THE HEROES
Throughout my early childhood I remember every Saturday morning my parents waking my brother and me up just before sunrise to get us ready for our big game. Funny how fast we would get up — Mom sometimes wondered why we didn’t have equally as much enthusiasm to wake up for school. My parents sacrificed as much as they could to give us both the opportunity for organized sports in the community, and no matter how hard they worked during the week nothing meant more to them than watching us take to the ice each Saturday morning.
 Mark DeMontis motivates visually impaired youth at Courage Canada learn to skate program in Surrey, BC. |
In 2004, at age 17, I was diagnosed with Leber’s Optic Neuropathy, a rare condition that resulted in losing the central sight in both my eyes, taking away my dreams of one day playing professional hockey. Instantly I started struggling with social acceptance, self-advocacy, and inadequate accessibility, realizing slowly that this new lifestyle of mine would not be easy. During my university days it didn’t get any better, as I had hung up my skates, started gaining weight, and, worst of all, started losing hope. It’s true what they say about life, the simple fact that in one moment things can change. As much as life seemed to work against me, in the fall of 2007 the tables turned. I was inspired by a man named Chris Delaney who was also diagnosed with Leber’s in his teens but refused to give up, cycling from coast to coast on a two-seater tandem bike to raise funds for eye research in Canada. With my newfound motivation I was ready to put the dark times behind me and go back to my roots. One month later I founded Courage Canada (www.couragecanada.ca), a national non-profit organization to raise awareness and funds to implement learn-to-skate programs for youth who are visually impaired. |
Following in Delaney’s footsteps, I decided to get back to the gym. One year later, at age 22, I strapped on my skates and rollerbladed from my hometown of Toronto across five provinces and 5,000km to Vancouver to raise funds and awareness for my cause. The campaign was supported by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, NHL, Reebok, Tim Horton’s, and more. Since my arrival, Courage Canada, through corporate and social partnerships, has already started learn-to-skate programs for youth who are visually impaired in cities all across the country. This summer I will strap on my skates once again and rollerblade from Halifax to Toronto to raise more funds and awareness for Courage Canada.
Oftentimes I look back on those Saturday mornings growing up and wonder what exactly pushed me to get out of bed. Interestingly enough, it’s the same thing that pushes me to get out of bed every morning now, to make a difference for these youth: my love for the game of hockey.
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Mark DeMontis, Founder, President, and Spokesperson of Courage Canada; A Time for New Beginnings |
 Cindy Ashton |
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 Blentin Cuko (left), office manager, with a group of staff and volunteers of Neighbourhood Link |
When Bindu D’Cunha arrived in Canada five years ago, the Bombay-born administrative assistant and her husband, a chef, couldn’t find work. Neighbourhood Link Support Services helped make the transition to their new life smoother. Also dedicated to helping seniors and youth, the agency, whose mission is to promote the independence and dignity of people within their community, offers programs to assist newcomers to integrate into the community. |
Bindu and her husband attended a newcomer job search workshop, one of many workshops offered by Neighbourhood Link’s employment services.
“It gave me a lot of confidence. I made a number of friends [and] I decided to volunteer,” says Bindu. While volunteering, Bindu applied for an administrative assistant opening and was hired. “It was a blessing to have a job,” she says.
After completing the workshop, her husband also got a job in his field.
Employment services runs a resource and information center, offering, among other things, free access to job-search tools, on-site hiring fairs, financial support for credential assessments or work attire, and training subsidies to employers.
“We want to make them self-sufficient,” says Ann Evans, senior manager of employment services. “We want them to leave here with all the skills they need to move on.”
In the newcomer support and outreach program, participants practice English in a conversation circle, socialize at eat-and-meet gatherings, and explore seasonal foods and cost-saving food sources in a healthy lifestyle program.
Patty Hill, a newcomer support and outreach worker, says she remembers “John” from Sierra Leone who went through the pre-employment development program (PED). Living in fear amongst a corrupt government and rebel forces, his family tried to remain politically neutral. “John,” an engineer working in his father’s diamond mine, returned home one day to find that his parents and siblings had been killed. He escaped and eventually came to Canada.
“He found us,” says Patty. “All he wanted to do was become a nurse.”
After completing the program, Neighbourhood Link paid for his Personal Support Worker course. In exchange, he signed a six-month work contract with them. While working as a PSW for seniors, he put himself through nursing school. He’s now a nurse at a Toronto hospital.
“You get those gripping stories,” Patty says, “then you hear the joy afterwards.”
The program helps newcomers understand their paycheque, teaches them about employer expectations and employee rights, and introduces them to resources and places to visit. But its main goal is identifying barriers to employment — anything from daycare to education needs.
“We identify and then we set up,” says Gail Simpson, employment facilitator with PED. “Everybody leaves our program with an action plan.”
Home in Crescent Town, one of Toronto’s 13 priority neighbourhoods and top 10 gateway communities, the 35-year-old non-profit organization employs 100 people full time and is supported by 500 volunteers.
As for the newcomer piece of the organization, Blentin Cuko, office manager of Neighbourhood Link, describes it nicely. “It’s a place people come to, from all over the world, to start their new life in Canada,” he tells me, before turning to greet a newcomer: “Welcome to Neighbourhood Link Support Services. One step must start each journey, and you’re in the right place.”
He speaks from experience. Blentin arrived from Albania 14 years ago, and joined the job-finding club after college. After completing the program, he applied for a job and spent eight years working in employment services before becoming the office manager.
“We all need help at some point,” he says. “I’m glad I came here when I needed help.”
For more information visit www.neighbourhoodlink.org or call 416-691-7407.
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Sophie Tolias is a Toronto-based freelance writer who is passionate about telling people's stories. You can contact her at sophie.tolias@gmail.com |
In the aftermath of the holiday season, donation drives are working to keep the charitable momentum going across the country.
 Adrienne Kaplan surrounded by a few of the boxes of diapers she has collected |
This year, hopefully there will be one more item Canadians are willing to donate: diapers. Inspired by Huggies’ Every Little Bottom campaign, Thornhill grandmother Adrienne Kaplan has launched a one-woman diaper drive to combat diaper need in the Greater Toronto Area. Diaper need is a little-known phenomenon in Canada, but a recent study found that 1 in 5 mothers struggle to provide diapers for their babies (in the U.S. the figure is even higher, at 1 in 3). According to the Huggies Every Little Bottomstudy, mothers suffering from diaper need run out of clean diapers monthly or more often. These mothers are forced to choose between buying diapers, food, or other utilities. In this unfortunate situation, making ends meet can sometimes mean not enough clean diapers for their baby. |
Babies may be kept in wet, dirty diapers for extended periods of time or, in more extreme cases, made to wear used diapers that have been cleaned or dried out. This can lead to babies suffering not just physically but also emotionally. Babies in diaper need are also more likely to show signs of irritation, discomfort and suffer more from diaper rash than babies who are not living in diaper need.
The thought of these helpless babies was too much for Adrienne Kaplan to handle. A former teacher with a young grandchild, Kaplan knew that something had to be done.
“I just couldn’t stand the thought of all those babies suffering because of something many people take for granted: the ability to afford clean diapers,” says Adrienne. “I had to do something, so I started reaching out to people I knew and it just kept growing.”
Adrienne first reached out to friends and family via email, asking them to donate diapers by dropping off whatever they could at her house. Before she knew it, her living room was filled. Within the span of a few weeks her home had become a diaper drive drop-off centre.
With space running out in her home, Adrienne was quick to get the diapers to GTA women’s shelters and Food Banks Canada locations.
By reaching out to members of the Thornhill community, Adrienne raised more than 150 boxes of diapers. Her efforts didn’t stop there, as Adrienne soon decided it was time to reach out to the entire Greater Toronto Area. She made it her mission to get the message out about diaper need and to encourage people to donate diapers or hold their own diaper drives.
Now, with a number of media appearances under her belt and a partnership with a Vaughn school, Adrienne has been able to collect close to 25,000 diapers.
If you’d like to get involved, you can email Adrienne at diaperdrop613@hotmail.com. You can also visit EveryLittleBottom.com for resources and information about organizing a diaper drive. From easy how-to steps to flyer and invitation templates, the site features tools to help groups and individuals get started. Another way to get involved is by simply buying diapers to donate to charitable organizations.
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Kiel Hume has been lucky to work with both Adrienne Kaplan and Huggies in their ongoing diaper drive efforts |