Another Great Year!

A note from DECA’s Chair, Anita Schretlen:

Thanks to all of you who made it out to DECA’s annual general meeting and cocktail party last week at Hirut Restaurant! It was so nice to mingle with neighbours, enjoy some great food, drink and music, and celebrate all that we have achieved this past year.  And we have so much to be proud of.

2013 in review

This past year, thanks to your participation, volunteer support and membership dollars, our little pocket of the city was a real hub of community activity.  Here are the highlights of what DECA accomplished:

• our 5th year of weekly Farmers’ Markets from June – October
• our 5th annual Danforth East Arts Fair, boasting 60 vendors
• our 4th annual Pumpkin Parade – our biggest ever with over 700 pumpkins! (Thanks to Councillor McMahon for sponsoring)
• we organized 20 pop-up shops, along with a Shop Local campaign (and an exciting partnership with Woodgreen, with support from the Metcalf Foundation!)
• our 1st annual Danforth East Yard Sale, with 120 participating households
• our 1st Holiday Tree Lighting, sponsored by Home Hardware and Danforth Mosaic BIA
• an ambitious adopt-a-tree program throughout the area
• the re-launch DECA’s Safety Committee and DECA Learns
• getting our Neighbourhood Visioning team off the ground
• continually connecting and informing our neighbours via DECA Diaries, Facebook and Twitter

…and we aren’t done yet for this year!  Stay tuned for more info about the upcoming Danforth East Holiday Festival!

It’s been an amazing year, but to keep this up we need your help.

Volunteer! All of our efforts are run by volunteers. If you can spare even just a few hours for one event or on one project, please consider volunteering with us.  Do you have an idea that isn’t on our list?  Great!  We love new ideas! Contact Jane, our volunteer coordinator, by emailing her here.

Sign up or renew your membership for 2014!  An annual membership to DECA is only $10 per household.  This paid membership gives us a small budget for our projects and more importantly, gives us clout and credibility with city hall and other groups. Sign up/renew  here. Note: You have to live within our borders in order to be a member, but anyone and everyone is welcome to volunteer and/or come to our events.  Borders are Main (E) – Lumsden/Mortimer (N) – Monarch Park (W) – Train Tracks (S)

Announcing DECA’s 2014 Board!

At the AGM, we  elected DECA’s Board for 2014. This year, we are welcoming committed DECA Volunteers Amanda Olson and Christal Psyhk as new members. We also have a change in Treasurer, from Lorraine Chen to Sheri Hebdon.

Over the course of 2013, we had a few board members leave us for various personal reasons – I’d like to thank Anne Howatt, Susan Bates, Darcy Fedorchuk, Catherine Porter and Tak Bui for their valuable contributions.

The DECA Board for 2014 is:

Anita Schretlen – Chair
Alison McMurray – Secretary
Sheri Hebdon – Treasurer
Amanda Olson
Christal Pshyk
Jane Davis-Munro
Lorraine Chen
Melissa Peretti
Natasha Granatstein
Paul Haines
Shelley Darling
Stephen Wickens

Thank yous!

Thanks to our local representatives who took time to join us at the AGM, Michael Prue, Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon and Councillor Janet Davis.

Thanks also to Hirut Restaurant and owners Tibebe and Hirut for hosting our event this year, so warmly and graciously.  (If you haven’t been to Hirut Restaurant yet, I highly recommend it – such great food and warm atmosphere!)

And last, but certainly not least, I want to give a big thank you to our 2013 Board and to our committed volunteers from this past year.  It is your time, energy and passion that is helping to make our community such a wonderful place to be.

-Anita

Pictures from the AGM/Party!