Community News Update - December 20, 2023

Dear Community,

As we head into the holidays, let us take a moment to reflect on the past year. 2023 was a difficult year for many of us, myself included. Let us also allow ourselves the grace to recognize and honour all that we've accomplished.

At the bottom of today's newsletter, after this week's updates, you'll find a recap of all the hard work we’ve done in 2023 and our plans to continue fighting for you, Ontarians, in the year ahead. While it's impossible to capture a FULL year of work into one newsletter, I hope you will take this as just a snippet of the last 12 months and a brief glimpse at what's to come.

On that note, I'd like to wish everyone in our St. Paul’s community and beyond who will be celebrating, a peaceful holiday season and a happy New Year. Whether you recently celebrated Chanukah, or are gearing up for Christmas, the solstice, or Kwanzaa in the upcoming days, I hope you can take a moment to connect with loved ones and celebrate the season in a way that holds meaning for you. Let us continue to show up for one another in 2024.

A reminder that my office will be closed from Friday, December 22nd until January 2nd. I look forward to reconnecting with everyone when we return.

Earlier this week, I attended the Winona Drive SPS Secret Art Show and Fundraiser and their Winter Concert. Wow, what an evening! Hats off to ALL the talented student artists and performers!

This was my first time attending a "Secret" Art Show. The catch? Local professional artists submitted pieces of art mixed among the students' art. You didn't know which was which until you made a purchase. I scored a painting of the CN Tower from an incredibly talented gr 7 that I was FULLY convinced was pro! That is, until I revealed the artist's signature on the back. The Winter Concert was equally fabulous! The steelpan drummers had me GROOVING in my seat. What a send-off for the winter break!

Also, this week I got a special tour of the Yonge + St Clair BIA Gingerbread Festival sites and was honoured to announce the WINNERS of the office and school gingerbread house contests. The BIG reveal is coming soon... Check their socials to find out!

Congratulations to Louroz and the ENTIRE Yonge + St Clair team for this incredible event. Seriously, it draws thousands of people in each year! I was especially blown away by the quality of all the contest submissions. Fabulous job all around!

Last week I attended the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada's annual holiday celebration! Their work is crucial to delivering diverse news media that reflects the interests and voices of ethnic communities across the province and beyond.

Congratulations to all the award recipients! To Mr. Saras (first picture), it's ALWAYS a pleasure to see you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you've done for me and the greater community.

Over the weekend, I attended the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church Yule Sing concert featuring the church's choirs. Thank you to ALL the performers for a beautiful evening of music.

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church is seeking volunteers to fill a number of roles at the church. Roles include:

Stephen Ministers
El Hogar
Lay Visitors
Ushers & Greeters
Office volunteers
Food bank volunteers

Visit their website here for more details and a full list of volunteer opportunities.

Applications for Black Women in Motion's Black Youth Employment Assistance Program (BYEAP) are now OPEN!

BYEAP is a 13-week, virtual employment and entrepreneurial-focused program for Black survivors of gender-based violence. BYEAP provides employment-focused training opportunities and mental health resources to support survivors in developing their employability skills, business ideas, and wellness strategies for job retention.

For general inquiries, please email us at [email protected]

Registration for the Winter/Spring 2024 cohort closes on Thursday, January 18th, 2024, at 11:59 P.M.

Interested applicants are asked to email their resumes to [email protected] with BYEAP-2024 in the subject line.

Calling all poets of St. Paul's and beyond! The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is seeking nominees for the next Poet Laureate of Ontario. The role was created in 2019 in honour of the late Gord Downie.

The application is open until January 15, 2024. Click here for more information.