The special friend, meanwhile, relates that volunteering for the agency means a lot to her:
It’s been really challenging. We’ve weathered storms together and have been able to maintain a relationship. That’s been very rewarding. But you have to learn to be flexible; they’re changing all the time, those kids, and I’ve learned a lot from them.
The volunteer services coordinator knows that:
We really do some excellent work at this agency. I am proud of my colleagues and the effort that they put forward. Being a volunteer coordinator means that I am allowed the privilege to showcase this work. When I’m recruiting new volunteers I tell them what my colleagues are attempting to do and how they can help.
A foster mother remembers how:
About thirteen years ago, my youngest child was about nine years old and I sadly realized that my baby years were probably over. So I decided to leave my job and foster babies instead. The joy that I’ve experienced in doing that has certainly changed my life and I look forward to many more years of this rewarding responsibility.
An adoptive mother talks about how she was a single mother with a background similar to many children in care:
My workers made me feel safe enough to be totally honest with them and they saw the positives in my past. My son and I will be eternally grateful.
Another adoptive family says that:
The CAS is an indispensable organization that brings happiness to numerous Toronto children and their parents who need their guidance and expertise. Our home is alive with a small child’s laughter and love because of them. There’s nothing more wonderful. Thank you.
A board member comments that:
Members of the board endeavour to represent the society in the community and to bring the perspectives of their own experiences to the decisions they make. These are important responsibilities. We take them seriously. And we consider ourselves privileged to serve on the board of an organization as well managed, capable and caring as this one.
A corporate donor says:
We look carefully at where we donate our money. The Children’s Aid Foundation is one charity that is always at the top of our list. We know the excellent work that they do and we are proud to be a part of it.
A former member of the agency’s staff who is now retired says that:
One cannot work at the CAS of Toronto without a lasting effect. I have fond memories of my many years at the agency and the opportunity it afforded me to develop lifelong friendships and professional relationships. I’m lucky in the opportunities the agency gave me to help protect kids from abuse and neglect, to help parents build healthy families and to help provide a safe, nurturing place for children and young adults who couldn’t live with their own families.
A staff Alumni Association was formed in 1995 as a means of capturing this kind of commitment among retired and former staff members of the society. Its objectives are to keep them in touch with the agency and with each other and to enable those who wish to do so to continue their contribution to child welfare by working as volunteers on society and foundation projects.
These objectives are being met successfully. Many staff alumni continue to contribute time and energy to assist the agency in its mandate to protect children, and they have also contributed to several projects, including sponsoring this book on the society’s history.
That history is a rich one. The legacy of caring and compassion pioneered by J.J. Kelso, Vera Moberly, John MacDonald, Bob Mills and others continues in the work the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto at the beginning of a new millennium.
APPENDIX 1
Names by which the Agency
Has Been Known
1875–1877
Infants’ Home of Toronto
1877–1942
Infants’ Home and Infirmary
1942–1951
Infants’ Homes of Toronto
1891–1893
Toronto Children’s Aid Society
1893–1951
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
1951–1957
Children’s Aid and Infants’ Homes of Toronto
1957–1998
Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto
1998–
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
APPENDIX 2
Presidents and Chief Executive Officers
Infants’ Home
Presidents
1875–1900
Charlotte Ridout
1900–1901
Ms. T.W. Dyas
1901–1918
Marion Boultbee
1918–1919
Ms. J. Wright (acting)
1919–1926
Ms. J.D. Tyrrell
1926–1933
Ms. J.K. McMaster
1933–1936
Ms. C. Gurney
1936–1939
Ms. E. Jarvis
1939–1942
Ms. J. Baxter
1942–1946
Winnifred Scott
1946–1949
Margaret Rolph
1949–1951
Helen Bongard
Matrons
1877–1878
Ms. Robinson
1878–1879
Ms. Gwyn
Lady Superintendents
1879–1886
Ms. Gwyn
1886–1892
Ms. Boultbee
1892–1893
Ms. Macdonald
1893–1911
Ms. Jordan
1911–1918
Isobel Wilson
1918–1919
Ms. Hobkirk
General Secretary
1919–1924
Vera Moberly
Executive Secretaries
1924–1945
Vera Moberly
1945–1951
Belle Carver
Children’s Aid Society
Presidents
1891–1892
John Joseph Kelso
1892–1921
John Kidson MacDonald
1921–1931
A.R. Auld
1931–1945
C.S. MacDonald
1945–1948
A.F.D. Lace
1948–1950
A.W. Eastmure
1950–1953
J.W. Walker
1953–1955
A.W. Eastmure
1955–1957
J.M. Macintosh
1957–1960
M.F. Newman
1960–1963
Mary Heintzman
1963–1966
E.A. Meredith
1966–1968
R.O. Moore
1968–1970
Alan Watson
1970–1972
Thomas Abel
1972–1974
Charles Tidy
1974–1976
Albert Edwards
1976–1978
Anne Corbett
1978–1980
Peter Tuck
1980–1982
Joan Soloninka
1982–1983
Mary Louise Clements
1983–1984
David Fuller
1984–1985
David Murray
1985–1986
Carol Irwin
1986–1987
Ev Elting
1987–1988
Jim Patterson
1988–1989
Ralph Agard
1989–1990
Barry Brace
1990–1991
Chris Stringer
1991–1992
Bob Witterick
1992–1995
Jack Darville
1995–1996
Joyce Barretto
1997–1998
George Henne
1998–1999
Pam Horton
1999–2000
Valerie Witterick
Secretaries
1891–1893
Stua
rt Coleman
1893–1894
Rev. J.E. Starr
1894–1906
Stuart Coleman
1906–1923
William Duncan
Managing Directors
1923–1947
Bob Mills
1947–1951
Stuart Sutton
Executive Directors
1951–1954
Stuart Sutton
1954–1973
Lloyd Richardson
1973–1978
Ed Watson
1978–1984
Doug Barr
1984–1988
Mel Finlay
1989–
Bruce Rivers
APPENDIX 3
Administrative Offices and Shelters
Infants’ Home
Administrative offices and shelters
1875–1876
11 Caer Howell [Elm] Street
1876–1882
678 Yonge Street
1882–1926
21 St. Mary Street
1926–1951
34 Grosvenor Street
Receiving Centres
1941–1947
38–40 Huntley Street
1947–1951
15 Huntley Street
Children’s Aid Society
Administrative offices
1891–1894
32 Church Street
1894–1902
12 Richmond Street East
1902–1924
229 Simcoe Street
1924–1928
80 University Avenue
1928–1953
32 Isabella Street
1953–
33 Charles Street East
Shelters
1891–1894
18 Centre Avenue
1894–1902
135 Adelaide Street East
1902–1928
229 Simcoe Street
1928–1953
33 Charles Street East
Receiving Centre
1951–1974
15 Huntley Street
APPENDIX 4
Bibliography and a Note on Sources
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