University Settlement Annual Report 2009
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University Settlement Annual Report 2009 Board of Directors 2009-2010 Executive Luke Stringer, President Paddi-Anne Crossin, Vice-President Jason Wong, Treasurer Molly McCarron, Secretary Richard Carmichael, Member-at-Large David Colangelo, Member-at-Large Members Genevieve Brown Julian Diego Chris Donkers Edith Galinaitis Aasta Levene Jack Li Kenneth Mak Sohrab Movahedi Ex-Officio James Roy, Past President Adam Vaughan, City of Toronto Contents President & Executive Director’s Report 2 Agency Profile 4 Agency Highlights 6 Language 10 Recreation 12 Music & Arts 14 Daycare 16 Employment & Training 18 Out of the Cold 20 Settlement & Social Services 22 Behind the Scenes 24 Volunteers 26 Funders & Donors 28 Financials 31 Supporting the United Way 32 President & Executive Director’s Report Helping our community to fly…. Every day at University Settlement the staff, volunteers and Board of Directors work hard to help our community to learn and grow and to enhance the quality of life of the people in the diverse communities we serve. We do that through a diverse range of programs and services offered at our four locations throughout Toronto. We are excited to share with you, through our 2009 Annual Report, just some of the highlights of our last year. During 2009 we faced a City of Toronto strike, the H1N1 virus and the continued impact of the global economic crisis. Whether it was working with the community to clean up Grange Park last summer, or providing information on H1N1, or offering financial management workshops for newcomers, University Settlement and our community confronted the challenges together making it easier to manage. But we didn’t just manage tough times, we celebrated. A LOT. Our Chinese Lunar New Year and Norouz festivals helped bring in the New Year and we honoured diverse communities through Black and Women’s history month events. We hosted our annual Grange Festival in the park and held an intimate musical concert featuring musician Ron Davis and hosted by Charlie Pachter. And throughout it all we continued to grow. In 2009 University Settlement expanded the capacity of our Out Of The Cold homeless services program and was designated an Elderly Person’s Centre which allowed us to add staff to our senior’s programs. We added a new self-employment development program in our Employment and Training program and offered new programs to youth thorough our Recreation and Settlement Service programs. Our gym floor at 23 Grange Road was replaced and we added a fully equipped computer room at both our 23 Grange and 720 Spadina locations. 2 Over the course of 2009, University Settlement began planning for 2010 – our 100th year of providing services to the community!!! Through community arts programming and interviews with partners, staff, board and community members, University Settlement began to collect words, pictures, stories and thoughts about the importance of University Settlement in the community and the role we play in people’s lives. We have been blown away by this process and hope to share with you, now and over the next year, just some of those thoughts and images. As we embark on our 100th year, University Settlement is proud to be such an important part of the City of Toronto. We have built a strong foundation over the last 99 years and have become an essential part of the commu- nities we serve. Best said by Richard, a client in one of our programs “Essentially, they are teaching me how to fly again”. Thanks to all of you for being a part of our family and to the staff, board and volunteers of University Settlement a huge round of applause. Without you, University Settlement would not be the diverse, dynamic, exciting and comfortable place we are today. It is an exciting time and we hope you will come fly with us. Debra Shime Luke Stringer Executive Director Board President 3 Agency Profile University Settlement strives to enhance the quality of life of people within the community by responding with socially appropriate programs that will strengthen and enrich the social, economic and cultural needs of individuals, families and groups living and working in the West Central Downtown community of Toronto. Founded in 1910, University Settlement is celebrating 100 years of serving the community and the distinction of being the first community-based social service centre in the City of Toronto. With a full-time and part-time staff of approximately 150 and a volunteer board of directors, University Settlement has four locations across Toronto, offering programs to meet the needs of the community we serve. An agency membership is required for our client fee-based programs. The membership fee is $10 per year for adults (18 years of age and older), $5 for seniors (60 years and older) and $5 for youth (16-17 years of age). All agency memberships include related children 15 years of age and younger. Memberships are Members will also receive agency updates valid for the calendar year and by email once a month. Individuals and expire on December 31. families with a University Settlement membership may also enjoy the recreation Agency members receive priority and swim community times as per the notification of all University posted schedules. For more information, Settlement programs, special events please contact 416-598-3444. and festivals. Voting privileges are granted to all individuals 18 years of age and older at the Annual General 4 Meeting. Grange Festival 2009 “Partnering with University Settlement enables the AGO to reach out and connect with a broader community. Thanks to University Settlement, we have been able to reinforce the AGO’s role as a destination and resource for newcomers to our city, our community housing neighbours, families and seniors.” -Bev Carret, Manager, Government and Community Relations Art Gallery of Ontario 5 Agency Highlights Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration Cultural New Year Celebrations On January 31st , we hosted a Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration with over 300 in attendance including elected officials, board members and community partners. On March 19th, we held a Norouz event to celebrate the Persian New Year with clients, board members and community partners. Over 100 people attended the Norouz event hosted by our North York office. 6 City Strike and Park Clean Up During the City strike in the summer of 2009, University Settlement’s staff and volunteers joined with our neighbours in a weekly clean-up effort in Grange Park. Each Friday for the duration of the strike, University Settlement, OCAD, AGO and the Grange Community Association met in the park to do litter pick-up. The community came together in a joint effort to keep the park beautiful, clean and useable. Black History Month Once again University Settlement partnered with Toronto Community Housing and the Art Gallery of Ontario for our community Black History month event. There was an exhibit of photos and historical information in our lobby at 23 Grange Road for the month of February. The main event was celebrated on Thursday, February 25 in our gymnasium with a Libation ceremony, performances, arts and crafts, musicians, a poem dedicated to people in Haiti and awards for community members that reside in Toronto Community Housing. After all the performances, there was a dinner with a variety of cultural foods from the African Diasporas. There were over 200 members in attendance. Benefit Concert at The Moose Factory In June, jazz pianist Ron Davis presented a benefit concert for the Music and Arts School at artist Charles Pachter’s home and studio, The Moose Factory. This event was an intimate affair with music, art, food and good company in a stunning venue. 7 Agency Highlights The Grange Festival On August 7, 2009, University Settlement hosted our annual Grange Festival, a “family festival with a twist of green”. With an emphasis on being friendlier to the environment, the festival included games, activities and information booths from our local community as we provided over 2,200 community members with a fun-filled afternoon of games and performances. All refreshments for children were provided FREE of charge through generous support from our major sponsors International Financial Data Services (IFDS) and Growing Up Healthy Downtown. Making some fancy hats at the Grange Festival 8 Safe Community Initiative Project University Settlement was awarded the 2009 Mayor’s Safe Community Award for our part in helping to improve the safety of our community through our Safe Community Initiative. The project focused on increasing awareness about community safety through education and by building and strengthening community partnerships and networks. We worked closely with 52 Division Police Services and the Chinatown Business Improvement Area on each of the four events implemented under our Safe Community Initiative project and will continue this great partnership in 2010 with a youth-focused safe community project. Volunteer Recognition 2009 Each year, University Settlement acknowledges the hard work, dedication and commitment of our over 500 volunteers. A special dinner was held at the Bright Pearl restaurant. Constable Mike Moffatt of the 52 Division was our guest speaker and he talked about the importance of volunteering in keeping a community safe. Awards were given to the editorial team of our Senior’s Voice as well as Tsering Dolma, Community Development Worker and Dolores Callin, Out Of The Cold and special acknowledgement was given to former board members Jessica Hum, Jeff Kozan and Vince Scaramuzzo, who left the board in June 2009 after serving full terms. Family, friends and funders joined us in this special event to thank University Settlement’s volunteers. The Gift of Music! In the summer, the Music and Arts School partnered for a third time with CONTACT Contemporary Music to present “Music from Scratch”, a week-long workshop for youth.