Past Events
Lunchtime Dialogue – Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director, Maytree Foundation
Poverty and Newcomers – Complex Problems, Simple Solutions
Ratna Omidvar is the Executive Director of Maytree. Ratna also serves as a director of the Toronto City Summit Alliance, and is a member of the board of the Tamarack Institute. She was the first executive director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and is its founding chair. In 2003, Ontario’s Premier-designate Dalton McGuinty appointed Ratna to the Transition Advisory Board. In 2004 Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed Ratna to the External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities. Ratna is a Fellow of Centennial College, and received an honorary diploma from George Brown College in 2006. Also in 2006, Ratna was appointed to the Order of Ontario.
Not only will this be a great opportunity to hear Ratna share her wealth of knowledge and speak about poverty as it relates to newcomers in our city, but this will also be an excellent time to visit our first investee, Eva's Phoenix Print Shop, and see first-hand, the wonderful work that they do.
The print shop empowers youth to secure work and stable housing, as well as the life skills required to sustain these gains. Eva's believes that rather than focusing on youth problems and vulnerabilities, more progress is made by nurturing their strengths, resources and the ability to recover from adversity. Our volunteer teams have been hard at work with the print shop team and believe SVPT can play a key role in building the strength of Eva's operations.
Film Screening – Devil Plays Hardball
“If you could get one person off the street, would you? Could you?”
Devil Plays Hardball is a radical interventionist documentary by Paperny Films that seeks to answer this question. Four well-established Vancouver residents have 10-months to mentor homeless individuals from various Vancouver neighborhoods who have the desire - but not necessarily the means - to re-enter mainstream society. What ensues is a complicated journey that provides an up-close and intimate look at a group of people most of us choose to ignore - Canada's homeless.
Lunchtime Dialogue
Interested in learning more about Community Foundations? Rahul Bhardwaj, the President and CEO of Toronto Community Foundation (TCF), will be joining us to talk about the role of TCF in Toronto.
For over 25 years, TCF has been connecting philanthropy to community needs and opportunities. TCF works with individuals, families, corporations and not-for-profit organizations to carry out their charitable objectives and address emerging community issues.
Part of the work of TCF is to provide grants and help high-impact community organizations connect with donors. You may be familiar with TCF's publication called Toronto’s Vital Signs®, their annual report card on the health of our city, which identifies the issues and trends across the areas that determine our community’s quality of life. Vital Ideas is their companion resource which uses the Vital Signs® framework as a foundation for action to improve Toronto’s quality of life. Vital Ideas Grants of up to $30,000 are available for local, high-impact community initiatives. Rahul will be joined by one of their Vital Ideas grant recipients who will share more about the work their organization is doing in the community.
East Scarborough Storefront, Vital Idea recipient
Anne Gloger, Manager
Anne won the City's Access, Equity and Human Rights Award last year for her work with the East Scarborough Storefront.
The East Scarborough Storefront is a partnership of residents and services working together to create a thriving community in East Scarborough. The 35 Storefront agencies offer services, resources and supports in a community setting. The Storefront is "one stop shopping" for settlement, legal, health, employment services. It is also a place where people can ask for help and connect with their community.
Visits to its 35 agencies have increased dramatically since the Storefront opened its doors in 2001, reaching more than 5,400 in March 2004. Agencies from across Toronto continue to bring their initiative, enthusiasm and expertise to the people of East Scarborough. Close to 200 volunteers a year contribute their time and skill to their community through Storefront initiatives.
This unique collaborative approach continues to support the people of East Scarborough as they struggle to stay healthy in the face of poverty, isolation and neglect. The Storefront continues to help connect people who want help with the right services and organizations, when they need them.
SVPT Mixer
Get to know your fellow partners in a casual setting over drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Please consider inviting at least one person who you think would make a strong addition to our partner team.
All Partners Meeting
Presentations by the three agencies up for consideration for our funding and volunteer teams for our first investment cycle. Partners will vote to determine which agency will be selected. Dinner and drinks will be provided.
