“Thank you to the Foundation for helping me to buy skate blades so I can continue to play hockey. I am now faster and able to skate better with sharper and better blades.”
Samantha, 10, aspiring female hockey player
Kara Alloway |
Nick Ugoalah,
gold medal wrestling champion,
Commonwealth Games |
Mark Daniels and Andrea Weissman-Daniels |
An afternoon of high fashion and entertainment ignites the Spark for children and youth
On May 1, the Children’s Aid Foundation hosted Spark at the Liberty Grand in Toronto. Co-hosted by Leslie Roberts and Anne Mroczkowski, co-anchors of the News Hour at 6 on Global Toronto, this inaugural event celebrated the launch of the Children’s Aid Foundation’s new Ignite the Spark Fund.
The event honoured guest luminaries Nick Ugoalah, gold medal wrestling champion; Arlene Dickinson, business woman and cast member of The Dragon’s Den; Andrea Martin, writer comedienne, actress and musical theatre performer; Tré Armstrong, choreographer celebrity of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath, comic actors/writers. Each has a story to share that includes the Spark that ignited them to become the person they are today.
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Andrea Martin and Mississauga Youth Choir |
Top fashion designers Carlolina Herrera and J. Mendel, along with Hugo and Nicolas teamed up with Canadian luminaries and a host of other performers to present an haute couture fashion show and entertainment showcase for the 446 guests in attendance, including youth served by the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto who were hosted by Telus, the event’s lead sponsor. More than $185,000 was raised for enrichment opportunities for children and youth across Canada.
A spark of hope ignited by a special moment can transform a life and create memories to last a lifetime… that is what the Ignite the Spark Fund seeks to accomplish for children and youth across Canada. This spark might be the chance to play a sport, take swimming lessons, play an instrument, go to camp - in essence, to find one’s own personal passion and let it ignite the person within.
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Tré Armstrong and youth perfromers |
Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath |
An elegant afternoon |
Len Gamache, President Children’s Aid Foundation with Andrea Weissman-Daniels and Arlene Arlene Dickinson |
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Through child welfare partners across Canada the Ignite the Spark Fund will provide life-changing enrichment opportunities for thousands of vulnerable children across Canada to ignite the spark: of creativity, self-confidence, happiness, inspiration and hope for their future. Ignite the Spark Fund has officially launched. As the Fund continues to grow, it will have the capacity to assist children and youth across the country.
An event like this would not be possible without the vision of Andrea Weisman-Daniels, Founding Chair of Spark. “This fund is about remembering what it was like to be a child and how the world changes the first time you succeeded at a new activity or sport. It’s about realizing how those moments contributed to making you the person you are today. Spark is about using that memory to nurture a whole new generation of deserving children who have no one else to rely on. All it takes is one dance class, one musical scale, or one touchdown to create a shift in a child that could mean the difference between a life of hopelessness and a life fulfilled.” |
Co-hosts Leslie Roberts and Anne Mroczkowski, co-anchors of the News Hour at 6 on Global Toronto |
| Spark Corporate Sponsors |
Beck Taxi
Cineplex Media
DLK on Avenue
Heathwood Homes
KPMG
Macquarie Capital
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MACROBLU
Nationwide Appraisal Services Inc.
Newport Partners
Ogilvy Renault
The Sheldon Inwentash and Lynn Factor
Charitable Foundation
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Spark Suporters |
Mark Daniels and Andrea Weissman- DanielsFoundation
The Al Green Gallery
McLean Smits Family Foundation
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Alloway Charitable Trust Foundation
Bitove Foundation
Dr. Marc DuPéré
Manulife
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Spark Table Sponsors |
Altus Group
CIBC
Arlene Dickinson
Furnitech
Erin Goldberg
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Thomas Higgins
HoMedics Group Canada
Marion Lane
Bonnie Shore
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Spark Individual Suporters and Donors |
Adoptionworx
Cheryl Appell
Arnold Cader
Crestwood Preparatory College
Sara Creagan
Classic Creations
Helen Daniels
Jon and Myrna Daniels
Jonathan Daniels
Alyce Drenth
Will Falk
Gord Drimmie
Penny Faria
Forsythe Technology Canada Inc.
Debbie Godfrey
Donna Hayes
Bill Irvine
Jack Cohen and Associates
Lisa Kreindler
Judy and Steve Kruger
Sheldon & Phyllis Lazarovitz
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Lisa Mainprize
Jeff & Leslee Morrison
Nancy Morton
Newhaven Asset Management Inc.
Nancy Nezon
Barbara Pasternak
Rhonda Pearl
Nancy Pencer
Deborah Phang
Jackie Poplack
RBC Foundation
Rogers Communications Inc.
R.J. Ross
Rita Sloan
Jordan and Sandi Soll
Terry Stimson
Vector Financial Services Limited
Peter & Michelle Weissman
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