Take action

Here are a few things to get involved in that I’ve come across recently:

The child poverty rate in Canada has remained stable at around 11.3% for the past 19 years. In various nations of Northern Europe, their rate is less than 5%. Also, the UK has successfully cut their child poverty rate by half in recent years. Send Prime Minister Stephen Harper a message to reduce child poverty in Canada.

World AIDS Day is December 1st. More than 7,300 people get infected by HIV daily. Send a message to your local MP to get the Canadian government expand their foreign aid commitment in the coming year.

Have gently used children’s books you no longer need? Consider donating them to the Children’s Book Bank, located in Regent Park, Toronto. They will give the books away for free for visiting children and youth. Read an article about the Book Bank from the Toronto Star.

One of my Christmas favourites, Yonge Street Mission’s Christmas Wishlist, is now out. Donate toys, books, games, food, clothing, housewares, personal hygiene items, gift certificates and more this Christmas! You can even arrange to have folks from YSM come pick up your donations. Check the list for more details.

And… it’s still not too late to get on board with Operation Good Thing! Thanks to those who have already pledged – we are so grateful for your support and care for the street youth of Toronto!

G8 action on child healthcare

World Vision currently has a petition to get the leaders of the G8 nations to take action on child healthcare around the world.

The petition is predominately geared towards increasing funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the world. Canada ranks near the bottom of the list as funders of these programs among the G8 nations, surpassing only Japan and Italy.

All you need to give is your name, country, and e-mail address to make your voice heard.

Spread the word around!

streets are for people!

Was reading my weekly dose of NOW Toronto, and came across the Streets Are For People! blog.

Turns out they have a petition for the government to spend less in the auto industry and more for the transportation system and other social needs. A key phrase from their petition: “We want a government that values life over money.” Amen to that!

Read more about the petition and sign it here.

There’s more info about street events in the coming days. Check out their blog for more info.

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Between imagining life in Europe and the Middle East and walking the realities of the suburbs of Mississauga surfaces the fact that our streets are oddly devoid of life. Houses and cars and well-manicured landscaping might point to life, but where are the people who apparently populate the place?

Sure, winter might drive folks indoors (because I completely understand if no one wants to sip iced-up lemonade on a snowed-out deck), but we don’t even have porches to connect us to the community anymore. It’s refreshing to see the occasional pair of Indian men sit on beach chairs, in lively conversations on their driveways across the street, but I wish more people would do the same.

How do we build community in an “intensely individualized”* suburbia? Could it happen on the very streets where we find our large, neat, clean suburban homes?

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*Margaret Somerville (McGill University) used this to describe our society today at her wonderful talk on ethics at Tyndale about a month ago