Building Friendship through Volunteering: Fourth Saturday

Lo and Mat started Fourth Saturday in January 2018, both inspired by individual community experiences. Lo lived abroad in Australia for three years, using Meetup Groups frequently to make new friends and exper ience different parts of Sydney. When she returned home to Toronto, she found Meetup Groups were lacking, and that meeting new friends with similar interests was challenging.

Enter Mat. Mat had recently volunteered with a non-profit that helped organize the Kensington Market Winter Solstice Parade. The entire experience was memorable for him, especially post-celebration, when volunteers and festival performers enjoyed a potluck meal.

Together, Lo and Mat came up with the idea of a group that would gather people in the downtown east end, to meet like-minded people and do good in the community by volunteering with a local organization. After volunteering, the group would socialize and get to know one another better, by supporting a local restaurant or café.

Dixon Hall Manager of Children and Youth Kenneth Slater wins a Bhayana Family Foundation award.

Vivien Dzau has been a long-time volunteer with Dixon Hall. Since getting involved with the agency in 2008, Vivien’s energy and enthusiasm have been infectious and inspirational to everyone fortunate enough to cross paths with her. She’s served a variety of roles throughout her time working with Dixon Hall, including the position of Board Chair. Most recently, she’s donated her time as the co vice-chair of our capital campaign for the new Youth Centre in Regent Park. Her tireless campaigning and advocacy for the new youth centre has yielded incredible results – as we continue with our design plans and get ready to break ground this year, we know without doubt this wouldn’t be possible without Vivien’s help in spreading our vision with strength, clarity, and passion. She was recently honoured by the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards for her 10 years of service.

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, we turned the spotlight

Today is International Women’s day, a global event which celebrates and recognizes women worldwide for their achievements, while simultaneously measuring progress and setting milestone goals in the quest for gender equality.

Our staff team at Dixon Hall consists of numerous dynamic and hardworking women, who bring incredible talents, skills to the organization, and show amazing dedication and compassion for the clients we serve. Our leadership team is over 50% women, all doing incredible work in the public sector and impacting the lives of clients while strengthening the surrounding community. In celebration of International Women’s Day, we wanted to recognize these women, and talk about some of the progress they’ve seen in the sector as well as barriers we have yet to overcome.

Christine Chow has worked with seniors for over 25 years. She began her career with Mid-Toronto Community Services, working with clients with Alzheimer’s on the frontline. Chris has seen the

CEO Neil Hetherington reflects on 2016 and practices gratitude, highlighting key moments ahead of the journey into 2017.