Kudos to area realtor Graham Rowlands for more than $20,200  raised in an annual online auction to help charities in the community.

Rowlands in a final tally on social media said $20,205 was raised for local charities.

“Special thank you to our platinum sponsors Financial Health Management Group and Lakeshore Smiles Dentistry,” according to a post.  “Thank you all prize donors, Jenny from Kitchen on Sixth for all the pies, all the bidders and everyone who donated money for all these awesome organizations.”

When it was divvied up, some $3,362 was donated to LAMP Community Health Centre, $4,010 to Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke, Lakeshore Arts received $2,885, Haven on the Queensway $3,295, Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment obtained $2,937 and some $3,715 was donated to the Etobicoke Humane Society.

Social media was quick to thank the organizers, donors and those who purchased items for sale.

“Thank you Graham for another successful fundraiser. Love seeing all the love and support in the community,’ said Laura Robinson.     

 

 

If you are looking for vaccinations there are some available on January 28 at Holy Angels Church Hall, at 28 Jutland Road. A mobile immunization clinic will be at the church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. See flyer.

 

Long Branch residents are welcoming a new store catering to the local and Caribbean communities.

The Lakeshore Grocery and Convenience store, at 3391 Lake Shore Blvd. W., at Twenty Eight Street, has been open for about a month.

The owner stocks a large selection of local and Caribbean grocery items from Trinidad, Guyana and Jamaica.

A former butcher, he plans to carry a selections of meats.

The store carries most items a convenience store should including fresh and frozen meats and seafood, coconuts, deli sandwiches and Jamaican patties made fresh daily.

“I’m so excited about this new business!,” one woman said on social media. “Spices and cooking ingredients from Trinidad, Guyana and Jamaica.“

The store is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can be reached at 647-859-9120.

Thanks to some kind New Toronto small businesses a Christmas day in the life of a ‘lonely and hermit like’ senior was livened up with a fashionable haircut and gifts from newfound friends.

The senior was depressed and never left home according to an e-mail sent just days before Christmas to Andy Dinner, of Your Neighbourhood Barbershop, by the man’s sister, Dianne, who lives in Tillsonburg.

Dianne said her 68-year-old younger brother is alone and badly needs a haircut but couldn’t afford one.

“I am more than willing to pay if you allow me by Mastercard,” Dianne wrote in the e-mail that was posted on social media.

“He (brother) is very depressed being alone and we are hermits right now due to our age and vulnerability to COVID ourselves,” she explained. “He has had two COVID vaccinations ..”

Dianne said her brother did not have access to an Iphone, email or the Internet.

“We would love to do this for him and can you help us facilitate that,” she asked.

A generous Dinner told Dianne that he had booked in her brother for a cut, which he will do for free.

“It was a real pleasure for me to help out this family and give the man a cut,” Dinner said afterwards. “Other merchants found out and donated gifts to him as well.”

The barber still wonders how the senior’s sister in Tillsonburg found out about his shop.

The senior, with a fashionable trim, was presented with some meat pies and other goodies by Restaurant on Sixth, after owner Jenny found out about his  plight.

“I’m gonna do it for free,” Dinner told the family. “Merry Christmas.”

 

Christmas may be a time for giving, but the folks at Mimico’s Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church have been feeding the needy all year round.

On this brisk morning members of the church’s Bowls and Blessings program are providing free piping hot Turkish Lentil Soup from a table outside their 2379 Lake Shore Blvd. church to those who are homeless or hungry.

Program coordinator Emma Latham says the soup is dished out twice a week, usually on Tuesdays, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. It continues in January.

“We give out soup, bread, donations and clothing to anyone who needs it,” she says. “We would like members of the community to know that they can come to the church for help.”

Volunteers Andrea, William and church secretary Marlena Muller, were filling containers with steaming soup for a steady stream of residents, both men and women of all ages.

Many of those seeking soup are on a first-name basis with the servers and there is a friendly exchange of banter and belly laughs that fills the air.

Muller says residents are encouraged to take a new winter jacket from a rack that hangs next to a food pantry in which items can be obtained or left for those in need.

‘”Sometimes we are the only ones that these people may know or can talk to,” she explains. “Many of the clients are alone and have no one at home so they come here.”

Earlier there was a 90-year-old regular who stopped by to chat.

The volunteers say the senior is estranged from his family and attends the Bowls and Blessings program whose members are his adopted family.

The spirit of giving is also not far away from stylist Romanie Persaud, owner of Rendezvous Hair Salon, at 3693 B Lake Shore Blvd. W., near Thirty Seventh Street, in Long Branch.

Persaud organized a successful food drive at her salon and encouraged her many loyal customers to bring a non perishable food item.

With the help of friends, she carted in about 20 plastic bags of much-needed food items that will help fill the pantry and feed those at risk at St. Margarets New Toronto Anglican Church, on Sixth Street, in New Toronto.

“This is something that I always wanted to do,” she says. “There are a lot of people in need in the community and we hope to help some of them.”

Church official Julie McMillan said the items will help those in need in the community.

“We are very grateful,” McMillan says. “Many people will benefit from this food.”

Animal lover Christina Murie is hoping to have a merry Christmas with her new bunnies, Sugar and Spice.

The New Toronto resident picked up the cute pets this week after her last two bunnies, Leo and Ruby, were killed by a suspected pit bull that was allowed into her Business Centre building, at 80 Birmingham Street, where the rabbits lived in a pen in the basement.

Leo and Ruby were chased and killed by the snarling dog, which left Murie and area children devastated.  The bunnies were buried in a service conducted under a magnolia tree by a local pastor.

“The school kids always stopped by to play with the bunnies before they were killed,” she says. “These are my two new ones.”

She obtained the cute bunnies from a neighbourhood teen who breeds them.

“I ended up taking a girl Sugar and brother Spice instead of the other original brown bunny,” she says. “It was a hard decision. They are only eight weeks old.”

She hopes the new bunnies grow into their comfortable home.

The deaths of Sugar and Spice outraged many in the community after it was detailed online.

 

It’s a Christmas present to the community.

The dozen or so mature trees on Dwight Avenue which were meant to meet the axe to build a sidewalk have been saved from being cut down.

City Council on December 15 voted unanimously in favour of a motion to save the trees along Dwight.

Councillor Mark Grimes said on social media he moved a motion requesting that City staff postpone the sidewalk installation along the west side of Dwight, between Birmingham Street and Maple Avenue.

He hopes any “future reconstruction of Dwight does not impact the mature trees.”

There was much outrage in the community after it was learned that the healthy trees were to be cut down to build a sidewalk. There were protests and letters written to lobby politicians to save the trees.

City officials said the growth of tree canopy is a priority for the city.

“From 2009 to 2018, the tree canopy in New Toronto nearly doubled, increasing from 8.7% to 15.2%,” Grimes wrote. “While this is one of the highest growth percentages in our Ward, I agree that removing these trees is contrary to our goal of further increasing our tree canopy across the city.”

Council voted to reaffirm its commitment to reaching a 40% tree canopy cover by 2050.

It did not take long before nature lovers took to online media to express their joy and appreciation that the trees were saved.

“Wonderful! Such good news! Great Christmas present for South Etobicoke,” wrote Miria Mcadam.

“Thank you to everyone who advocated for the trees to stay,” said Barbara Hansen. “Good job South Etobicoke.”

“This has been quite the saga,” said Leslie Scanlon. “Congratulations.”

“YAY YAY YAY! The trees are saved,” exclaimed Patti Pokorchak. “What a wonderful present it is to all.”

 

 

 

The respected Storefront Humber and two other west end agencies have merged to become part of West Toronto Ontario Health Team to better serve the west-end community.

Storefront Humber has joined Four Villages Community Health Centre and Regeneration Community Services to become part of the West Toronto Ontario Health Team (WTOHT) to provide what  is described as “one stop” coordinated health care which makes it easier to access services in West Toronto.

“We feel our merged organizations will be more efficient, more responsive, and can provide better care for our client-members and communities,” members of the WTOHT said in a release. “Together we can continue to play an ever stronger role in West Toronto.”

They said the agencies all serve the west end and have “services that complement each other.”

“We want to support and advocate for all the residents in the communities we serve to have the best quality of life possible in their own homes and their community,” according to the release.

They also provided an explanation of the merger on You Tube.

Health care in Ontario is moving through unprecedented change in an effort to build a modern, sustainable and integrated health care system, the Team said. As a part of this change, 15 organizations have formed the newly approved West Toronto Ontario Health Team

The WTOHT said residents at one spot can now make appointments, receive services from different health care providers; including community support services, mental health and addictions services..

“With a larger team of providers and services there will be easier referral processes and seamless transfers between providers,” the group said.

The Four Villages Community Health Centre provides inter-professional primary health care and health promotion programs and services. Regeneration Community Services provides case management and supportive housing services for persons living with mental health and addictions.

Storefront Humber offers an extensive range of community supports and home care services to seniors and adults living with disabilities.

Ontario Health Teams (OHT) are a new way of delivering health care in Ontario. By coordinating care between hospitals, primary care, home and community care services, long-term care homes, congregate settings and other services, OHTs will offer an improved and seamless health care experience for patients, caregivers and the community.

There will be a virtual Town Hall meeting on January 20 for more information on the merger.

 

 

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All Toronto Police stations and buildings are closed to the public this holiday season due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, officials say.
The force temporarily shut all its buildings to the public on December 17, until further notice, according to a Toronto Police media release.

Members of the public can contact their local Divisions online or by dialling a non-emergency line at 416-808-2222. As always, anyone in a life or death emergency should always call 9-1-1.
The closure does not apply to those attending a Service facility for providing fingerprints. They will be screened upon arrival and, if necessary, an appointment will be rescheduled, police said.
The online system can be used to report incidents such as damage to vehicle or property under $5,000, driving or parking complaints, traffic issues or concerns, graffiti, or theft or fraud under $5,000.
All criminal record checks, criminal records and judicial matter checks must also be conducted online.
Exceptions will be made for those requiring a Vulnerable Sector Screening under emergency circumstances. You can obtain information, by calling 416-808-8244, or e-mail referencecheckprogram@torontopolice.on.ca.
The Property Unit is closed to the public until further notice. Services will continue to be provided to the public, over the phone, by calling 416-808-3750 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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By SUZY BRODERICK

 

Up and coming student artists were recognized with certificates and art-related gifts at an event at Assembly Hall.

The 19^th Annual ‘Tis the Season Children’s Art Show was presented by Assembly Hall, City of Toronto and sponsored by the Long Branch Business Improvement Area.

The exhibition features works by students from local schools and speaks to the seasonal change to winter from autumn, the shift to colder temperatures, snowfalls and its significance in various cultures and traditions.

There were 72 beautiful pieces of art on display that were created by students from The Holy Trinity Catholic School, John English Middle School, St. Leo Catholic School, Seventh Street Junior School, Sir Adam Beck Junior School, St. and Josaphat Cathedral Catholic School.

More than 200 students, teachers, family and friends visited the Assembly Hall Art Gallery to show their support. Those who visited the gallery from November 16 to 26 had the opportunity to vote for the favourite piece of artwork in our People’s Choice Awards in five categories: Most Festive, Most Wintry, Most Imaginative, Most Amusing and My Favourite.

The winners and honourable mentions were celebrated at a small awards ceremony at the Hall on December 15, where they received a certificate, their framed artwork and art-related gift so that they may continue to explore their creativity.

Each year I am amazed by the talent of these students and it is wonderful to see the diversity of our community through the creative lens of a child. It was a great pleasure to welcome everyone back to the Assembly Hall and to see all of the students’ smiling faces and excitement when they saw their artwork hanging in a professional gallery space!

Long Branch BIA officials Liz and Carl Porritt said the quality and calibre of the art this year was excellent.

“This is our 19^th year of sponsoring this event,” Liz said. “The amazing art being created by some of these young artists amazes us every year.”

Assembly Hall staff thank the participating schools, students and teachers, as well as the Long Branch BIA for their continued support of this annual exhibition. We look forward to next year’s exhibition and wish the South Etobicoke Community a safe and Happy Holiday.

Visit assemblyhall.ca for information on upcoming gallery exhibitions and programs.

Suzy Broderick is a Community Cultural Coordinator at Assembly Hall.