Who We Are

Dear Friends,

As my term as President of the Board of Directors of CCS comes to an end I would like to thank all of you for your steadfast support. It has been an honor and a privilege to have worked alongside you.

This past year has been wonderful. To be sure, we had our share of challenges, but we faced them as a unified team. I am proud to say that we met each one of these challenges. The ride got a little bumpy at times, yet when all is said and done, isn't that where the fun is?

I am pleased to report that our financial picture is now very sound. The deficit that had been projected in last year's budget was worse than anticipated. Unforeseen capital repairs to our Camps were the main culprits. However, adjustments were quickly made and a new, much better working model was developed. Indeed, this model will serve as the template for all future CCS Camping Programs. My thanks to Francis D'Souza for his sound financial guidance and I extend a special thank you to our Coordinator of Camping Services, Brent Platt.

In my message last year, I talked about the imperative of developing an entrepreneurial orientation at CCS. Regrettably, we are no further advanced today than we were a year ago. If the world were a place where everything unfolded exactly as scheduled, we would no doubt be well on our way. However, I am reminded of John Lennon's words that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Still, transforming our core competencies into an entrepreneurial initiative remains very much a priority. I know we will get there because our Board has embraced this idea as a necessity and I know that nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. It is no longer a question of if we develop entrepreneurially; it is now a question of when we accomplish the task.

Permit me to change gears here as I would like to say so long to two retiring Board members.

This year, we say au revoir to John Henry after six years of active, effective service. For the past two years John has served as the Chair of our Seniors Committee. I would like to thank John for his care, his concern, his wonderful leadership and, most of all, for his mischievous sense of humor.

We are also saying happy trails to Fr. John Walsh for what seems to be a hundred years of tireless, caring, committed leadership. There are no words to express what this man has meant to CCS. Perhaps it can be best summed up this way: We at CCS do not serve people because they are Catholic; we serve everyone regardless of religion, culture and language because we are Catholic. Thank you Fr. John.

Best wishes,
David Dussault, President CCS Board of Directors

What a year it has been.

It is with the greatest joy that I am able to share with you some of the many goals we achieved throughout the past year; goals on a "to do" list which oftentimes appeared daunting, but that we can now point to with pride in our hearts and say are accomplished.

Here are a few of the highlights:

• We strengthened our relationship with Centraide and brought it to a new level;
• We received significant funding for a period of three years from the CHSSN allowing us to address the poverty issue in the Airlie sector of LaSalle, an area which has the highest level of poverty amongst English-speaking people in the Province of Quebec;
• We created a new partnership with Base de Plein Air Jean-Jeune, a camp program in the Laurentians and arguably one of the finest in Quebec, which helped us cut costs significantly and in turn helped us send even more underprivileged children to camp;
• We restructured our Community Development Department embracing the Self-Managed Team model, which increased the team's effectiveness significantly; and
• We as an organization brought forward the importance of creating a culture of fundraising that has translated into staff and volunteers taking ownership of fundraising initiatives.

But we have by no means completed our "to do" list - there is still so much more work to be done. There are still far too many children dropping out of school, going to school hungry and unable to learn. There are still too many seniors sitting in their small apartments isolated from the outside world that we need to reach out to.

Yesterday we achieved so much and helped so many and today we will keep working with the same dedication so that tomorrow, because of our efforts, fewer people will live in poverty and isolation - be it John, the 84-year-old widower, who was able to share a healthy meal with a friend twice this week or Mary, the 8-year-old girl, eager to learn, who did not tell her teacher once this week that she was unable to concentrate in class because she was hungry.

Lastly I wish to thank all those - volunteers, friends of CCS and staff - who are making this a reality.

Bruno J. Mital

CCS could simply not function effectively without our legion of dedicated volunteers. And we are most grateful for their support.

Without their loyalty, commitment and ability to adapt to the changes and continuous needs of our community, we would not be able to fulfill our role in the community.

The benefits of volunteering are invaluable:

• Individuals can gain organizational and team-work experience;
• They can hone leadership and communication skills;
• Children and youth can build self-esteem by helping others in need;
• Semi-retired baby boomers can transfer skills from the corporate world to the community sector;
• Newly-arrived immigrants can facilitate their integration into the Montreal community;
• All volunteers can make a difference in someone's life - or the lives of many.

New CCS Partnerships

Dawson College Marketing Department

Two international students from France accepted 8-week stages at CCS.

Lower Canada College

Through increased visibility of CCS volunteer services and networking efforts, an increasing number of LCC students are offering to volunteer at CCS.

New Volunteers

In 2009-2010, CCS recruited 115 NEW volunteers, including 18 interns.

Total number of CCS volunteers: 679 volunteers!

Future Plans

• A student recruitment package will be developed for high school students, facilitating their integration into our community organization.
• A revision of volunteer job descriptions will be implemented this summer with the involvement of staff and volunteers.
• Our volunteer welcome package will be revamped to reflect the evolution of CCS's programs and services.