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Reena Annual Report Reena Annual ReportAnnual Reportby Tali Nizic,Chair andSandy Keshen,President andCEOEvents during the last year certainly kept us glued tothe TV news programs, wrapped in reams ofnewspapers or twittering on our Blackberries to keepabreast of the rapidly changing economic situation acrossthe globe. Even the weather seemed more turbulent than inrecent memory. But we are especially glad to report thatcool heads and well established programs at Reena helpedus to triumph.Reena welcomed 20 new family members. They are allnow well established in their new homes, making friendsand learning new skills.Special guests visit Reena’s Outreach DepartmentThere was great excitement at the Battle Centre on January11th when we welcomed special guests The Hon. PeterKent M.P., Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Americas)and his wife Cilla to see, first hand, Reena’s successfulOutreach Programs. Some of the older program participants(l to r) Petra Martin, Outreach participant, Michelle Anbar,Reena staff and Cilla Kent.Outreach DepartmentOur Outreach Department has also maintained its numberof participants and continues to provide varied andinteresting programs at the Battle Centre, the Miles NadalJCC, March Break, Summer and Winter Programs werequickly filled and, in many cases, were oversubscribed.Camp Northland was a great success. A number ofyoungsters with special needs enjoyed the campingexperience. For some it was their first time sleeping awayfrom home, but the Reena staff helped them integrate withthe other campers and they enjoyed all the activities thatmake a great summer. To quote some of their parents, it was“great to have this time to recharge our batteries” and “wedid stuff with our other kids with peace of mind” or “wewere able to attend my brother’s wedding in Calgary”.The Reena at Camp Northland program is subsidized bycontributions to the Reena Foundation by generous donorsin the community. Their support is very much appreciated.We also deeply thank the members of the Miriam AlkinMemorial Fund who chose Reena’s camp program toreceive a generous portion of their fundraising efforts.(l to r) The Hon. Peter Kent M.P., Ann Szabo, Resource ManagerOutreach, Cilla Kent and Sandy Stemp, Program Manager.wanted to engage the Minister in conversation aboutpolitics (one young man said he had been looking forwardto a coalition government) but the younger children onlywanted their guests to help them with their drawings orhear their songs. There was an outpouring of love andcaring. Nobody stood on ceremony as our guests weredrawn into the Reena family circle.When they left the Battle Centre, they went to the Al andFaye Mintz Reena ElderHome and met most of the seniorswho were home and were shown all the features built intothe home for the comfort and safety of the residents.Sandy Keshen wins Lifetime Achievement AwardIn February, Sandy Keshen received a LifetimeAchievement Award at the Itanu Toronto Awards ofExcellence Ceremony sponsored by UJA Federation ofGreater Toronto ‘honouring her tireless, lifelong striving tomake our Jewish community more inclusive of people withspecial needs.’ Over 250 of her colleagues, family andfriends attended the ceremony, sponsored by UJAFederation of Greater Toronto, to congratulate her andapplaud her achievements.The Ontario Partnership on Aging andDevelopmental Disabilities (OPADD)The OPADD Symposium was held March 9-11, 2009. Itdrew distinguished speakers from across Ontario,Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Chicago who also tookpart in focused dialogue sessions. Special guest, TheHonourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community8 • Annual Report • September 2009
Reena Annual Report Reena Annual Reportand Social Services underlined the commitment of thegovernment of Ontario in its support of the vision: Thatolder adults with a developmental disability have thesame rights to support and services as all older Ontarians.Reena receives grant for Inclusion ProjectThe Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act waspassed in 2005.In keeping with their legislative objectives, the Ministry ofCommunity and Social Services has sought out partners tospread the word about the first set of regulations under thisact; The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. Theseregulations are aimed at ensuring that all Ontariobusinesses and service providers deliver quality customerservice to people with disabilities by 2012.As an identified leader in the developmental servicessector, Reena was awarded a grant to disseminateinformation about the legislation to faith-basedcommunities across Ontario. Partnering with the Faith andCulture Inclusion Network, a group of faith-baseddevelopmental service agencies, and the UJA Federation ofToronto’s Inclusion Initiative, the goal of this governmentsponsoredproject is to customize materials that willsupport all faiths in making their institutions welcomingand accessible to people with developmental and otherdisabilities.The most recent stage of the project, initiated in April2009, is aimed at the Jewish community. Nine synagoguesare currently engaged in this pilot phase of the project.These synagogues are informed leaders in accessibility,partnering with Reena to create a model for implementingthe requirements of the legislation within synagogues.Simultaneously, this model is being customized for use inplaces of worship of other faiths as well. .During the pilot phase synagogues have initiated:- accessibility committees and accessibility training forushers and greeters, in preparation for the High Holidays- a process for receiving and responding to feedback fromsynagogue participants on the accessibility of their HighHoliday synagogue experience.The next project objective is a forum planned for January2010. The purpose of this forum is to launch a genericmanual, based on the information gleaned through thepilot phase that will be relevant to all places of worship.The efforts of this project have only been made successfulas a result of the various partnerships, encompassinggovernment, coalitions, the UJA Federation of Toronto, GTAsynagogues and communities of different faiths. This is justone example of how Reena is working together with otherstowards the inclusion of all people in our society.Human Resources DepartmentThe Human Resources Department was certainly a verybusy place during the 2008-9 fiscal year. It facilitated thehiring of 124 new employees. That is a new person hiredevery two working days! In addition, the HumanResources Department promoted 66 current employees. Inother words, every 3.5 working days, an employee waspromoted to a new position!The Human Resources Department was also busy on thelabour relations front as well, i.e., active in negotiating athree-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with OPSEULocal 554 and responding to 23 grievances.In between all the hiring, promoting and negotiating,Human Resources Department revised many of itspolicies, e.g. Performance Appraisals, Use of AgencyVehicles , Handling and Storage of ConfidentialInformation, as well as created several new, cutting edgepolicies dealing with such issues as Workplace ViolencePrevention and Domestic Violence in the Workplace.Finally, Human Resources Department has been active inReena's response to the H1N1 Flu Virus by, among otherthings, creating special Human Resources Policies toprovide financial protection for employees.Volunteer DepartmentAmong the many successes this past year, Reena organizeda partnership with JUMP (Jewish Urban Meeting Place).JUMP volunteers came out to a number of Reena grouphome locations to assist with landscaping and gardening.“What a pleasure it was to welcome them into our homes”stated the clients. They were friendly, fun, willing to helpand most importantly, happy to include their new Reenafriends in their tasks. Thank you JUMP. Please come againnext year.One of our more seasoned volunteers, Sybil Rabenowitz,was honoured, in a touching and meaningful ceremony,with the Government of Ontario Volunteer Service Awardin recognition for continuous years of service with acommunity organization.Sybil was involved in volunteering in South Africa, herhomeland and within three months of arriving in Torontoshe began volunteering with Reena. Every Mondaymorning at the Battle Centre, you can hear the lively musicSybil makes to the delight of all the clients. Rob Scott, aReena Day Program Supervisor, commented: “Sybil is oneof those truly exceptional people that come along once in alifetime. A special thing happens when Sybil enters aroom; she spreads a sense of joy, goodness, andbelonging.”Sybil is an amazing individual and an outstandingvolunteer. She celebrated her 90th birthday this year and isstill going strong! We are so fortunate to have had theopportunity to count Sybil among our prized volunteersfor the past eight years and look forward to enjoying hertalents and friendship for many years to come.continued on page 14Annual Report • September 2009 • 9
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