Time to Give: Ordinary Giving, Extraordinary Impact! - Imagine Canada

Imagine Canada Information Supplement
Doing unto others
Toronto’s Church of the Redeemer has been
running its outreach programs for nearly
two decades. It all began when the church
secretary recognized that there were hungry
people in the community, and began to feed
them. Word got out, and people arrived in
numbers that one person making sandwiches
at home just couldn’t meet.
Today, the church has a commercialsized
kitchen and serves breakfast and
lunch to up to 100 people five days a week.
About half of the guests are homeless, the
others are on social assistance or are
among the working poor. On any given
day, about a third are regulars, another
third are periodic patrons, and the remainder
are new faces.
John (not his real name) started coming
for meals three years ago. He had been in
and out of jail and was dealing with substance
abuse issues, floating between various
shelters and drop-ins. Simon Lewchuk,
Leona Fleck donates through her
workplace’s giving program.
“ My values are aligned
with the company.”
Leona Fleck,
Employee, Envision Financial
outreach coordinator for the church, said
that John liked their warm, welcoming
environment. “Our volunteers take time to
interact with the folks,” he explained. John
quickly became a regular and was eventually
able to secure housing through the city.
He now volunteers with the outreach program
four days a week.
Lewchuk said that while John is a success
story, this isn’t the norm. “We don’t always
see dramatic changes.” He added, “Our
calling is to love and show compassion for
people. Our hope is that they will find a
job and a place to live but we know that
their issues are complex and that change is
a long and slow process.”
In addition to providing food, the church
also offers nursing care twice a week, haircuts
once a week and periodic legal programs.
All of this good work is funded by
the generosity of individual donors, who
give, on average, $200 each year.
Giving at work
Like her co-workers at Envision Financial,
Leona Fleck didn’t hesitate in supporting
the company’s “Let’s Can Hunger” campaign.
Why does she give? “I’m very fortunate,”
she replied. I don’t have to worry
about where my next meal is coming from.
My values are aligned with the company.”
Based in British Columbia, Envision has
run its “Days of Caring” – a week-long
volunteering program that gets more than
100 employees to roll up their sleeves for
local charities – for the past four years.
Immediately after the event, the company
launches a fundraising campaign, which
raised $50,000 last year (the company
topped it up with $10 per employee).
Envision’s current focus on hunger and
food security resonated with Fleck, a bank
manager who has been with the company
Church of the Redeemer’s outreach
program serves breakfast and lunch
to up to 100 people five days a week.
for 22 years and has been donating through
payroll deduction for just as long. “I always
struggle when I’m in the city with those
who are asking for help on the street,” she
said. “I want to reach into my pocket but
they need more than just handing over a
coin can do.”
Fleck sees giving at work as a way to
help in a more organized way that will
have a greater impact. Plus, she’s giving
more. “I started by giving a couple of
bucks with each paycheque and didn’t
even notice it coming out.” Now she gives
at the “leadership” level ($500+) and
actively encourages other employees to
give, too. What started as a $52 annual
payroll donation is now thousands of dollars
in support of critical needs. And that
makes her feel great.
Envision Financial is a participant in Imagine Canada’s Caring Company program.
Learn more about Canada’s charities and nonprofits at www.imaginecanada.ca
A steady connection
“I have great affection for all the creative
people who scratch out a living daily,” says
Barbara Beaton, a long-time donor to
Calgary-based Alberta Theatre Projects
(ATP). “I know how hard it is to have a
secure future when you’re in the arts.”
Barbara describes herself as an ordinary
Canadian with a secure income. After 30
years with the Calgary District School
Board, she retired in 1992, and she’s been
a patron of the arts ever since.
Barbara’s love of the arts began through
choral singing as a child in Medicine Hat.
A fondness for theatre emerged years
later, when the Canmore Opera House – a
19th century log building – was brought
to Calgary’s Heritage Park in 1973. Young
people put on seven shows a day there,
using drama as an educational tool to
engage audiences in Alberta history. “There
were 40,000 students exposed to this idea
of combining history and theatre. I thought
it was a pretty good thing,” she said.
Thank you to our generous corporate supporters.
When ATP was founded
Barbara became an early subscriber
and soon added “donor”
to her relationship with the
company. For the past ten years
she’s been a member of ATP’s
Director’s Circle, giving a
minimum of $1,000 each year.
“My connection has been steady,”
she said. Yes, the program offers
her access to the company and
its leadership but Barbara is clear
that personal benefit really
doesn’t come into play. “It’s incumbent on
me to help those whose work I admire.”
Recently, Barbara took another step by
contributing a number of oil company
shares to the company, a sizable gift that
supports their work in the schools and an
apprenticeship program. Why make such
a significant donation? “It’s a good place
to put it because of my own work as a
teacher,” she said simply.
Barbara Beaton is a long time Alberta Theatre
Projects donor.
She’s looking forward to a new role running
the theatre company’s volunteer gift
shop this fall, and planning her next
financial contribution: she intends to support
a choral music program in her hometown.
When asked what she would advise
to other prospective philanthropists she
suggests reflecting on the past. “Look to
your childhood. What were the things that
really made you feel good?”
Share the
Power of a Wish®
Make-A-Wish ® Canada thanks our National Corporate Stars for
their generous contributions of more than $100,000 towards our
magical wish granting efforts.
With strong corporate and individual support, we will continue
our 27 year tradition of granting wishes to children with
life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human
experience with hope, strength and joy.
“Make-A-Wish ® knows that our wish is to live and get better.
They make us live by giving us something to live for. That is
hope, and that’s what they gave to me. Thank you from
the bottom of my heart.”
Jennifer | Wish Child
www.makeawish.ca