Hello! We hope you and yours are keeping well.
 
With first vaccinations a reality for many of us, we look forward to a slow return to normalcy, hopefully, over the summer! We certainly know we are more than ready to ‘step back out’ of our homes as soon as we can safely do so!!

Though our core members have received their first vaccinations, they continue to stay at home for the most part. We have been experimenting with activities for small groups, from the same household, at the Gathering Place for a few hours to help provide a change of space. Other members are taking part in Sol Express and other online offerings. Participants in both Sol Express and Trying It on For Size (TIFS) continue to meet virtually from their homes.

Over the winter, the addition of a day program assistant at each home to facilitate activities has been so appreciated by assistants living and working in the homes. This has also been a wonderful boost for core members! Who knew Aidanna would become a seamstress and our homes would be nurturing their own seeds for their gardens?

These times have been challenging for everyone and we have undergone significant transitions in our homes. We need your support as we welcome and train new assistants. Your help will provide relief and support for our dedicated assistant team as they continue to support the core members and participants in our programs.

The offer of respite accommodation outside the homes for live-in assistants on days off has been a huge blessing. Deliveries of meals and the ability to order in take-out meals has provided variety and allowed much needed gaps in meal preparation, a big on-going daily task for homes where core members and assistants live together.

As we wait to begin to step back out of our homes, as rules allow, your support will help to provide meals, support meaningful activities and maintain our day program staffing, which will continue to be important for some time to come as programs remain closed or are being phased back in slowly. 

Some ways you can help are:
  • $50 will provide an ice cream treat on a day at the beach
  • $100 will provide a burger lunch for a group at a local park
  • $250 will provide a backyard pizza dinner for all four homes
  • $400 will provide a few days away for a live-in assistant at a local suite hotel
  • $500 will provide day programming for a home for a week
  • $2,000 will support our day program staffing in all four homes for a week

Please join us!
News
Twist n’ Sip Fundraiser

At this time of year, we would normally be getting ready for our biggest fundraiser of the year, the Twist n’ Sip, which raises money for our programs. But once again, we are postponing the event until the fall, in hopes that we will be able to meet in person to dance and celebrate then. Check our website or social media for updates…
The Card Kit Project

Over the winter, L’Arche Toronto Sol Express created the Card Kit Project. Sol Express sent out 50 kits to session participants, as well as, Sol Express volunteers and supporters. The 50 kits, with 10 cards each, had the possibility to reach 500 people in the broader community. Through this outreach project, a number of previous in-person participants started to take part in the project and programs. Participants remained connected, but also, had a positive effect on others in the community, with and without intellectual disabilities, who were also being negatively affected by the pandemic. Please enjoy a small sample of the art!
Thank you!
Thanks go out to the Emergency Community Support Fund of the Government of Canada via the Toronto Foundation and to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for funding for COVID-19 relief funding that supported the Day Program in the homes, Sol Express and Trying It on For Size (TIFS).
L’Arche Toronto Sol Express is in the Regent Park Community

Sol Express is more than thrilled to have three art works created by participants in their creative arts and theatre program, as part of the permanent art displayed in the common areas of the DuEast Condominium by The Daniels Corporation in Regent Park. L’Arche Toronto will be opening its fifth home in Regent Park in 2022 in their Artworks Tower.

Below is pictured, 'How Life Shapes Us' by Gregory Lannan, 2020
Learn more about our Regent Park Home Project here!
For over 45 years, the L'Arche Toronto community has brought to life the mission of L'Arche, where women and men, with and without intellectual disabilities, share life in community by engaging with a wide circle of family, friends and neighbours.

L'Arche Toronto provides homes and supports for daily living, employment and volunteer placements, and community participation. We also offer Sol Express, a creative and performance arts program, and Trying It on For Size (TIFS), a life skills program. L'Arche Toronto helps persons with intellectual disabilities discover their gifts and abilities, and supports them to achieve their goals for a meaningful life.

L'Arche Toronto is a member of the International Federation of L'Arche. Founded in 1964, there are now 153 communities in 38 countries. www.larchetoronto.org
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