At its recent bi-weekly meeting, the Kiwanis Club of East York presented Moorelands Community Services with a cheque for $7245, making good on its promise last January to assist us with funding to ensure continuation of our after-school program at Thorncliffe Park Elementary School.

At the end of 2009, the program, supporting one of the city's neediest neighbourhoods, was in dire need of assistance. In fact, it had been shut down in the fall. This situation left many working parents with few options to ensure their 6 to 12-year old children could be placed in a safe, nurturing and fun environment during the end of the school day and the time when parents would get home from work.

Thorncliffe Park Elementary School, which has more than 1,800 students including 30 kindergarten classes, is the largest elementary school in North America. The school is located in possibly Canada's most densely populated immigrant neighbourhood, where poverty is a concern, and the need for affordable community services is a pressing issue. Last year, the program had over 70 children enrolled, at the nominal cost of $10 per child, per semester. Still, this barely meets the needs of the community where for each child enrolled, there are up to a dozen more needing access to these kinds of programs.

When an article in the Toronto Star appeared last December showing that Moorelands was at least $10,000 short of funds to maintain its assistance to this particular community, the members of the Kiwanis Club of East York were galvanized into action. It's membership, modest in size but greatly involved in East York community service, heartily and unanimously threw its support behind the club's initiative to match any donations made to Moorelands, up to $5,000.

Club President George Rowell said, "I am pleased that we were able to top up our matching funds with donations that came directly to our Club. This is a wonderful partnership with our friends at Moorelands. We are delighted to support their excellent work in one of our neighbourhood schools."

The importance of such programs to disadvantaged neighbourhoods cannot be disputed. It is one of the few tools at hand that keep children safe and on a positive track, away from circumstances that can lead to later social problems and delinquency.

For the Kiwanis Club of East York, this means that its support for such programs, and indeed the services offered by Moorelands, will be an ongoing commitment. It works well with Kiwanis International's goal of "Serving the Children of the World."