Board & Committees

2017 Annual Message From Our Executive Director & Board Of Directors Co-Chairs

Last year we wrote about the seven Parkdale equity indicators and aligned them to PARC’s activities. This year we are overlaying our Five Strategic Pillars: Placing safety and inclusion at the centre of all our programs and services, Clarifying and streamlining communications, Enriching health & wellness programming, Investing in organizational strengthening, Reaching a new level of community collaboration. Under pillar 4 PARC became a United Way of Greater Toronto & York Region Anchor Agency. This designation will help us invest in our organization and provide on-going support for our beloved Knowledge Is Power training and education program and our widely known PARC Ambassador program. PARC also received capital grants to support access and space use improvements on the second floor to benefit both PARC and our commercial tenant partners in the coming year. Under pillar 3 we received three year’s Ontario Trillium Foundation funding to support FoodReach –a platform to make fresh food cheaper and easier to order for our partners in Toronto’s social service sector. The Atkinson Foundation asked us to continue our Parkdale Community Economic Development work with a focus on decent work and anchor institutions like our neighbouring hospitals.
PARC Members and the wider community have come to expect nothing less than the above record of accomplishment from an organization that has such a remarkable staff team and a dedicated Board with half of the Directors themselves PARC Members.
This past year a lot of thought has gone into Pillar 1, by Members, staff, and the Board and we particularly thank the Research Development and Support Group for its invaluable insight and recommendations. In Parkdale, the past year saw continued crushing pressure on affordable housing. Moving forward, we will work hard to buttress and strengthen Pillar 5<

james Partenen & Peter Hoag, Co-chairs, Board of Directors and Victor Willis, Executive Director