Junction Triangle

An update from the Boys & Girls Club, sent out on February 8 2011. You can download the original PDF file of this letter here.

Community Update: February 8, 2011

Dear members of the Junction Triangle community:

On behalf of the Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club and the Board of Directors I would like to update you on key developments related to our work in your community.

The Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club is strongly committed to the Junction Triangle community, and committed to being the best and most affordable after-school program for the entire neighbourhood.

As you may know, last September, the Club announced to its membership that it would not be going ahead with plans to move its programs into the warehouse at 45 Ernest Ave. While we are saddened by the fact that we could not proceed with the project, we believe that the right decision was made based on the suitability of the location to operate our programs and the financial impact it would have had on the organization in both the short and long term. The Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club is committed to fulfilling its mandate of providing affordable after-school and camp programs to its membership, and in a careful review of our project at 45 Ernest, we realized the costs of finishing and running the site would have hindered the Club’s ability to do so. We would like to reiterate our thanks to our sponsors and donors who worked with us through this project, and acknowledge the disappointment of all concerned. While no public dollars were invested in the project, we recognize that time and resources were spent on the site, including paying rent and beginning renovations. Nonetheless, it was the right financial decision to stop a project that was going to prove unaffordable over the long term. The Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club is committed to utilizing donor resources in a prudent manner that ensures the best use of dollars now and in the future. We believe the decision to re-assess this project is fully keeping with that approach.

Since that decision was announced, the Club has been actively working to enhance and expand programs for young people in the Junction Triangle community, through measures such as providing additional programs in community schools, which is in line with the Ontario Government’s Full Day Learning initiative. We are proud to announce that this year we have served more youth in the Junction Triangle community than ever before, and that we have been able to offer new programs to serve our membership. A long-stated goal of providing swimming lessons to youth in the Junction Triangle was achieved when the Club began offering a swimming program at Carlton Village, a community school in the area. In addition, all of our membership in the community have been participating in our health promotion program, which has focused on 3 key areas: recreation, healthy eating and mental health. Youth receive 10 hours a week of this successful and important program, that ensures that the Club is working towards promoting a healthy and active community.

Just recently, the Club also began a new set of evening programs at our centre at 120 Perth Ave -- these programs include a new drama club, an arts club and a digital arts club. Youth are excited about these new programs and the Club is extremely happy that it is in a position to offer these programs.

Our commitment to residents and youth in the community is that the Club will continue to provide the programs we currently provide, expand into new areas and keep our programs affordable so that all families, regardless of socio-economic status, can rest assured that the Club is providing top-notch programs staffed by positive role models for a membership fee of just $20 a year.

The Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club has also begun its process of developing an executive plan that seeks to address the long-term issues and program and service needs of youth in the Junction Triangle community. The Club intends to meet with community stakeholders and present this information in a community meeting that it will hold once the draft plan is complete.

The Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club is also undertaking an expansion and revitalization of its centre at 180 Westmoreland Ave, which is slated to be completed in early March 2011. The capital campaign at 180 Westmoreland, which benefited from government funding through Canada’s Economic Stimulus plan was funding that was not transferable to other projects.

The Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club is fully committed to expanding its programs, services and facilities in a way that ensure the long term stability of the organization, and ability to meet the needs of young people and their parents in our community. As we move forward, with assistance from the community, to expand our programs and services in the Junction Triangle community, we do so with the needs and interests of children in the community as our overriding focus and concern. We hope to work and develop in partnership with community stakeholders the resources that will in the future enable us, in an appropriate and fiscally responsible manner, to create a new, permanent centre for youth in the Junction Triangle community, and look forward to working with you towards that goal.

Thank you

Justin Hanna Operations Manager Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club

180 Westmoreland Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M6H 3A2
T 416-536-4102
F 416-536-2015 Charitable Registration Number: 12772-
2304-RT0001
www.dovercourtkids.com

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