MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
First of all, I would like to thank you all for attending our annual AGM this evening. This year marks my fifth year in the Board as a President.
We are making a big difference to the lives of our community members, having seen how the Rockcliffe-Smythe and Mount Dennis Neighbourhoods have benefited from the services provided by Jane Alliance Neighborhood Services.
Our staff, volunteers and placement students have tremendous passion and vision for the work that we do, and their tremendous effort has borne much fruit this year.
- The Senior’s programs expanded from what was once a small project to multiple projects and activities. These projects offer seniors a chance to connect, contribute, and lead active and healthy lives.
- More than 350 seniors have participated in multiple activities and workshops thereby improving their quality of life and keeping them connected with community members and resources.
- The Federal Government has funded JANS to provide services to youth through programs such as ‘Brotherhood Linx’ and ‘E3.’The project provides educational and informational workshops, recreational activities, support, and guidance to the young minds.
- The “Community Gardening” project offered to adults, seniors and youth gave an opportunity to learn and share the knowledge on Gardening by getting connected with the people in the neighbourhood which thereby reduces the social isolation and loneliness amidst people.
- The Employment Services, in partnership with Career Foundation, offered individual job search coaching, resume and cover letter skills, job placements and labour market information to our diversified community members.
- The Multicultural Dance Program for women brought people together from diverse backgrounds to share their culture and life experiences. These are few examples of how JANS continues to impact our community.
I would personally like to thank our Staff, Volunteers, Placement Students, my colleagues at the board, the JANS Executive Director and everyone from the community for all their hard work and participation.
It has been a very successful year for the organization and together we look forward to another exciting year ahead with all the challenges it will bring.
Once again, I would like to thank all in attendance, including our honorable guests for taking the time to attend our AGM this evening.
Sincerely,
Aleem Bacchus
President
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends,
This year marked our 21st birthday, and now we are celebrating 21 years of community empowerment together.
Jane Alliance Neighbourhood Services welcomed 6,180 visitors in 2018-2019. From these 6,180 visitors, 414 of them were new and used our services for the first time. 244 Clients used our employment services and the rest joined seniors’ programs, women’s dance programs and/or other services.
In 2019-2020, JANS received funding from all levels of government: Services Canada, Heritage Canada, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, City of Toronto, United way of Greater Toronto, Foundations (Mazon Canada, The McLean Foundation), local business and individual’s donations.
Last year, we received funding from Heritage Canada for our 3 projects. ‘Brotherhood Linx’ and ‘E3’ to empower and support Black youth and other visible minority youths in our community. ‘Any Body Can Dance’ was the other project funded by Heritage Canada to provide multiculturalism and diversity amongst people. United way of greater Toronto provided JANS with building strong strategy focusing on Economic Development of Weston and Mount Dennis Community.
While thanking all our supporters, funders and donors, our team is continuously working to ensure services and supports are available for disadvantaged people in our community. In this year we collaborated and worked closely with Local Immigration Partnership Toronto West, Ontario Council of Agencies Supporting Immigrants, Rockcliffe-Smythe Neighbourhood Table, Mt. Dennis improvement area and our partner organizations to identify the needs and gaps in services, advocate, and bring resources to our neighbourhood to meet these needs.
To conclude, I would like to thank and acknowledge the support of our funders and donors, our dedicated directors, staff, volunteers and community members for their commitment, support, and hard work. I wish you all happy holidays and a very productive and prosperous new year!
Faithfully yours,
Babur Mawladin
Executive Director
ABOUT JANS
Jane Alliance Neighbourhood Services [JANS], Founded in 1999, is a multi-service community based registered charitable organization for newcomers, seniors, youth, and women. JANS has been successfully providing high-quality services for 20 years in the Rockcliffe-Smythe neighborhood and surrounding areas. Located in one of Toronto’s priority neighbourhood, JANS serves clients from diverse backgrounds in a non- discriminatory approach.
JANS offers effective programs and services to the community. This is reflected in a friendly and safe environment, where newcomers and neighbors support, learn and act together as a responsible citizen for a more compassionate society. In addition, we offer these services without discrimination based on gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion or place of origin – as enshrined in the Canadian Charter of rights and required by the Ontario Human Rights Act.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to enhance the social and economic development of the disadvantaged groups through community empowerment and utilization of community resources.
OUR VISION
People living in an equitable environment, promoting their living standards, and participating in the community and economic development.
JANS TEAM
BOARD MEMBERS:
Aleem Bacchus President
Baquer Massoud Treasurer
Taj Bawar Secretary
Noor Azam Member
Emmanuel Mifsud Member
Emily Bradshaw Member
Zahra Zahed Member
Babur Mawladin Executive Director
CURRENT STAFF MEMBERS
Sagar Nyaupane Youth project coordinator (E-3 project)
Mohamud Mohamud Employment Services Counselor,
The Career Foundation
Sayara Ashroy Women’s Program Coordinator
Rosemarie Edward Youth Project Coordinator (Brotherhood Linx)
Surayya Sahin Proposal Coordinator
Sara Jajju ED Assistant
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2019-2020
JANE ALLIANCE NEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES
Statement of Revenues and Expenditures Year Ended March 31, 2020
OUR SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
JANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
JANS SENIORS PROGRAM
JANS YOUTH PROGRAM
PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN
JANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
The employment services provided at JANS is in partnership with The Career Foundation.
The employment counsellor is available daily, assisting clients through one-on-one career counselling, job referrals, placements, and job retention, as well as resume/cover letter writing and training support.
Skills and interests are discussed to receive the appropriate assistance including career exploration, development, and goal setting. Job fairs and job searching sessions are held to assist clients with acquiring the necessary job.
In addition, our “Dress to impress” project helps clients to be interview ready.
PROGRAMS FOR SENIORS
- ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS PREVENTION TOOLKIT
The “Elder Abuse Awareness Prevention Toolkit” was designed to raise awareness and teach preventive measures against abuse to the seniors, by conducting workshops on various forms of elder abuse. This program promoted a safe space for seniors to engage and share their stories. Together we identified and explored types of abuse such as neglect psychological, physical, financial abuse, etc. Toolkits were produced and they were distributed to the community.
PROJECT DURATION: Feb 2019-Feb 2020
–This project was funded by Service Canada under New Horizon for Seniors
- PREVENTING DIABETES NOW (TORONTO PUBLIC HEALTH)
The program Preventing Diabetes Now was designed to conduct multi-sessions of preventive education on type-2 diabetes by trained leaders.
The project included physical activities, such as yoga and fitness. The purpose of this program was to improve awareness on type-2 diabetes, encourage physical exercise and promote healthy eating habits.
PROJECT DURATION: August 2019 – January 2020
-This program was funded by the City of Toronto- Toronto public Health
PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH
- BROTHERHOOD LINX
The Brotherhood Linx project was designed to build an integrated socially cohesive society.
The project included the following:
- Building bridges to promote intercultural understanding
- Guiding Black male youth in their higher education to enhance their social position
- Promoting equal opportunity for all
- Promoting citizenship, civil engagement, and a healthy democracy
- Providing Black males with the tools to engage in civic activities and a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities
THE PROJECT DURATION: July 2019 – March 31, 2021
-This project was funded by the Government of Canada (Heritage Canada)
- E-3 (EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT)
PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN
- ABCD (ANY BODY CAN DANCE)
This program was designed to demonstrate dance and cuisine of different cultural/ ethnic groups in our neighbourhood. This project also created opportunities to empower women and encouraged them to take part in cultural events/entertainment.
Through these events participants have had the rights and freedom to reflect their cultural heritage.
253 individuals from 30 different countries partook in the final event of the program. The event attracted a large audience, mostly residents of Rock-cliff Smyth, Mount Dennis, and surrounding areas.
The event promoted the understanding of the cultural diversity and helped the removal of stereotypes and it was an effective strategy of combating institutional and individual sources of prejudice and discrimination.
THE PROJECT DURATION: July 2019- Feb 2020
-This project was funded by Government of Canada
BUILDING A STRONG NEIGHBOURHOOD STRATEGY
UNITED WAY – OUR STRONG NEIGHBOURHOOD (OSN)
Our Strong Neighbourhood Strategy (OSN) was designed in Phase 1 to build Economic Opportunities in Weston and Mount Dennis Neighbourhoods. We engage with the community and stakeholders in the area. Focus on one initiative between small business support, community benefits or work force plan. Which leads to Phase 2 of supporting the community to move forward on the action plan. Economic opportunities are about fostering a desirable place that is conductive to attracting and growing new investments and skilled workforce. It looks at promoting local economic development by supporting an environment in the neighbourhood that will enable communities to develop and strengthen relevant skills as well as access economic and employment opportunities.
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS
FOR 2020-2021
- THINKING OF ELDERS – Funded by United way
- STAYING SAFE FOR SENIORS (S3) – Funded by service Canada under New Horizon for seniors’ program.
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CLIENTS
“First I started the youth program with a hesitation. I took it as a temporary meeting place. As I started involving more in the programs, I got motivated. The workshops were provided by the professionals and so educational. The activities and movie nights socialize a lot. Now I wish the youth program run for long time”
– Kaiser (Youth; E3)
“I am at grade 12. I come from Runnymede School. I love being at JANS youth program. The inspirational and motivational workshops are good. I liked the motivational workshop of police Constable. These programs are making me more confidant to participate in a group. These programs aware me about racism, discrimination, social participation, leadership skills etc. I am getting knowledge about how to engage in community and take action against racism”.
– Subod (Youth; E3)
“I feel good participating in the program every week because I like letting people know that they’re not alone, and I like to know that I’m not alone when they share as well. The program teaches me a lot but mostly I think it teaches me different ways to walk through the community as a minority mentally and physically. Something important I learned was that I should always keep my head held high even if I am having a bad day and use those bad feelings to make the day better. I would recommend this program to my friends because a lot of the things we talk about in the program would really help them as they try t navigate there live before going into high school”
-Saija (Youth; Brotherhood Linx)
FUNDERS, PARTNERS AND SPONSORS