. The Balmy Beach Old Boys donated DOUBLE the number of turkey's this year and half of them went to the Calvary Baptist Foodbank Christmas Dinner for the hungry, lonely and homeless. MCS is on their way over with a toy donation and so is Canadian Tire. Christmas is immanent. It is! B.M. Friday December 19, 2008. 1000 hrs. We are holding at DEFCON 2.5. We are in a raging, blowing, north pole like snow storm. Winds from the north east gusting to 80km and it is -14 with the wind chill. 15-20cm of snow is on the way today and more behind it. We could get as much as 40cm. The media refers to it as Snowmageddon. Visibility at the moment is about 200 yards. The big rented truck we use to pick up donations broke down again. But none of this will ruin our seasonal jollification and we are approaching our target and we are on time. This weather only serves to empower Santa, so bring it on! Meanwhile, at Canadian Tire, a fine member of the Toronto Police Services is preparing to fill up a few shopping carts full of toys. This is their Toys for Tots program and we proud to be part of it and to have their trust and respect. We have over 600 needy families to help. In addition, we are providing fresh food including turkey's to the local church for their Christmas Dinner, which is cooked and served by the Church to the homeless and the lonely and isolated. We need non perishables and gift cards for teens. If you can spare some, we would love to have them. Can you feel it? I can-the "miracle" is unfolding before us. Christmas is immanent. B.M. Thursday December 18, 2008-1100hrs. The fine folks from SNC-LAVALIN Power Ontario just moved us from DEFCON 2 (defense condition ) to DEFCON 2.5 with a cash donation of over $2,500. A great big Hamper hug to Tracy for this one. This is their second year and we cherish their help. We have to get to DEFCON 1 and we are close. Can you feel it? I can-the "miracle" is unfolding before us. Christmas is immanent. Thursday December 18, 2008-0900hrs. A rough start to a cold, winter-storm-warning day. Our big rented cube van broke down this morning and we are waiting for repair. It was on it's way to pick up food and toys. Our staff and volunteers have aching backs from hauling food and toys but, and given the season, none of them complain. They are a fine bunch and I am proud to know them. Up to 25cm of snow is on the way for the weekend which will probably deliver a white Christmas. However, it will accumulate into big banks of curbed snow providing a treacherous obstacle for Santa and all his helpers on delivery day, which is 4 days away. We have requested some help from the City to prepare the road way for us. We do not have what we need for those forgotten children over 15 years of age. If you can afford a gift card, we would be pleased to receive them and to distribute them to the teens. Tonight we begin the sorting of food. And hey-check this out-the great kids from Norway Junior Public School just donated $200 of hard fund raised money to help us and Remax Hallmark just donated $2000. We have now moved from DEFCON 1 (defense condition) to DEFCON 2. I sense the "miracle" is unfolding and Christmas is immanent. Christmas readiness explanation: DEFCON 5 Normal Christmas readiness-on target, achieving objectives. B.M. Tuesday December 16, 2008. It is absolutely certain at this point, that we do not have gifts for teens over 15 years of age. If you can afford a gift card or two we would really appreciate it. Late last Friday I spoke to the mom, who had her Christmas stolen, allegedly by the two Grinches referenced below. When I asked her what kind of help she needed, she immediately and was unhesitant in her reply-"their are so many others with greater need than I, that I really feel I don't need any." That was the perfect answer in my view. After a brief conversation, I found out all she really wanted was a Christmas Tree and that this tree would mean everything to her daughter who has special needs. So I reached into the bag of Christmas Miracles and called a friend, in the area, who sells really really good and really expensive Christmas Trees. He, upon hearing this account of a stolen Christmas, donated a top-of-the-line- fresh cut- and- trimmed- and- put- on-a- stand Christmas Tree, which he delivered direct to the mom. I, in turn, received an undeserved heart warming thank you from the mom. The thanks belongs to Peter for his donation of a beautiful tree and to Vince of 55 Division of the Toronto Police Services for establishing the contact. As for the Grinches, well, I really wish them a Very Merry Christmas in their cell. As Dr. Seuss may have put it to the Grinches-"Merry Christmas to you, hope you get the flu and you can't be a Who". Now we have about 604 other miracles to do and we need help. Thanks B.M. Friday December 12, 2008. How did the Grinch steal Christmas? Well, two alleged Grinches apparently broke into a single mom's house, in the middle of the night, while she and her daughter were sleeping. (The young mom is single because her husband recently passed away). As Dr. Seuss may have put it, these alleged Grinches,.......stole their food and then their cash. They removed their shoes but made a mad dash. The cops in blue and red and the Grinches in black, are now resting quiet for a long winters nap. Hopefully behind bars! Or again, as Dr. Seuss may have put it..in jail, without bail, and they get no mail! The cash was to be used by the young mom to provide her child, who has special needs, with a Christmas. We have offered our assistance and we hope to make their season a little better and brighter. B.M. Thursday December 11, 2008. People are asking me, if the current economic conditions are affecting our fundraising. Yes it is. Those who once donated are now asking for our assistance. Corporations who once provided us with donations are now apologizing for, what they consider to be, their sad lack of commitment to our Share A Christmas program. Many of them are repeat supporters and they are particularly lamentive because of their attachment to our program and the miracles we produce together. Speaking of miracles, we need your help. Non perishable foods and gifts for kids over 12 years of age would be most appreciated. Thank you. B.M. Wednesday December 10, 2008. Similar to the seasonal favourite song-"The 12 Days of Christmas", we have only 12 days left to provide Christmas help to over 600 of our neighbours. At this point we do not have the resources we need to help families provide a dignified Christmas for their children. It is particularly difficult to watch those who once had full time and gainful employment being reduced to trying to survive on employment insurance. To date the "great left out" are kids over 12 years of age. If you are able to help we need non perishable foods and gifts for teenagers. Call 416.691.1113 ext 225 for details. Thank you. B.M. Monday December 8, 2008. We are only 10 days away from the moment we deliver Christmas Hamper's to those who need and want our help and we are in the midst of a Christmas Crisis. Kids older than 12 tend to have been forgotten and we desperately need donations. Gift cards for clothing, music, dvd's etc. are always a big hit and your help could make a Christmas for a child who will otherwise go without one. The Young Presidents Organization really came through yesterday. We received over 60 pairs of skates that we delivered directly local arena. An arena board member told me that hockey registration was down and they suspect it is the cost of equipment that are keeping kids off the rink. The arena is starting an equipment exchange and the skates are a big boost. Thank you very much YPO especially for the financial donation as well as the skates! B.M. Thursday December 4, 2008. A nice Christmas story.... A local school just dropped off the proceeds from their food drive and an envelop came with it. A 3rd grader, we shall call her Tiger-"Lily", was given 10.00 cash from her grandmother for her birthday. "Tiger-Lily" wanted "the money to help feed hungry people" and donated it to our Share A Christmas Program. And that ladies and gentlemen is the true spirit of community and Christmas. Meanwhile.............. A mother had been referred to us from a local church. The woman, we shall refer to her as "S" , is a Canadian citizen. She married a man from the Middle East. Fifteen years ago her husband " uprooted" the family and moved everyone to a middle eastern country. They lived in the mountains. She was totally isolated and forbidden contact with the " outside". She was not allowed to leave the house. This year "S" fled back to Canada. She was hospitalized for trauma and is just beginning to get back on her feet. "S" desperately wants to get her youngest son out of the middle eastern country. "S' came to Canada with nothing and desperately needs our help this Christmas and we need your help. Please donate your time, or your money. There is 10 short days left until we begin delivering our Christmas Hamper's and we need just about everything. B.M. Monday December 1, 2008. I was sitting at the back of the Kingston Road United Church. My body started to tingle and I, for a mere moment, began to panic. I thought I was having a stroke. I soon realized that I was responding to the angelic voices of the new Beach Chorale as they offered up Bach accompanied by a fabulous orchestra. The "weather outside was frightful", it was a combination of rain and ice pellets, but the audience kept coming and I noted a regiment of delighted seniors attending. We all sopped up the seasonal favourites. It was a night of elegance and beauty that captured the true meaning of Christmas-unconditional peace and harmony. Attendees brought non perishable foods for our Share A Christmas Program and others donated cash which will help us purchase fresh foods. The Beach Chorale performed their stunning melodies to a capacity crowd and gave us their gift of a perfect evening. You can hear them again on December 16, 08 at our professional reading of Charles Dickens-"A Christmas Carol". Watch for details. Thank You. B.M. Thursday November 27, 2008. Last night we had our Annual General Meeting. It was my 29th AGM. Two members of our board met their sunset clause and had to retire-Warren Kinsella and Gene Domagala both of whom are irreplacebale. The good news is, we know where they live! They both offered to continue to work with us as volunteers and specail advisors. We had a stellar cast of candidates apply for the two Board of Management vacancies left by Warren and Gene. Everyone of them offered perspective, validated our work as the centre of the community, and had fasinating cross sections of skills and knowledge to offer. We welcome Jason Balgopal and Donna Kellway to our Board's team. We hope we can contain some of their energy and enthusiasm, otherwise they will explode the building! We need non perishable foods. We need donations to buy fresh foods to help parents provide a dignified Christmas for their children. We need gifts for teens and it is this group that is often left out and forgotten. If you can help, please call 416 691 1113 ext 225 or 224 or 222. Thanks very much. B.M. Tuesday November 25, 2008. Once upon a time, in a country, not too far away, lived a mother and her 5 children. The mother was beaten by right-wing paramilitaries when she refused to pay protection money for her small business. The family fled across a boarder to another country. They were pursued and a second attempt on her life was made there. Meanwhile, here, in the Beach, a local Church, came to the families rescue. Without sufficient funds, they decided to sponsor this refugee and the UN airlifted the family to safety into our community. Eventually with the help of many, the Church recovered their expenses and the family got their freedom. Needless to say, this family has had a rough go-of-it. They are settling in. Someone, on their behalf, requested Christmas assistance from Centre 55. It took one call from us, to a very supportive company. This company adopted them for Christmas. But it is not a “they lived happily ever after” story. We have several other stories to tell about people needing help and a Christmas hamper would be greatly appreciated by them. Help us fill one for them please. Tuesday November 25, 2008. Thanks to our friends at Variety Village, we made a connection to the YPO (Young President's Organization) Toronto Chapter. In December the YPO will be hosting an event-"Gift of Giving-Helping Kids Through Sport" and have asked their members to bring two pairs of new or slightly used skates for boys and girls. We expect we may have as many as 150 pairs of skates to provide to the kids in our Share A Christmas Program. These kids would normally not be able to skate during the winter because of the lack of disposable family income. I have heard is some areas, that hockey registration is down and that it may be attributable to families not being able to afford the equipment. So the YPO is really giving one of those "gifts that keep on giving". Sport builds character, increases fitness, helps children to connect with positive role models, keeps them off the streets and team work gives them something to believe in. So this is a very important program. Our distributors for this program is the Ted Reeve Arena. A big thanks to YPO! Monday November 24, 2008. Our non-perishable food collections have started for our Share A Christmas Program and some money has been dribbling in to help with the purchase of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, dairy and meat products. We need a lot of help. Call 416-691-1113 ext 225 to make someone's Christmas a little brighter please. The economy isn't helping. People who gave last year are appearing on the recipient list this year. So every little bit helps. Monday November 17, 2008. Share A Christmas-> People have asked if the current state of the global economy will affect the charitable giving patterns of donors. I hope not, but, our cupboards are bare at this point and the fundraising is not near what it should be. We do expect an increase in the need, so every little bit helps. Our Share A Christmas Delivery date is December 22 and we are running out of time. Here's how you can help and we really appreciate your support. Monday November 10, 2008.
A little bit of a Sunday shower, did not, in anyway, wash away any of Santa's jollification. On Sunday November 9th, to the applause of about 6,000 people, we kicked-off our 27th annual Share A Christmas Campaign in our 3rd annual Christmas Parade. ( We have a lot of annual stuff going on around these parts). Bands, floats, dogs, cars, flags, drummers, and a regiment filled with the spirit of Christmas marched along Kingston Road to Centre 55. It was a great day and now the hard, hard work starts. We expect over 600 local families need help this year. Here's how you can help. Thanks to the Beach Metro News and Jon Muldoon for the great photograph. Also, Lation Fitness has their annual 12 hours of Fitness Madness for Centre 55. Their "Fitness Angels for 55" will be sweating it out for our kids on Friday December 5 and Saturday December 6, 2008. Good luck and we really appreciate it. Friday November 7, 2008. Hey-this Sunday Santa comes to the Beach. Come out and meet him at our 3rd Annual Christmas Parade at 1pm. And........................... The new Toronto Beach Chorale is presenting "A Choir for Christmas...Bach, Rutter and Seasonal Favourites", featuring Janet Obermeyer- soprano, Michael Downie- bass, Sean Clark-tenor with an orchestra, on Sunday November 30, at 7:30pm at the Kingston Road United Church-975 Kingston Road. This is a kick-off concert for our "Share A Christmas" Campaign. Tickets are $20/$10 for 18 years and under and a non perishable food or cash donation to our Share A Christmas Program would be appreciated very much. The Beach Chorale is new and fresh and something we've been waiting for- a true Christmas Concert in the spirit of giving. Tickets are available at Centre 55. Avoid disappointment-get yours now-416 691 1113 ext 225. B.M. Thursday October 16, 2008. Our friends Christina and the folks at MSC are already in the Christmas Spirit! MSC FITNESS AND FAMILY FUN FIT BRING YOU Date Saturday December 6 EVENT FORMAT
Participants take part in 3- 50 minute challenges with a 10 minute break in between each one. Focus is on fun and participation. Everyone is encouraged to work within their own level of comfort and ability. Coolers of water will be set up at MSC. Please bring a water bottle from home and refill it up as much as you like. This event will be a fundraiser for Centre 55. Please bring an unwrapped toy and or some non perishable food. We will also have a Christmas Tree set up at MSC for the entire month of December with boxes underneath for additional donations, also for Centre 55. COST FOR EVENT- $35 MAXIMUM OF 36 participants. Please pre register at MSC front desk or call 416 686-3545 →We will be offering our Winter Blast Challenge once in December, twice in January, February and March. Thanks Christina-we need all the help we can get. B.M. Wednesday October 8, 2008. Recently, I met another graffiti vandal, who was referred to us by the courts for scribbling his tag on private property. He had the pleasure of my company and I his, as we enjoyed our driving tour through parts of our graffiti vandalized community. I always ask graffiti vandals what value they see in vandalizing public and private properties and expensive art murals with their arcane scribbling. They describe the thrill and intensity of the speed with which they ply their "art" and the peer group status received by tagging an area of high visibility etc. This young graffiti vandal went on with more predictable descriptions, which is strangely consistent with the answer I receive from other vandals. ( Oh and as an aside, every vandal I have met with, consider themselves an 'artist'). "We have a code of honour. We don't vandalize private property and we respect art and we do not vandalize murals." As he was saying this, we were driving by graffiti ridden garages, cars, houses, murals, trucks, walls, bridges, and schools. As he was opining the apparent code of conduct, he was distracted by the carnage and he realized the irony in his bitter and abusive speech, whose tone began to change and fade. He continued, repugnant to those without code, "but there are people who have no code. No honour. Just destructive. I know some of them. One guy got caught 3 times, went to court, got put on probation and he is still out there tagging art and peoples stuff". After an hour or so, I believe this young graffiti vandal, maybe for the first time, realized that graffiti vandalism is not a victimless crime and that real people, spend their real hard earned money, cleaning up the crap left behind by graffiti vandals. Here is where the 'penny dropped' or the 'switch' happened. I asked him if he had a lawyer. He answered "yes". I asked him how much does he think a lawyer costs, he replied he didn't know and I suggested about $300 per hour. I stated that, given his age and lack of resources, that his mother or father or both would be paying his bill him did he think that was fair. He responded-"Well we don't pay anything, legal aid covers it". Then I replied, "Oh, so I and a few other tax payers are paying for it for you". He momentarily stopped talking, sincerely looked shocked and actually apologized to me and I believe at that moment he realized some of the implication of his behaviour and this made every moment I spent with this individual extremely beneficial. As we concluded our tour I asked him how much money did he think the TTC spent last year on graffiti vandalism. He replied "$10,000?" No said I. "$50,000?" said he. I replied "Nope". I then told him it was $2,000,000. He said that the money would be better spent "for hospitals". Its often difficult to determine impact. Sometimes you have to use instinct and experience. I think we made a connection with this person and the court exercised very good judgment referring this person to us. This young person has tremendous potential and my bet is, his vandalizing ways are now at an end. But his artistic spirit is difficult to extinguish and I think needs protection and nurturing and hopefully he, with the help of others will find more appropriate means to express themselves. This does concern me. We are about to begin using our new Graffiti (vandalism) Impact Groups. The "GIP" is part of our Graffiti Removal and Information Program ( GRIP ). It brings together those who have had their properties graffitied with graffiti vandals, in a way that is non confrontational, respectful, dignified and educating. The process includes meeting the victims and the retributive aspect of the program is the opportunity to experience the labour intensity of removing tagging from public or private property. I believe we have a tremendous program and now the missing link has been connected and that is- working with the courts and bringing together the offender and victim using a restorative justice styled model. We have processed approximately 14 court referrals and each one seems to have been successful. Stay "tuned" to my blog for further reports. B.M.
Wednesday September 18, 2008. Hey, our Christmas Parade is off to a great start already this year. We have confirmed 4 entries so far and it is still technically summer! B.M. Friday September 12, 2008. We get emails.... From: <k.m@.ca> I wanted to send you an email to tell you how impressed my husband and I are with the staff working at CC55 both in the Nursery School and before/after/lunch programs. Tina in particular has been very professional in her communication with me and my husband about (my son ) and always takes time to answer questions that we have about the
Tuesday September 9, 2008. Well it doesn't get much better than this. Our friends at the Kew Gardens Tennis Club have produced a fabulous Charity Event for Community Centre 55 and the proceeds from this amazing event will help us provide Christmas for about 600 local families and their children this year! The event is the Kew Beach ProAm Tennis Charity Event. Hosted by the Kew Gardens Tennis Club in support of Community Centre 55. Saturday September 20, 2008, 2pm-7pm, 77 Kew Beach Avenue ( Rain date Sunday September 21, same time). The program includes: Pros/players Tournament; Pro Exhibition Game 5:30pm; Serve speed and target competitions; Prizes; Silent Auction; Hot Dogs and Drinks and get this-it features Canadian Tennis Greats battling it out! Including:
The Master of Cermonies for the event is -TV Personality and Canadian Idol Judge - JAKE GOLD! Phew-I'm sweating already. It will be a wonderful day, produced by great friends and we are very grateful to the Kew Gardens Tennis Club for their respect and trust in our charity and our work. Thank you. B.M. Friday September 5, 2008 Finally, thanks to a really motivated attorney of the crown, the courts are being generous. We are absolutely committed to having graffiti vandals, returned to this community to clean up their mess and the mess of those we have not yet caught. We received, to date, 12 referrals from the courts. Nine of the twelve graffiti vandals completed 188 hours of scrubbing. The other 3 graffiti vandals failed to report, or were late and non committal and subsequently referred back to the courts. We will prosecute all graffiti vandals, insist on extra judicial sanctions, have the vandals returned to this community for clean-up work and where appropriate pursue the parents to recover costs. B.M. Friday August 1, 2008. Here is another example of, in my opinion, a planned attack of pure vandalism and scribbling over an artistic surface. Annoying, frustrating, cowardly, costly, done by local children, with faces covered in the middle of the night when they should be in bed and their parents content knowing they are safe and at home. This is a is meaningless act of mindless destruction caused by boredom to most of us. While the debate continues about whether art and murals are safe from the scribbling vandals, it does seem that the majority of murals are not tagged and the walls upon which the murals are applied are tagged less. So what is most beneficial? The cycle of bear walls repeatedly attacked, then cleaned and attacked over and over again or walls that have murals that are assaulted from time-to-time? Clearly it costs more to remove scribbling from murals, however, in the long run it may be cheaper than removing the scribbling daily or weekly from walls without murals. You be the judge. But with every culture, there are subcultures, some of whom contain fanatics who continue to destroy that which we have built. So, should tagging over murals be a surprise? In this occurrence, some believe that the scribbling was act of retaliation after a sporting event. However, we had a young person here, who was referred to us by the courts, who told me, it was not an act of retaliation and that not only did he recognize the scribbling, he knew the scribblers and they live in the neighbourhood. I have smudged the upper left side of this scribbling to avoid the vandal having the pleasure of seeing his/her name. A tag is supposed to be a person's name, or nickname using initials, monograms, or a symbol. " Hey everybody, look at me, it's Doug, and I just scribbled my name on a $10,000 mural. Beat they!" I call it vandalism and scribbling and while we continue to remove hundreds and hundreds of scribbles and stickers from public and private properties, we are absolutely committed to working with the police and the courts and we will prosecute all graffiti vandals, insist on extra judicial sanctions, have the vandals returned to this community for clean-up work and where appropriate pursue the parents to recover costs. B.M.
Tuesday July 29, 2008. Kids just want to have fun! Some of our Day Camp kids getting ready for a laser blasting.
Monday July 28, 2008. Some people believe, that we shouldn't publish this. Some feel that it only glorifies an act of willful damage to community property and stimulates the scribbling vandals to do more. However, by putting this on our web site, it is easier for the courts, to whom we work with regularly, to see the continuous assault on our community. We will prosecute all graffiti vandals and insist that extra judicial sanctions are used to have them clean up their mess and the mess of others. We will also pursue the parents for financial restitution. The vandalized mural pictured below, is over 100 feet long and about 25 feet high and cost about $20,000.
Thursday July 24, 2008. Poor little fella. Bored. Not much to do. No summer job. No prospects. Has a $2 spray paint can but no friends. All by his lonesome. Parents don't know where he is or what he's doing at 10:30pm. Meanwhile, he and others like him are costing us millions of dollars in clean up. He's a local and now under investigation. Lawyers cost about $350 per hour. But he hasn't got a job and I guess his parents have lots of money. We prosecute all vandals and insist that the courts return them to the community to clean up their mess and more. Oh well. Govern yourselves accordingly....
Wednesday July 23, 2008. Water Play Day: Our brave Councilor-In-Training checks out our hydro equipment to make sure it is operational for the 100 kids in the Day Camp.
Thursday July 17, 2008. We will prosecute all graffiti vandals. We will insist that the courts use extra judicial sanctions to send graffiti vandals to us to clean up their scribbling and the scribbling of others. We may ask the courts to have the parents pay, rather than the taxpayers, all of the expenses associated with the vandals defacement of our property. While in court a lawyer will cost them about $350 an hour, so they better save their allowance. Despite their willful destruction of public property, we have, so far this summer, cleaned over 1200 units of scribble on public and private property. We are also assisting with the production of a second mural on Queen Street.
Friday July 11, 2008. Is it true? Do graffiti vandals have a scribblers code of honour? Do they respect art? Do they scribble over street murals? Is there a code of conduct? You be the judge.
Wednesday July 9, 2008. HELPING TO QUENCH A THIRSTY CITY. Yesterday we received a donation of 25 cases of water from the Bargains Group. The water is being distributed, at the street level to the homeless in our community. Jody Steinhauer of the Bargains Group is the brains behind this program. She executed this program with her usual precision. Thanks Jody et al. B M Monday July 7, 2008. We hosted the Toronto Fire Combat Challenge on the weekend. We will report more on this later. In the interim, here is a pic of competitor Charles McGregor who is the Captain of the Toronto Combat Team. Apparently 10,000 people attended our event over 2 1/2 days including 400 kids from City Day Camps trying out as junior combat fire fighters.
Thursday July 3, 2008. From SNAP-BEACHES/DANFORTH Newspaper: "Die hard Shakespeare fans turned out on a barely cooperative evening for the opening of Twelfth Night at the Gazebo in Kew Park. People gathered on blankets, under trees, with friends and family and pets to take in the fantastic presentation of this much loved Shakespeare play and were glad they did since seeing Shakespeare out of doors is an always-memorable experience and this production proved no exception. Presented by Community Centre 55 and directed by Sean Killacke the fourth annual Bard in the Park was pulled together by Artistic Director Anne Butler. Together this team backed the incredible cast and crew and pulled off a beautiful and entertaining production. Bravo Bard in the Park, Bravo." Thanks SNAP!
Monday June 9, 2008. The Kingston Road Spring Festival was held on Saturday June 7, 2008 10am-4pm, between Henley Gardens and Hannaford Street. The participation from the businesses was at an all time high. The street was alive with BBQ's, Popcorn, Candy Floss, Crafts, Bouncy Castles, Colouring Tables, Nail Painting, Bracelet Making, Airplane Gliders, Sun Catchers, Winged Wonders ( Butterflies), Balloons, Live Bands, Scavenger Hunts, and Great In-Store Sales. The overall program was a great success and we were delighted to play a part in the program. The festival however, was marred by the constant bombardment of the drool and scribble from local graffiti vandals. Remember, please send us your graffiti vandalism photographs. I forward them to the courts. The courts are now beginning to refer graffiti vandals to us directly. So far all of the graffiti vandals we have educated, have appreciated the fact that their act of destruction is not a "victimless crime" and they also see how excruciatingly difficult and labour and time intensive it is to remove tags. We can always use clean rags. B.M. Monday June 2, 2008. Our Slobberfest Program was an amazing success on Saturday. Slobberfest was held in the Boat House at the foot of Leuty Avenue and this venue proved to be absolutely outstanding. The Boat House provided shelter from the rain and sun and directly across from it is an amazing off leash area for dogs with access to Lake Ontario. In addition there is tremendous foot traffic for our vendors. We had a parade, contests, prizes, hand outs, give-a-ways and crowned the King and Queen of Slobberfest. Watch for Slobberfest next year. It's tons of fun! I will post some pics as soon as we get some. And now back to graffiti vandalism. We need clean rags and send us your pictures of the local destruction so we can forward them to the courts. B.M. Wednesday May 28, 2008. Well another summer of the graffiti vandals marker and spray can is on its way. Our community's Police Liaison Committee held a very successful public meeting last night at the Main Square Recreation Centre. The meeting was focused on Graffiti Vandalism, which apparently is the number one issue on the minds of residents. Councilor Bussin stressed it's public significance and the police added supportive comment as well. Mr. Kevin Stewart attended the meeting. I was particularly excited about that. In my opinion Kevin is a leading edge Assistant Crown Attorney. He attended our Graffiti Vandalism meeting in February, made some promises and delivered on them. Community Centre 55 is a strong advocate for eradicating graffiti vandalism and has been quite active in the pursuit of justice. We would like to see the courts using more extra judicial sanctions by referring graffiti vandals back into the neighbourhoods they fouled for education and clean up. We are making advances here and it is largely do to Kevin. I said last night that Kevin will undoubtedly become a judge or maybe the Attorney General at some point. I'd like that! Community Centre 55 presented a Power Point about our program and thanks to contributions from HSBC, we were able to provide, free of charge, graffiti vandalism removal backpacks. These packs contain removal products and instructions for those who want to take the initiative and remove the drool and scribble from their communities. You can email me at bob.murdoch@hotmail.com for additional information. This is the first time in 12 seasons of our GRIP ( Graffiti Removal and Information Program ) that I am entering the season with cautious optimism. Oh ya. I forgot. The TTC spent $5,000,000 last year cleaning graffiti vandalism from their property. The TTC Shelters are the property of the City of Toronto. And as a reminder we use "Taganator" to remove graffiti vandalism from porous surfaces and Enviro Solutions for smooth surfaces. If you would like to help us fight graffiti vandalism we need clean rags and photo's of the local destruction to send to the courts. Please email your photos to bob.murdoch@hotmail.com and drop your rags off here at 97 Main Street. B.M. Thursday May 22, 2008. Help us! If you would like to help us fight graffiti vandalism we need clean rags and photo's of the local destruction to send to the courts. Please email your photos to bob.murdoch@hotmail.com and drop your rags off here at 97 Main Street. Thanks Bob Tuesday May 20, 2008. Quoting a Memorandum from the Deputy City Manager: "The City is launching a graffiti pilot project that involves a more proactive enforcement of the City`s Graffiti By-law # 485 effective May 21, 2008." "The new pilot will involve Municipal Licensing and Standards officers proactively documenting graffiti on City and ABCC-related buildings as well as utilities such as poles, signs and publication boxes that are owned by such property owners as newspapers, Bell Canada, Rogers etc." ( Note-hmm they didn't`t mention Canada Post). "ML&S officers will advise the affected property owners by registered mail or personal delivery and allow a period of three days after receipt to remove the graffiti. If after that time has elapsed and the graffiti is not removed: 1. for private utilities: ML&S will arrange for removal and add the costs to the owner`s taxes; legal action may be pursued ( fines will be determined by the courts); 2. for City assets: ML&S will arrange removal and recover the costs through journal entry; 3. for Agencies, Boards, Commissions assets: ML&S will arrange removal and the owners will be invoiced." "In the cases where City-related property is affected, ML&S will notify the heads of the Division, Facilities and DCMs or ABCCs. It is anticipated that the City will play a leadership role in the removal of graffiti and serve as a model to the public. Everyone benefits when Toronto is attractive, clean and litter-free; it sends a strong positive message that we care about and are proud of our community and neighbourhoods. A clean and beautiful Toronto acts as a beacon for tourists and encourages new jobs and investment from the business community. This pilot project supports the message to the larger community that Toronto is clean, safe, vibrant and prosperous." Among other wards, this pilot is being conducted in Ward 32-Danforth Avenue north and south sides between Victoria Park Avenue and Coxwell Avenue. I hope they have lots of By law enforcement officers. They are going to need them! B.M. Monday April 28, 2008. I doubt the person we caught in the act last year and on digital camera wiping his name in silver paint on our historical building reads our web site. When the police came to arrest him and later questioned him, he told them he was an "artist" and his "father would bail him out" etc. If he does read our website and to the other graffiti vandals we deal with, take note of the following... While Community Centre 55 continues to battle graffiti vandalism on the ground and in the courts, we do appreciate good graffiti art. If you truly love graffiti art, this guy's work is amazing. He is known, internationally as a street artist, graffiti artist, art anarchist etc. Spend some time looking at his website and you be the judge. I'll start-he's a genius. ( I found the site slow to load, but worth the wait). If you can paint like this and you live in our community email me please.
B.M. Wednesday April 2, 2008. The Beaches Lions Club Easter Parade was another great success. A few people couldn't make this connection. Why is Hamper the Reindeer in the Easter Parade. Answer-Hamper is best friends with the Easter Bunny.
Monday March 10, 2008. Paddie Foster was only 67 years young when he passed away on March 4, 2008. His service is tonight. He died of a sudden heart attack. This afternoon the place was packed with friends and admirers. B.M. Wednesday March 5, 2008. I liked him as soon as I met him. It was 28 years ago. A sprawling Irishman and former professional athlete. He was respectful, dignified, honest, forthright, compassionate, a gentleman, a proud and loving husband and father. He was a "man's man". When I met him, he was volunteering to help develop a children's sports league and team and was assisting in some construction in the basement of our centre to store their athletic equipment. He was always there for me, whenever I needed him. We worked together on producing and funding our Millennium Garden and met there each year for a variety of special moments. I always said, if you want an honest and immediate opinion, ask him, but be prepared for the answer! I felt especially confident when working with him, because of his competence. Especially during the 1999 Neville Park Fire. He wasn't known to speak ill of anyone, and I have never met anyone who didn't admire him. Paddie Foster passed away on Tuesday March 4, 2008. B.M. Thursday February 28, 2008. Breakfast with the Easter Bunny is coming soon. March 8 from 8:30am-10am. Call now to reserve a seat. 416 691 1113 ext 222. It's usually a sold out event, so avoid disappointment by calling now. Beware of imitations, except no substitutes there is only one Easter Bunny and only one Community Centre 55! Monday February 25, 2008. Here's a HOT ONE! We are about to partner with the Toronto Firefighters Combat Challenge Team. Watch for details... The Firefighter Combat Challenge was developed to showcase physical fitness, inside and outside the fire service. This challenge is about men and women carrying out skills which are required to do their jobs on a day to day basis. The team competes both individually and in relays against the clock wearing full gear to see who is “fitter, faster and stronger…firefit!” During the challenge each competitor must wear a full set of gear (helmet, coat and pants with liners, boots, gloves and air tank ~ 30lbs!) and complete 5 specific tasks:
There is a Community/Corporate Challenge that precedes the Firefighter's Competition-yes you get to try it! Watch for the "toughest two minutes in sports" this July! Details to follow....... B.M. Friday February 22, 2008. Good story...thanks Khalid! Graffiti seen as art, an eyesore, Filed Feb. 20, 2008 By Khalid Magram "In a small room inside a building that began its life as police station, concerned Beaches-East York residents and their local city councillor gathered to get tips on graffiti removal. The group was there to learn from a Crown’s representative what the courts are doing about graffiti vandals, and what they heard left many there dissatisfied and angry. During the Community Centre 55’s recent Graffiti Removal & Information Program (GRIP) workshop, residents learned that the act of defacing or tagging homes and businesses, using spray paint, bingo dabbers, black permanent markers or shoe polish dabbers is seen as no more than a nuisance in the eyes of the law. “I know it is hard to hear this but it is true, a person can’t be sent to jail for graffiti.” assistant Crown attorney Kevin Stewart said. According to Stewart, Police can only give warnings to first time offenders. For the repeat offenders “extrajudicial sanctions” come into play. Extrajudicial measures means measures other than judicial proceedings under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Penalties may include apology to victim, restitution, and community service. Stewart also said young persons in some cases think graffiti is art. However for residents affected, graffiti is not just a nuisance and definitely not art; for them it is a serious matter. It means paying money out of pocket and higher taxes for removal of graffiti, lower property value, and according to many residents in the community increased fear of crime. Moreover, they see measures taken by the courts for the offenders of tagging to be an insignificant punishment. The City of Toronto graffiti bylaw requires the owner or occupant maintain property free of graffiti. Municipal Licensing and Standards staff usually enforce the bylaw in a notice to the owner to remove graffiti within three days. Failure to comply can result in a fine for the property owner or tenants. Community members and their leaders want the criminal justice system to hear them on this issue. “Community members are waiting to present their case and appear before the courts,” on this issue Beaches-East York Councillor Sandra Bussin said. On the other hand, "we now find out it is just a nuisance for the judges. Where do we go from here?” Coun. Bussin asked. One way is “writing to your MPP and Attorney General’s office,” Stewart said. He remembers when there was a similar view in regards to prostitution. Communities campaigned and changed people’s perceptions on the issue he said. There has also been some progress made in limiting access to the tools of the graffiti trade. The Canadian Tire store located at Leslie Street and Lakeshore Boulevard has recently adopted a ‘no sell’ to minors policy in regard to spray paint. Residents are hoping more stores that sell paint and other potential graffiti materials will follow in their footsteps. “We are trying our best to help the community to get rid of this problem,” Community Centre 55’s graffiti removal program coordinator Evonne Hossack said. Community Centre 55 gives tips and employs youths to remove graffiti in East Toronto area. For further information visit: www.centre55.com " Thursday February 21, 2008. "I have read the Jade Peony and just finished All That Matters please let me know when he is coming to CC55. I love his books ". I work-out at a gym not far from here and during my regular work-outs, I have been inspired by several people, one of which is Wayson Choy. Wayson has been recovering from significant illnesses. With the help of his certified personal trainer-Ali Enaloei and considering Wayson is 68 years old and was deathly ill, he can now run the pants off almost anyone at the gym! One day I spoke with him and mentioned I thought he must be re-writing the book on aging. He replied, "well in fact I am a writer and I am writing a book about my road to recovery". I then of course went exploring and found the following: Wayson Choy is a Vancover-born Canadian writer of Chinese ancestry who spent his childhood in Vancouver's Chinatown. He is the author of the novel The Jade Peony ( 1995 ) which won the Trillium Book Award and the City of Vancouver Book Award. He also wrote the memoir Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood ( 1999), which won the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and was nominated for a Governor General's Award. Choy attended the University of British Columbia, where he studied creative writing. Moving to Toronto in 1962, Choy taught at Humber College from 1967 to 2004. He continues to teach at Humber College School for Writers. He was president of Cahoots Theatre Company of Toronto from 1999-2002. His latest Novel, All That Matters, was published in 2004 and was nominated for a Scotiabank Giller Prize. In 2005, he was named a member of the Order of Canada. Wayson is about to finish his new book, and we will soon have the pleasure and honour of his company at Centre 55. Date and time will be announced soon. B.M. Thursday February 14, 2008. Superb meeting last night. Almost all of the right subject matter experts were here including an impressive turn out by residents. All of this despite the snow and the really really limited parking. Bylaw enforcers spoke about the obligations people have to remove graffiti vandalism. The police made a report and the star of the evening was Mr. Kevin Stewart. Kevin is a Crown Attorney and he was quite instructive with respect to getting the courts attention on Graffiti Vandalism, which by the way, is considered a "nuisance" by the courts. They shall be hearing from us! B.M. Tuesday February 5, 2008. I call it the "Daffodil Effect". There's probably better names for it, but I like the "Daffodil Effect". As the daffodils break the ground in the early Spring of each year, people leave their houses to admire their beauty and then are infected immediately and repulsed by the amount of Graffiti Vandalism that seemed to occur over night. The fact is, it seems, that the vandalism has been occurring on a regular basis. We just tend to notice it more as it darkens the beauty of Springtime daffodils. Our February 13 meeting on Graffiti Vandalism will be interesting. It's at 7:00pm. Call to reserve your seat now. 416.691.1113 ext 225. B.M. Wednesday January 16, 2008. Here is a thank you letter, that was circulated among a group of people who adopted a family of 9 for Christmas through our Share A Christmas Program. As always, I have removed their names to respect their privacy. "This year we were asked to help make Christmas for a family of 9 a little better. This year’s challenge was different because the family’s history did not include a family member with a horrific disease, nor a battered wife nor a single mom. It was the first time we were given a complete family made up of a hard working Father, a stay at home Mom with three little ones under three (3) and four (4) older children attending school. From the beginning the appeal was mainly for food for the table and a gift for each child. The parents asked for nothing for themselves. Donations came in quickly and strongly. We were able to meet each of the children’s wish list plus some and after much discussion with the Mom we were able to persuade the Dad and herself to provide us with their requests. Mom wanted new pots and pans and Dad a sweater or two. With the amount of money we collected we were able to provide food for Christmas Day+ and gift cards for grocery shopping for at least 3 weeks. The parents were looked after as well. After every delivery I am asked two questions. Was the family deserving? Was the family appreciative? To both these questions I can truthfully say YES!! When we arrived at the family home we were greeted by the mother, oldest daughter and a shy 2 year old little girl with a spaghetti face. We were told the 3 year old twins were upstairs. The house was clean, with a real Christmas tree in the living room, trimmed with homemade decorations. Other than a small 2 seated couch there was no other furniture. From what we saw the dining room and kitchen were just as sparse. Last Friday, December 21st T S, P G, G K and myself made the delivery. We were greeted by the mom who had no idea what to expect. She was taken aback by the amount of delights delivered. Bags of food, wrapped gifts for all, warm clothes, a bed, 2 bicycles and gift certificates were all brought in. As we left we gave Mom and all the kids a great big hug. I noticed the tears welling up in Mom’s eyes and a thank you and Merry Christmas was expressed to us all. " And that Ladies and Gentlemen is why we do this program and we owe a great deal of thanks to "E C" for there generosity. B.M. Friday January 11, 2008. The final numbers for our Share A Christmas Program are listed on the Sunday December 23, 2007 blog entry. It was a tough but very successful campaign this year. On Saturday January 26, 2008 at 10am we will be recognizing those volunteers who have a "sustained and selfless devotion" to our Share A Christmas Program at our Christmas Convocation. These volunteers will be recognized in a variety of ways including the presentation of our Bachelor, Master's and PhDC's of Christmas. BM |
