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As 2005 begins, it is my honor to be the new
executive director of Investing in Children. Since I joined
Investing in Children over three years ago, I have watched
our organization blossom under the guidance of Jan Lubell
and the commitment of our staff. I am proud of the leadership
position that we have achieved in our community and we will continue
in that role. In working with others, we do provide opportunities
for all children and their families.
Our E-mailer will share with you a celebration of our activities
and highlight new and innovative projects. It gives us the
opportunity to thank our many community partners and dedicated
volunteers who support our organization. We have an exciting
year ahead of us as we continue our focus on arts and culture.
We look forward to sharing our successes with you as we make
our community the best place to live, work and raise a family.
Sincerely:
Anita Gilvesy
Executive Director
Investing in Children's Creative Cities Conference, to be held
on June 8-10 at the London Convention Centre, is shaping up to be our most ambitious and exciting conference
yet!
Titled Creative Cities: Building Better Communities
through Creativity and Culture, the conference will explore the role that art, culture
and creativity in all their forms play in increasing the quality of life in communities. The potential
impact of being a 'creative city'
is tremendous, including a greater ability to attract and retain talented entrepreneurial people, increased
opportunities for families and children, and an overall improved quality of life. In a truly unique
partnership, we will be presenting our conference in conjunction with Orchestras Canada and the
Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
Creative Cities will have a truly international touch as we
bring together speakers from Canada, the United States and even the United Kingdom to discuss success
stories,
best practices and practical examples that communities can adopt.
The conference will launch with a gala evening with keynote
speaker Charles Landry from the UK and other entertainment. Tickets for the gala will be available
to the public.
On June 9, we will focus on broader community capacity
building issues. Our speakers will include Nora Spinks, on what different generations of workers
are looking for, and a keynote presentation by former Winnipeg mayor
Glen Murray. Workshops will look at "cool cities", the role of the technology and biotechnology sectors,
the importance of integrating culture into a creative community, and
the results of London's Creative Cities Task Force. On June 10, we'll turn the focus more specifically
to the benefits of creativity and culture in the healthy development of children. Keynote speaker
Peter Perret will talk about how music creates a well-tempered mind, and workshops will demonstrate
a variety of best practices.
We'll be sending out more conference details and registration
information shortly. E-mail us to
ensure you receive the information.
2005
is shaping up to be an exciting and creative year, and Investing in Children is once again
taking a lead role.
On Saturday, January 29, Investing in Children and our community
partners will be celebrating National Family Literacy Day with a family literacy event at Westmount
Shopping Centre.
The theme for the event will be fantasy, incorporating dragons, castles,
princess crowns and other things that delight children. These elements will featured in crafts,
activities, science demonstrations presented by our community partners. The afternoon will also feature
a reading from local children's author Maggie L. Wood.
Thank you to our community partners in this event: Let’s
Talk Science, London Children’s Connection,
London Public Library,
London Regional Children’s Museum, London Urban Services Organization,
Ontario Early Years Centres, White Oaks Families First, Westmount
Shopping Centre. 
 Investing
in Children is pleased to have been part of this year's
Santa Claus Parade in London. Our float, which helped mark
the launch of Blue Boxes for Books, embraced the theme
of "Nursery
Rhymes at Night", with costumed characters waving
from over-sized blue boxes.
Thank
you to Pollock Logistics for providing the
truck and driver.
The Investing in Children Foundation has officially completed its first
full year of operation and is proud of the inroads it has made into the philanthropic arena. With the goal of becoming
the sustainability base for all the good works of Investing in Children, the Foundation has begun to raise some new
funds and raise the profile of both organizations.
To date we’ve extended our reach into the mainstream media with regular newspaper
columns, television and radio appearances. We hope to continue this involvement with The Londoner, Rogers TV and AM 980 in the new year.
A first gathering of 14 book
clubs occurred on November 28. 125 readers were thoroughly
delighted with
award winning
author Richard B. Wright and his reading of his 10th novel, “Adultery”.
This event was generously sponsored by Westmount Shopping
Centre, Harper Collins Canada and Westjet. Dr. Lesley Short
of London won two free tickets to Vancouver! Through sponsorship,
ticket sales, the raffle and a used book sale the event generated
a small base of funding for children’s literacy programs
and the Foundation. We received television coverage on The
New PL with Janice Zolf and an article in The London Free
Press by Allison Graham. A
second book gathering is being planned for Sunday, February 27
with Christopher Dewdney, author
of “Acquainted With the Night”.
It was a busy late fall as we helped the organization launch
Blue Boxes for Books with 18 participating dental offices in London and Strathroy. We hope to expand this program in
the new year. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the London and District Dental Society, individual dentists who
adopted a box, Scholars Choice and private donors who gave us new and used books.
And, of course, we encourage
you to consider making a charitable donation to the Foundation.
We would be most pleased to be your Charity of Choice!
All of this supports the belief
that children are a worthwhile investment, something we know
you join us in taking to heart.
Investing In Children
795 Wonderland Rd. S., Suite 103
London, ON N6K 3C2
phone: 519-433-8996 fax: 519-433-6698
www.investinginchildren.on.ca
info@investinginchildren.on.ca
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