May 2025
Much has happened since my last President’s Report, as you will see from my summary of some of the highlights below.
2024/2025 Compass Award Recipients
We have reached out to the 2024/2025 award recipients because it is now time for them to send in their letters/notes and 9 responses have come in so far – as usual , these notes tug at one’s heartstrings and confirm that the CSSP is having a positive impact on Toronto high school students, just as it is intended to do.
Fundraising – Update and Activities
Our expectation that all 33 TCDSB schools will participate in the CSSP starting with the 2025/2026 school year has led us to redouble our fundraising efforts, including the following:
- Sue and Tracy have made great progress with their planning and organizing for a ladies’ tennis night fundraiser on June 4th.
- Sue, Leslie and Tracy are also working on a pickleball fundraiser and are waiting for the venue to confirm a date.
- After the Joyce Family Foundation decided to make a very generous grant, over three years, to the HOST program, Richard connected us with the Executive Director of the Foundation and he is assisting us with a grant application on behalf of the CSSP, which we aim to submit as soon as possible.
- A friend of Tracy’s has signed on as a new monthly donor through CanadaHelps.
Technology
Andre has been working hard to optimize our use of technology:
- He has moved us off Winhost to Azure by qualifying us for Microsoft not-for-profit status.
- He has moved our website from Google site to WordPress.
- He is integrating PayPal and a registration process so that we can receive payments and sign-ups for our fundraising events.
- He has secured an intern to help us with our social media presence!
In light of all these recent activities, it is hard not to be more excited than ever about what the future holds for the CSSP. Please don’t hesitate to send in your ideas and input towards making that future the best it can possibly be.
Fred Cass