Attendance: Eleven including three guests
Guests: Evan Back, YouthLink,
Michael Cooksey, Rotary Club of Scarborough & YouthLink Board Member
Dorothy Evans, Past President Markham Sunrise Rotary Club
Anthem: Peter
Grace: Dave
Toast: President Barry
Announcements:- Gerd thanked everyone who provided hygiene supplies for his and Dorothy’s recent trip to the Bahamas, where the items were given to assist victims of Hurricane Dorian on the island of Abaco. In addition to the items donated, our club contributed USD $500; the Rotary Club of Eleuthera assisted us with the aid effort.
- Barry gave Gerd some cards from Baton Rouge offering discounts for meals; to be given to Park Property Management’s team and their suppliers in appreciation for their support to our club.
- Arthur stated that the Community Service Group will meet after today’s luncheon.
- Barry advised he had a check of $18K for our share of the proceeds of the Auction; this is net of $2.5K deducted to finance next year’s auction; we also have a $4K credit towards our sponsorship requirement for the 2020 auction.
- Barry noted that tax receipts will be issued in March.
Marbelous Draw:Conducted by Gordon, drawn by Dorothy, won by Dave. Alas, the magic marble was not drawn.
Sergeant at Arms: Gerd. Talked about the football game (between Chelsea and Munich?) and fined folk who did not know who won.
Happy Bucks were then collected.
Guest Speaker: Evan Back, Director Fund Development & Brand Building, YouthLink
Introduced by: Arthur
YouthLink:
Evan Back, the Director of Fund Development & Brand Building for YouthLink, was our guest speaker. YouthLink’s goal is to break the cycle of homelessness for youth who have been on the street, have had enough and want to improve their current circumstances. There are approx. 2,000 homeless youth in Scarborough.
Evan discussed the challenges that face homeless youth as they navigate the world today. These include having to leave their family home for a variety of reasons including addiction, relocation to larger cities, LGBTQ concerns and religious reasons. Unlike most shelters that primarily focus on providing a place to sleep, YouthLink has programs that focus on breaking the cycle of homelessness. When someone walks in, they sit down with a councillor right away, no health card required and are assigned a mentor. A customized program is designed to assist the individual and support is provided for up to 12-24 months.
YouthLink is an outgrowth of the Big Sisters of Ontario, has approx. 100 staff members and feeds approx. 650 people daily. Their annual budget is between $7M-$8M but they currently run a deficit of approx. $800K. Funding is primarily from the City of Toronto and the United Way, with no major corporate revenue streams. Evan is currently visiting Churches and Service Clubs to talk about what’s going on with youth homelessness in the community.
At the conclusion of his presentation Evan was thanked by Basil and presented with a certificate from Operation Eyesight.
The meeting was then adjourned by Barry.
A recording of Evan’s presentation is attached.
