SEPTEMBER 3: ROUTES YOUTH CENTRE
2003 saw the official birth of ROUTES Youth Centre, funded by
community members, businesses, service clubs, government and
corporate foundation grants and a Patrons Club. The mandate is to
provide a safe and caring environment where youths, ages 8 to 19
years, can come and cultivate relationships, develop understanding and
build self esteem and positive life experience. As a drop-in centre,
ROUTES has developed a series of
programs to help guide young people along
the route to a more satisfying life.
Structured programs such as Focus, which is
a Tuesday and Thursday after school “all
ages” session, is dedicated to homework and
assignments with tutoring available. Boys
Night Out and Girls Night Out provide a
chance to talk about gender based issues,
self-esteem, friendship, drugs and other
social issues, while Kids Talk is geared to
the younger attendees giving them a chance
to talk about similar issues over a meal that
they help prepare. The Dinner & Discussion event is geared to ages 13
to 19 years and again teaches valuable life and social skills while
providing a venue to talk about current events, global issues and youth
related concerns. Routes Drop-in night is one of their more casual,
unstructured programs where games and other activities help the
interaction and casual conversation. Jive is a Friday night event for
ages 8 to 13 that involves games and sports as a way to build greater
comfort and confidence, with older youths often volunteering and
receiving community service hours.
Through these and other events, fund raisers and trips, ROUTES have
exceeded 8,400 youth visits and have seen some of their alumni return
to school, enroll in alternative education programs or go on to postsecondary education. They have seen many of their youths who had
suffered from bullying and low self-esteem grow into more selfconfident individuals. In this community, 11% live at or below the
poverty line with 13% of those being single mother families and where
youth face a 40% greater risk of mental health problems as well as a
greater failure rate in education. ROUTES targets these basic issues
with a productive approach to help and support the youth of Dundas.
ROUTES is building stronger, more confident, more aware young
persons who in turn will build a better, more productive community.
ROUTES stands for... A Respectful - Open yet - United - Team that’s E-mazing and – Supportive. Thanks to the mentoring and guidance of
the ROUTES staff and their new Director, Danielle Mably.
SEPTEMBER 3: COOTES TO ESCARPMENT ECO-PARK
Joan Bell spoke to us of the approval Hamilton Conservation Authority
received in July 2013 to go forward with plans to re-purpose the site of
the former Ben Veldhuis Greenhouse on the north side of the
Desjardins Canal into a natural parkland with trails connecting it to the
Dundas Valley, McMaster University, Borer’s Falls-Rock Chapel and
Cootes Paradise Heritage Lands. The HCA is seeking partners in this
venture and approached the Dundas Rotary Club with the opportunity
to invest in the area designated as Pod 7 or “The Rotary Forest”. This
project would require approximately $75,000 in funding raised by our
club to plant indigenous trees and shrubs ($56,000) build pathways
($4,000) and structures/benches ($3,500) with a planting date set for
the spring and fall of 2015. A further request to partner with the
Conservation Authority on a $75,150 Trillium Grant was also made,
with a filing date set for late summer or early fall of 2014. The
Desjardins Canal Parkland is a unique environment and is seen as
scientifically and ecologically important as well as beneficial to the
overall mental and physical health of all members of the community.
SEPTEMBER
BRATINA
10:
MAYOR
BOB
Mayor Bratina is recipient of the Paul Harris
Award and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
winner. He recognized the Rotary philosophy,
paralleling it with our capacity to respond to
the needs of the people of Hamilton.
Bob brought us up-to-date with the ongoing
and most recent business developments in
Hamilton, something that we should be proud
of. Some of these developments are as
follows:
1.
Site Selection Magazine recognized Hamilton as the #1 city
in Canada for corporate development.
2.
Hamilton is in the top 10 for economic development.
Unemployment is 6.5% as opposed to 8.6% in the St.
Catharines/Niagara area and 7.1% nationally
3.
We have the largest volunteering community in Canada
4.
Building permits are presently valued at $4 billion in
Hamilton as opposed to $2.7 billion in Mississauga
5.
With respect to affordable housing, we have 5,400 people on
the wait list in Hamilton while St. Catharines/Niagara has
6,000. The Niagara area has a much smaller population.
6.
Hamilton’s poverty level, according to Ontario Works
caseloads, has gone down 10% since 2011.
The key to a great City is development of our downtown core, and yes,
with our new hotels and condo complexes, Hamilton is well on its way!
SEPTEMBER 17: HAMILTON TIGER CATS
Glenn Gibson is a Hamilton resident who lives in the Westdale
area and attended Delta High School and Hamilton Collegiate
Institute (HCI) in his earlier school years. He is currently the
President of the Hamilton Tiger Cat football team and was given
this role just over 2 months ago.
He was doing very well in consulting work however when he
accepted his new role as the Tiger Cat President, he had to ask
himself why he would want to make such a huge change in his
life. He saw immense talent and potential in this team and saw
the vision of ten years from now. He saw the new stadium and
the excitement of the PanAm Games. These were definitely the
up side of taking on this job.
Glenn shared the story of how Bob
Young came to buy the Tiger Cats in the
early 2000s. It brought a few of us to
tears. Bob’s brother, Michael, was a
huge Ti Cat fan for many years and was a
loyal supporter of the team. There were
not too many games he would miss.
Michael had been labeled “disabled”
however he was more normal and had
more heart than many people in general.
When Michael died in 2002, it was
around the same time that the Tiger Cats were not doing so well
and there were rumours that the team might fold. Bob Young
took the inheritance that Michael left him and added some of his
own money to buy the Tiger Cats in honour of his brother.
Glenn also shared a video of the new stadium that will replace
the old Ivor Wynne Stadium in the same location. The new
stadium will be called Tim Hortons Field and is scheduled to
open in July 2014. Glenn is there to ensure the franchise “Get it
Right and it Feels Right”. The aim is to bring back a positive
attitude toward the City, the Stadium and the Team!
The new Tim Hortons Field will hold 22,500 people for general
admission and 1,500 to 2,000 people for premium seating, along
with 25 suites. Premium seating will provide an experience, not
just a football game. There will be private club areas as well as
end zone specialized seating.
The team is looking at possibilities of running sports academies
and players working with students to develop kids in our
hometown. There is much excitement around the new stadium
and the Pan Am Games coming to Hamilton. This is just one
more thing that is adding to the vibrancy of Hamilton as a great
city.
We wish Glenn much success as the President of the Ti Cats and
we look forward to bringing the Cats back to Hamilton to their
new Tim Hortons Field!