The Challenges of Poverty are Widespread.
The challenges many families in Toronto face resulting from poverty and the lack of affordable housing are in the news virtually every day.
Thanks to our donors’ generosity, Moorelands Kids is providing meaningful and life-changing support for the children and youth affected by these challenges by teaching leadership and life-skills in a positive environment. After their 2018 Moorelands’ experience, 90% of our program participants report that they are now more responsible, 87% believe they are able to make better choices and 82% indicate greater confidence.
2018 was a year of change at Moorelands and in all cases, change for the better.
We served more youth than ever before, with 229 participants in our after-school programs and 659 attending our summer overnight camp at Kawagama Lake (up 55% and 37%, respectively, from 2017).
In 2018, we began offering our LED after-school program in Humber Summit and Gulfstream middle schools in Toronto’s northwest. Work continued on our initiative to integrate and harmonize core messaging across all our programs to ensure that Moorelands Kids’ Leadership Habits & Qualities are consistently taught from the age of six onwards.
In 2018, we also rebranded the organization as Moorelands Kids to emphasize our core purpose, which is to serve children and youth (affectionately, kids). Feedback on our new name and playful, colourful new logo is positive, particularly from the kids. Work began on a new website, to be launched in the spring of 2019. It will make Moorelands more accessible to participants and supporters and, ultimately, will increase our administrative efficiency.
We continue to work to improve our program offerings, our impact, and our transparency for all stakeholders. In 2018, Charity Intelligence, an organization which rates how well charities are run, awarded Moorelands its highest rating.
We achieved a balanced budget and built our operating reserve to the desired target of six months of operational spending. As we drive towards our objective of serving more kids and serving kids more, broadening our donor base is necessary. Last year, we launched myLegacy, a planned giving program to make it easier for our friends and supporters to make Moorelands Kids a part of their estate plans. Please contact the office if you require additional information on this program.
In closing, I wish to recognize and thank the people who allow us to help kids from families most in need of assistance. To our dedicated staff: with your commitment, we served more kids last year and, at the same time, transformed Moorelands. To our long-term and our new friends and donors: you enable our vision for Moorelands Kids. Our supporters include individuals across Toronto as well as around the world; alumni; places of worship; foundations; corporations; the Kawagama Lake and Leaside communities; and the other organizations, large and small, that share our passion. To our retiring Director and Finance Committee Chair, Paul Buligan: your energy and your insights, in Toronto and at Kawagama Lake, are deeply appreciated.
Finally, thank you to the kids we serve and to their parents for trusting and having faith in Moorelands Kids. As I said in my message last year, and as I continue to say, you inspire us and you are the reason we exist.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Webb
President | Moorelands Kids’ Board of Directors