Meet our newest Board members – part 2/3

Many of you will already know Gay Stephenson, who joined our Board this summer. She has been working on the pop-up shop project for several years and is a passionate advocate for this neighbourhood. Gay personifies positive energy and she is as kind as she is dedicated and hardworking. We’re so grateful that she’s joined the DECA Board. 


Here is Gay in her own words:

I moved to Danforth East with my partner Scott seven years ago. We’d become empty nesters and we were looking for a new project. We looked at property all over the city but no where seemed like “home”. One day we found a run down, empty six-plex a block from Danforth East. It was filthy and old but we fell in love at first sight. We made an offer the next day and moved in a few months later. That project was a big adventure for us and we now live on Strathmore.

One thing people don’t know about me is….

I’m attracted to sports that involve speed. At 39, I signed up for a snowboarding instructor course. Instructors don’t make much but they ride for free. I taught snowboarding on the weekends at Mount St. Louis for a few years. I got a kick out of being the oldest instructor! Just to be clear, I don’t do pipes, jumps or rails but I love flying down the hills. Now I’m in my fifties and my passion is windsurfing. I take lessons at the Toronto Windsurfing Club beside Cherry Beach. 

What I love most about living in Danforth East….

The people. I feel a tremendous positive energy here; people tend to be kind and generous with their time. I feel very lucky to be part of this thoughtful, caring and innovative community.

My local pet peeve is...

Graffiti on buildings, doors and fences. I’m hoping we can paint some more murals in our laneways!

My favourite local place that you probably haven’t heard of is…

The Tiki Bar. Those of you who have been know what I’m talking about! While it may just be the coolest place on Danforth East, you’ll still feel welcome and relaxed the moment you step in. The Shore Leave is owned by Zach and Julian, two bartenders from the Only Cafe who came to Danforth East to open their own special place. The craft beers on tap are delicious, and their cocktails are created from scratch using their own juices, recipes and caramelized ginger. They also have scrumptious cheese trays. Check out their FB page to see what’s happening next. These guys cook up some incredible meals for special events.

I joined the DECA board to…

Lend a hand with DECA’s amazing community efforts. Now that the pop-up shop project is over, I’m looking forward to helping out in new ways. 

My final word is…

If you are new to the ‘hood, welcome! By getting involved with DECA, I’ve met so many lovely people. I highly recommend the experience of volunteering as a way to feel connected and part of our community. If you can manage a couple of hours anytime over the next year, it’s easy to sign-up with DECA online. From time to time, you’ll receive a message from Amanda Olson our volunteer coordinator looking for help. You only need respond when an opportunity interests you. There’s never any pressure! Whether you’ve just moved in or have lived here for ages, it’s a great way to feel part Danforth East. If you live in our catchment area consider officially joining us, family memberships are $10 per/year and you’ll never make a better investment!

DECA AGM – Nov 21

Our Annual Party & General Meeting is coming up on November 21 from 6-9pm at Hirut. Hope you can join us! 

At the party you can:

  • Find out how to get more involved with DECA 
  • Join DECA or renew your $10/year per household membership
  • Meet our Board and many of our other amazing volunteers
  • Meet your neighbours
  • Enjoy Hirut’s delicious food (on us!)
  • Vote for next year’s Board if you are a member

If you’ve never come to the Party & AGM before, the formal program usually goes from about 7:30-8:30 and it involves volunteers doing short “pitches” for their events/initiatives, the Treasurer’s report, Board elections and remarks from the Chair. 

It’s always a fun night and a chance to see and reflect on what a community can achieve when we work together for positive change. 

Membership and voting are limited to people who live in our catchment (Main to Lumsden/Mortimer to Monarch Park to the train tracks) but everyone who cares about this neighbourhood can come to this and all of our events. 

The Board will be putting forward the following nominees for election to the 2016/17 Board:

Sheri Hebdon (Chair)

Audrey Kvedaras (Vice Chair)

Anita Schretlen (Treasurer)

Alison McMurray (Secretary)

Amanda Olson

Melissa Peretti

Loreen Barbour

Jennifer Scott

Gay Stephenson

Peter Woodcock

Nicole Bergot-Browning

****

See you on Monday!

A message from DECA’s Board

The Danforth East Community Association operates on a set of principles that includes fostering a community that values diversity and inclusion.  

We are very alarmed and disturbed by the anti-diversity posters that appeared in our neighbourhood today. 

We are grateful for our elected representatives who have denounced these posters. 

We don’t have the answers. Like many of you, we are struggling to find a way to respond to what feels like escalating hate or violence in our community. It won’t be solved today or tomorrow or this week. DECA was founded to make our community better and we will continue to take positive action. 

We are a group of volunteers who, along with many, many other volunteers, spend a lot of time trying to improve our neighbourhood and bring people together. We’re your neighbours and we’re trying. 

If you want to join us, volunteer with us, tell us how we can support your idea or just to say hi, please reach out to us. 

We are here for you. 

Sincerely,

DECA Board of Directors
 “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Meet our newest Board members, part 1/3

Since our Board members were profiled on this blog a couple of years ago, we have welcomed three new members. This is the first of three posts for a chance to get to know them!

Here’s Loreen Barbour, who is just finishing her first year on the DECA Board and hopes to continue for another year.  In that time she’s helped out at many of DECA’s events this year, led some of our strategic planning and bravely took on organizing and developing our Board orientation resources (which has been a huge undertaking!). 


Here is Loreen in her own words:

I moved to Danforth East…

In 2012 because I had gone on a long trip and when I returned I decided I was ready to really put down roots in Toronto – which for me meant buying a house.
One thing people don’t know about me is…

I’m a maritimer, which means making Toronto my permanent home was a hard decision. Luckily, family like to visit. 

What I love most about Danforth East is…

The sense of community.

My local pet peeve is…

The crazy traffic jams in front of Gledhill Public School during morning drop off.

My favourite local place that you probably haven’t heard of is…

My backyard! Houses on the east side of Gledhill have these incredibly deep lots.

I joined the DECA board to…

Meet people and take part in organizing community events – I really love event planning and seeing how happy folks are when they are part of a crowd at something like the Annual Festival of Lights or the Pumpkin Parade. 

My final word is…

I really look forward to the condos coming onto the Danforth. I know that not everyone is, but I am hopeful that with more population density we will get even more vibrancy on the street level with shops and restaurants. 

Local kid book news

Two things to tell you about related to children’s books! 

Barbara Reid book reading today! (Nov 12)

As part of their annual Neighbourhood Toy Store Day celebration, Silly Goose Kids will host story time and book signing with famed children’s author, Barbara Reid today, starting at 10:30am. Lots of other activities happening all day long so check out the poster below. You can save the tax all day on books and everything else!



Children’s Book Drive, Nov 19-26

Locally owned and operated children’s book subscription service, Butterfly Books (click link for more info) is organizing a book drive for the children’s book bank, beginning next weeeknd. We’re letting you know about it now so that you can get an early start clearing out your kids’ gently used books.  Several local drop-off locations will be available – see poster for details. 


Save the date: Festival of Lights!

Festival of Lights, Sat., Nov. 26

deca-festiv-lights-2016

Save the date–Saturday, November 26, 5-6 pm–for the 5th annual Festival of Lights! We’ll have more details closer to the date, but suffice it say we’ll have lots of great entertainment before we flip on the lights.

And be sure to bring a non-perishable food item too for Centre 55 to be entered into a draw to win a prize donated from The Nooks. Fianlly, if you show up at 5, we’ll have cookies on hand, donated by Celena’s.