What's Happening

Executive Director's Update

We have many reasons to celebrate at Mary Centre.

During the past months, our board, staff and volunteers have enabled us to achieve numerous successes. Here's a recap.

• Celebrating developmental challenges
  This is our new vision at Mary Centre. Last fall, our board crafted this exciting vision — along with a new mission statement for Mary Centre. These reflect who we are and where we're going.
  
  Our mission is: to deliver integrated support services and to create new opportunities for the benefit of the developmentally challenged, their families and the community in which we live.

This vision and mission reflect our beliefs at Mary Center. We believe that people with developmental challenges are vital and integral members of our community life. And we believe that focusing on the gifts and contributions of the developmentally challenged enriches the lives of everyone. These beliefs are reflected throughout our work at Mary Centre.

• In 2005, our board of directors finalized a strategic framework for Mary Centre, which will guide our development in the coming months. In the short term, our areas of focus will be to:
  • maintain our current level of support for supported independent living and residences, which embody our key values
  • expand outreach programs
  • reorient our fundraising from an 'event' to a 'sustained program' focus
  • expand our public awareness reach
  • expand our community presence
  • evaluate our ability to provide a balance between compensation and employee work satisfaction
  • explore new revenue sources to address the changing needs and ageing of those we currently support — and those whom we will support in the future
  • explore opportunities of membership within Catholic Charities

These directions are intended to enable us to meet evolving community demand. Mary Centre is currently supporting 42 individuals in our residences and supported independent living programs. In the past year, we've offered respite to nearly 90 families. And about another 50 individuals have participated in our integrated seniors and community support programs. Our support is expanding to meet growing needs. More cause for celebrating...

• Mary Centre continues to be a key player at the "community tables" that address the needs of individuals who are developmentally challenged in the Greater Toronto Area and the region of Peel. Mary Centre staff members and I provide leadership to groups locally, provincially and for the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, helping to establish a vision and to set direction for our community.

I'm very proud of the passion and commitment of our staff and volunteers. Their efforts have established Mary Centre as a leader in the community, recognized for our creativity and responsiveness in meeting the needs of adults with a developmental challenge and their families.

Yet we face growing challenges: a rising waiting list in the GTA of almost 2,000 developmentally challenged adults who require services and support, plus the increasing health care and staffing needs of Mary Centre's aging residents, many of whom are now in their sixties and seventies.

We're counting on the generous spirit of the community to work with us to address these challenges — and to celebrate our successes!

Dominic Conforti
Executive director, Mary Centre