Look what you missed!
…. at the 10th Annual Tea to Help Teens
How do you take a great event to help youth across the GTA, Oakville, and
Mississauga and make it better? That’s exactly what the JLT Tea to Help Teens
planning committee did this year to not only kick it up a notch but also hit it out of
the park to celebrate this 10th annual event for the Junior League of Toronto.
With a new record set, the League raised over $15,000 for teens living at
Covenant House, Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter Etobicoke, Interim Place in
Mississauga, North York Women’s Shelter, Community Youth in Oakville, Our
Place Peel in Mississauga, Women’s Habitat, and Youth Without Shelter in
Etobicoke. This year we will add two new shelters as recipients of gifts from the
Tea: 360 Kids in York Region and Anduhyaun in Toronto. What that means is
that the Junior League will provide 500 gifts to teens in ten shelters in Toronto,
North York, York Region, Oakville, and Mississauga this holiday season.
To celebrate the 2014 Tea, we moved our location a little north to the Humber
Valley United Church, to accommodate better kitchen facilities, parking for our
guests, and increased overall space for vendors, attendees, and our silent
auction. We changed the day to Saturday and fine-tuned our event name to
better reflect what this day is all about: a Tea to Help Teens. The changes
proved successful with over 200 attendees.
This year’s musical entertainment featured the children’s choir from the Kingsway
Conservatory of Music, a true showstopper for all to listen to as well as the
Lamajano Barbershop Quartet. Once again, former League member Nashly
Mathews hosted a fun and stylish runway show featuring fashions from Nashly’s
own Puh-Nash Boutique, located in Bloor West Village.
How did we raise the money? Donations of cash and gift cards were made at the
door as well as table revenue from our Unique Boutique vendors who sold a
variety of original and inventive items, just in time for the holidays. Once again
the League earned 20% from all sales revenue generated by signature
Christmas wreaths and centerpieces created by our five-year supporter/vendor,
Circle Home and Design, generating $1200. A silent auction was held featuring a
variety of donated items from our vendors, members and friends of the League.
To celebrate our 10th anniversary, donated bone china cups of all colours and
designs were filled with tea or chocolates gift-wrapped in cello and sold; a
beautiful hostess gift or teacher gift for the holidays, with over $1500 raised for
the Tea.
Thank you to all who supported the Tea, as well as to our corporate sponsors
and very generous donators. A special thank you to Acura Sherway, a 5X
sponsor of the Tea and our new corporate sponsor, The Robert Nimmo Team at
Royal LePage. A special thank you to Wellington Print Works, a 10- year sponsor
for the Tea to Help Teens.
Since the event’s inception in 2004, the Tea has raised over $135,000 in gifts for
over 2700 teens living in shelters in our communities. What does that mean to
these teens? Simply put it will raise their self-esteem and improve their mental
wellness. Our community partners have shared with us that The Tea to Help
Teens not only provides gifts for marginalized young people it opens doors by
creating awareness in the broader community of the issues of youth
homelessness. While the Tea happens but once a year the impact is felt yearlong. Attendees at this year’s Tea had the opportunity to meet and interact with
representatives from the recipient organizations to learn more about the
challenges of youth homelessness and raise awareness with the community.
We hope to see you at the 2015 JLT Tea.
Tea to Help Teens:
This year Total Raised: $15,000 - 200 people in attendance
Total to Date, 10 years: $135,000 raised with over 2700 gifts for teens in
shelters
The JLT helped the following shelters:
Covenant House,
Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter Etobicoke
Interim Place in Mississauga
North York Women’s Shelter
Community Youth in Oakville
Our Place Peel in Mississauga
Women’s Habitat
Youth Without Shelter in Etobicoke
This year we will add two new shelters as recipients of gifts from the Tea:
360 Kids in York Region
Anduhyaun in Toronto
Corporate Sponsors:
Wellington Print Works, a special thank you to this 10 year sponsor of the Tea to
Help Teens
Acura Sherway - a 5X sponsor of the Tea
Circle Home Design - 5X sponsor of the Tea
The Robert Nimmo Team at Royal LePage - new corporate sponsor to JLT
Entertainment:
Kingsway Conservatory of Music, Children’s Choir
Lamajano Barbershop Quartet
Holiday Fashion Show from Puh-Nash Boutique, Nashly Matthews