End of year post from Neal Ewers, Executive Director of BTS
Group meeting during Work It 2021
When it comes to managing and growing a charity the saying ‘it takes a village’ really is the spirit of growing a healthy nonprofit organization. BTS is truly grateful to all the people who played key roles in this amazing year and for everyone who made this year a very special one. It is difficult to conceive just how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown this year. I am in awe at what we’ve been able to achieve. It feels like we’ve finally taken off the blindfolds and not only have we taken them off but now we’ve started to sprint when in fact it felt like we were crawling through 2020 and 2019.
I will not bore you with all the accolades and all the new developments in this blog I’m sure you would have likely come across that information in our previous posts and newsletter. Instead, I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who made this possible. In these unprecedented times it takes a very grounded and generous individual to commit themselves to a nonprofit like ours, our founder, John Park needs no introduction at this point. He is our rock and we are very grateful for his patience and generosity and dedication and resilience. He is our blanket on those long cold nights. Thank you for everything you do John.
“I love how coach Neal addresses stress management and life skills, and the actions and behaviours required to achieve a goal. ”
Our Deputy Director Jessica Marasovic treats BTS as one of her own children, Jessica we’re truly grateful for all the time that you spend perfecting and learning the process of growing BTS. There’s so much you do, so many hats you wear and you do it consistently with passion, pride and attention to the most minute details. For that, I personally am grateful and BTS thanks you so much for everything you’ve done this year.
All the students who worked with us this year, we feel we have learned a lot more from you than you have from us and we are grateful for all the time and effort you’ve put into developing our programs and being a part of our programs. We are truly grateful to all of you and we look forward to staying in touch and involved in your lives as you continue to grow into successful individuals. Thank you very much.
“In the fall of 2021 Loretto Abbey was given the opportunity to participate in Beat the Street’s “You Grow Girl”. We were cited about the opportunity to bring together physical education as well as resilience, goal setting and mental health. The program was everything we had hoped it would be. The students were able to build on their leadership skills, develop a clear path toward achieving their goals and get a good sweat on! We are firm believers that we need to not only train our bodies but our minds as well, this program allowed us to do both! Thank you to Neal and his team for working with us. It’s been an amazing experience!”
This year we had our first AGM in a couple of years and we are grateful to everyone on the board who continues to give us their support and their encouragement. It fuels us to continue to develop this organization. Thank you so much.
To the Ontario Trillium Foundation and all of our other grantors, thank you for pushing us to continue to develop our programming and streamline our organization to make us more effective at doing what we do. If your goal is to strengthen the organizations that you fund, then you’ve absolutely done that in the case of BTS this year. We are forever grateful for your support.
SEL curriculum developed by education consultant, Paul Raso.
To the school boards and the teachers who have been involved with our programming, we are grateful for your time and efforts in helping us effectively run our programming. The cities of Brampton and Mississauga were grateful for the experience and working with you. To our consultants the educators and professionals who have helped us create the materials for our programs, your knowledge, experience, passion and expertise are priceless. Thank you so much.
“If there was any summer job opportunity that I could recommend to youth in Toronto, it would be the Work It program. I feel as if I’m already ready to work in a professional workspace with all the soft and hard skills I was taught, such as time management or grant writing. ”
To the CRA staff members that assisted us in becoming a charity this year, we are grateful for your guidance and assistance. For all the families and family members of those involved with BTS, we are grateful for your support and your support of our staff and participants as this is the work of a village and the work of a strong community. We look forward to growing this community by building resilience in our young people and helping them pursue their dreams and goals and eliminating the barriers that may inhibit them. We truly feel like this is just the beginning and we are excited about where we’re going in the next three years and beyond.
We wish everybody a fantastic holiday season and we hope that you end the year 2021 a better person than how you began it. We wish that you come out of the holiday season ready and excited about the new year and you exceed all your expectations in 2022.
Warmest Regards and with Gratitude,
Executive Director,
Beat the Streets