Fraudulent fundraising

Unfortunately, we received a report this week that two young people have been canvassing door-to-door in the Orangeville area, telling residents they are high school students and are collecting funds on behalf of ShareLife.


This is not true. Working with our school board partners, ShareLife encourages a number of creative, educational and fun ways for school communities to raise funds for the good work of ShareLife agencies -- door-to-door canvassing is not part of any ShareLife school fundraising efforts.

It's troubling to us that anyone would misrepresent ShareLife in the community - even more so, that they were allegedly doing so in order to take money from people.

If you or someone you know comes across any suspicious ShareLife fundraising, please contact our office. If you feel a crime has been committed, you are also encouraged to contact your local police services.

Street Haven - your contributions at work

It's always affirming to know that our collective efforts in the ShareLife campaign are making an impact in the community - that's certainly the case at Street Haven at the Crossroads.

Yesterday, Gita Schwartz, the interim executive director at Street Haven, told us about the work being done by her women's shelters, residences and counselling centres. Serving homeless, abused and addicted women in the downtown core of Toronto, Street Haven  provides safety, comfort and, for some, an opportunity to turn their lives around.

Of note, Schwartz pointed out that:

• Street Haven is one of only three women's agencies in Ontario to offer addictions programs that are longer than three weeks (theirs are 6 months). ShareLife funding helps support that extended service by paying for a staff person in that program.
• ShareLife funding helps supplement the grocery budget at the agency's shelter, allowing them to buy more nutritious food for the women who turn to Street Haven for a meal.
• ShareLife funding also provides funding for recreation programs and for the flower garden that is maintained by women at The Hostel - that space offers peace and comfort for hundreds of women every year.

Street Haven does a lot more than just this, providing computer training and job readiness programs, offering supportive housing, residential care, counselling, and much more. That said, Schwartz made it clear that ShareLife's allocation makes a difference, providing the women at Street Haven with comfort, care and renewed dignity.

Thanks to all who have supported our campaign already this year...you're clearly working wonders!

Preparing for the Second Collection

Approaching the second collection weekend for the 2010 ShareLife Parish Campaign, we're less than halfway to our $12 million goal, but we're optimistic.

The ShareLife Community Challenge continues to draw interest from parishioners and from companies contributing to the campaign - many are returning after a lapse in giving and others are increasing their gifts, all directly linked to this gift matching program. I hope this generous program will help bring us to our goal in what is proving to be a challenging year. (We have a sense that Haitian and Chilean relief, as well as international abuse scandals, have affected some people's giving levels to ShareLife this year.)

There is another international disaster response under way - this time in China, following the earthquake that struck earlier this month. We are accepting contributions and can ensure they get to the workers on the ground as they assist the thousands and thousands of victims affected by this natural disaster.

With people at home and people abroad all in need of our help, it may sometimes be difficult to keep our hearts open to the needs presented to us. Please pray for the vulnerable and needy around us, for the Chinese people, and for the success of the ShareLife Campaign as we head into the second collection weekend, April 24-25.

Stewards of our neighbours and our world

I recently had a conversation with a parishioner from Scarborough who asked about any environmental policies or practices we incorporate into the ShareLife campaign. We talked about our collective responsibilty to be good stewards of this world. As a result, I thought I would share a couple of our intitiatives with you.

I'm conscious of the fact that we use a lot of paper to promote the ShareLife campaign: posters, brochures, letters, envelopes and more. We have a massive diocese, including more than 350,000 households registered with our 225 parishes. Getting the ShareLife message out to them all takes a lot of resources.

Last year, we implimented a program to better streamline our direct mail campaign. As a result, we eliminated more than 35,000 extraneous addresses (duplicates, wrong addresses, and undeliverable mail) from our mailings for the 2010 ShareLife Campaign -- a tangible financial and a resource (paper) savings.

As well, this year, all ShareLife Parish Campaign posters were printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified paper and carry the FSC logo (meaning the paper used meets a rigorous environmental and social standard for responsible forest management). We were able to do so with only a minimal increase in costs. It's not the same as using 100% post-consumer paper, and it still involves a great deal of resources, but it's a good first step.

We also explored the cost of using FSC-certified paper for the ShareLife brochures, by far the largest portion of our paper use. The increased cost implication, however, was prohibitive this year. We are continuing to work with our printers to find cost-effective ways to be better environmental stewards. We have to balance the responsible use of donor contributions with our environmental responsibility. My hope is that we will one day use only FSC-certified papers for all ShareLife campaign materials.

In the meantime, we'll continue to reduce our environmental footprint while making a positive impact on the community through our network of ShareLife agencies.