President's Message
The Children's Foundation of Muskoka has experienced another successful year. We have been instrumental in helping numerouschildren and families in our district. Our Foundation has provided a variety of beneficial goods and services such as clothing, eyeglasses, sports registrations and equipment, music lessons, school trips and electives, as well as camps and daycare, just to name a few. Clearly, our actions have had a positive impact on the esteem and lives of many area children. Overall, our board has approved over 300 applications and has allocated approximately $70,000 to deserving children this past year.
It is important to acknowledge our many partners - businesses, organizations and individuals who have been instrumental in helping us support the many children in need in Muskoka. Our partnerships with the Canadian Tire Jump Start Program and the Roger Crozier Foundation enable many kids to participate in various sports, fitness and leisure activities. This has been particularly beneficial and timely as governments and school boards are also working to enhance nutrition and fitness levels in our children. The Burgess Family has generously renewed funds for the Amy Burgess memorial Fund that provided much needed and specialized art therapy to children.
The CFM relies almost totally on various fundraising efforts and community/business partnerships to provide support and services to needy Muskoka children. Our wonderful dinner auction committee organized another enjoyable and successful CFM Dinner Auction Gala (our 6th annual event in November 2006) and we raised over $25,000. The many kind donations from our local businesses have been greatly appreciated. This successful event would not have been possible without them.
The Children's Foundation continues to work hard with other fundraising efforts and partnerships. Donna Benson-Miller has nicely organized our past three successful September TAG days. In addition we have been fortunate to have the Muskoka/Haliburton Realtor's Association, Muskoka Chrysler, Evanco and Evanco Environmental, Gravenhurst Rotary, The Amazin' Grays Oldtimers, as well as RBC Securities support our Foundation through their generous donations. This past summer we were involved in various sporting events such as The CFM Golf Tournament, The Power & Glory 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament in Gravenhurst, and the Bracebridge Culture & Recreation Rock Climbing Challenge. We are also thankful to the many other local contributors such as various schools, churches and community organizations as well as numerous supportive families and individuals.
This past year has also been a time of transition and growth, as we have now established an independent relationship from FYCSM, although we will continue to work closely with FYCSM to support many children and families. Jeanetta, our talented administrative assistant has updated and enhanced our website and application forms are now regularly downloaded by families to make the application process simpler and quicker. We will also be sending out updated information packages to Muskoka schools regarding this year's guidelines. A future goal for The CFM still remains for our foundation to gain an increased presence in the Huntsville area of our district and we will discuss future ideas and actions to help achieve this goal in upcoming meetings.
Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to all of our valuable board members for their dedication and positive efforts on behalf of the children of Muskoka over the past year. Our foundation has truly been fortunate to have such excellent Board members. Thanks to our wonderful team of: Morris Hudasek, Jwayne Fife, Mary-Jane Barrington, Chris Miller, Donna Benson-Millar, Allison Jones, Doug Ingram, Julie Uyeda, Bruce Dart, and Jeanetta van Leeuwen.
Respectfully submitted by,
Peter Cross
President - Children's Foundation of Muskoka
September 19, 2007