By Wendy Dyke

As we welcome 2015 and we head into our annual membership drive, I thought it might be a good time to update our members on recent North York Council activities and their plans for the coming year.

In 2014, North York Council sponsored a number of initiatives in the region. Through membership donations and fundraising through the sale of Nevada lottery tickets, they were able to sponsor several events organized by the North York Social Recreation committee. These included a Community Walk with Victoria Park Hub partners, Working Women and the Toronto East Chinese Baptist Church; three Pizza/Bingo nights and the North York Halloween Dance. North York Council also expanded the number of programs they offered in 2014. There were four sessions of cooking classes. Council also ran their ever popular TTC Readiness program last spring. North York’s Jumpstart Literacy Classes also continue to run on Saturday mornings with sponsorship from Council. Lastly, Council was instrumental in enabling the region to reach out to forty-two households from our Early Childhood Services, Home Management, Family Support and Adult Protective Services Programs during the holiday season through our Holiday Hampers initiative. Without the support of our members it would not be possible for Council to sponsor these events and programs.

Looking forward to 2015, Council has been busy planning a family information night focusing on the Ministry of Community and Social Services Passport program and how to access ministry funded services. Council has once again committed funding for cooking classes this year with the next session to start in April for eight weeks. Please watch for details on these in our upcoming newsletter. Council also continues its support for the Jumpstart Literacy Program. If you want information about this program, please contact Jackie Fisher at 647-729-1162.

North York Council has also been discussing development of new programs. However, they need input from individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families about what specific programs they would like Council to develop. A survey has been developed that lists specific activities and programs within four general categories: Social Recreation Activities, Hobbies and Art Programs, Health and Fitness Activities, Education and Life Skills. The survey will be posted on ConnectABILITY.ca. Please watch for the link to the survey coming to your inbox soon and take a few minutes to complete it. The results will enable each Regional Council to make decisions on how best to meet the needs of our members by developing programs and sponsoring events that are important in enriching the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

If you wish to support the North York Council’s fundraising efforts, please visit the Parkway Plaza’s Smoke and Gifts shop at 85 Ellesmere Road and purchase a break open lottery ticket. Ticket proceeds are used by North York Council for the programs they sponsor.

North York Council meets the first Monday every month. Their next meeting will be Monday, February 2^nd, 2015

North York Region Office, Board Room

1122 Finch Ave W, Unit 18