Spotlight Unplugged. Up Close and Personal

Thursday September 30th at

Berkeley Church, 315 Queen St. East, Toronto

SPOTLIGHT is celebrating its 9th year as a major fund raising event for Fife House. The proceeds from this evening of upscale entertainment continues to support Fife House in its efforts to provide clean, secure and comfortable affordable housing for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Spotlight 2010, to be held at the historic Berkeley Church in Toronto promises to be a rare, up-close and personal musical experience. Spotlight draws upon some of the best in the Canadian music industry to entertain you with an unplugged sound that’s intimate and will be truly memorable. To add to the evening, Spotlight Unplugged will also feature a tantalizing cocktail reception, silent auction and delicious nibbles.

Meet the stars of Spotlight Unplugged. Up Close and Personal:

Micah Barnes

International Singer/Songwriter Micah Barnes formally of The Nylons, has shared stages with performers like Harry Connick Jr., Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole and Roberta Flack.
Micah will be releasing his third solo disc “Exit On The Freeway” this fall and is delighted to be a part of this year’s Fife House Spotlight event.

Official Website: www.micahbarnes.com

Kellylee Evans

Vocalist Kellylee Evans continues to evolve her distinctive sound with her newest release Nina. This Juno and Gemini Award nominee received accolades for her first two albums, Fight or Flight and The Good Girl, which seamlessly fuse jazz and her own unique style of “soul pop”.

Nina, her new release, is a beautiful tribute to one of jazz’s greatest vocalists and pianists, Nina Simone.

Official Website: www.kellyleeevans.com

Haley Sales

Hayley Sales is creating Music that clearly resonates with a wide variety of audiences, whether via winning “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the Vancouver Island Music Awards or gaining standing ovations at Seattle’s Northwest Folk Life festival. Sales’ performances are inspiring and infectious; her mission to take audiences on a journey that moves from reggae dance party one minute to a meditative, thoughtful state the next.

You can see some of Hayley’s videos and hear her music on the media section of her website www.hayleysales.com

Mark Masri

Toronto Born Mark Masri is on of the finest soulful tenor voices of his generation. In addition to his incomparable vocals, Mark is a piano player, songwriter and producer. He co-wrote all but one of the original songs on LA VOCE. Steven Reineke, one of America’s foremost Pops Orchestra conductors says: “Mark Masri is one of those rare finds with an astounding and sensuous tenor voice, wonderful poise and warm stage presence”. Masri also appeared as a guest vocalist on Jim Brickman’s 2009 CD FAITH, which was nominated for Best New Age Album at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Masri is poised to become Canada’s next vocal sensation!

Don’t miss this up close and personal event, September 30 2010

For more information and to get tickets to Spotlight, visit www.spotlightfife.com

Buy by Phone
416-205-9888

As a registered charity, Fife House relies on the generosity of individuals, corporations, foundations and community groups to provide our residents and clients with support services.

Fife House fundraisers like SPOTLIGHT and financial donations provide all of the extras that can make a house or a room into a home. SPOTLIGHT is committed to raising funds so that Fife House can continue helping people living with HIV/AIDS live as independently as possible

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As CEO of AGF Management, Blake Goldring was honoured with the industry’s coveted Person of Influence Award at the 2007 Canadian Investment Awards. You’d be more likely to associate him with the glitz of Bay Street than with giving back to the community in oh so many ways, and creating a not-for-profit organization.

As one mode of giving back, Blake is Chairman of Canada Company. He founded this apolitical organization in 2006, to bring community leaders across Canada together to support Canadian soldiers in the work they do at home and abroad. Blake’s initiative provides practical help and hope to members of our armed forces, and to the families who love them. Since its inception, the foundation has created a $2.1 million Scholarship Fund. In a unique event on September 3, a frigate will be sailing into Toronto to act as an impressive backdrop to awarding scholarships to students who have lost a parent in active duty.

Blake holds an Honours BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD in France. Blake and his wife Belinda have three teenaged daughters and live in Toronto. He enjoys spending time outdoors and counts golf, tennis and fishing among his favourite after-work activities Blake is also an Honorary Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada, the second-largest Reserve Force Infantry Regiment.

How would others describe you?

I think they would say I am a fervent Canadian, who is passionate about different issues, and that I demonstrate leadership in different areas. I certainly don’t shirk away from a challenge; I’d rather engage in a difficult situation to work for a better outcome.

What do you think makes you unique?

I never consider myself unique. But I have a great passion to get involved in things I think are meaningful: the environment, education, and grooming the next cadre of leaders. I get a huge buzz spending time with young people because of their freshness of ideas. My grandfather was one of the first to sit on what is now the United Way, and my father had always been a major contributor to causes, so there is a carry-through from my family.

What is your biggest motivator?

I want to make a difference in the lives of others, both in business and in the community at large. A community works best when there is a spirit of sharing and openness, and each of us has certain strengths and capabilities that allow us to share and contribute. Those of us in business actively enjoy certain benefits which should be shared,. This could be time, experience and contacts as well as financial sharing. Sharing is always enriching because you learn so much. When I was younger, I was focused on getting the right career launch, home life, learning skills and supplementing my education. At a certain point when you have grown as a person and know yourself better, you are more focused on how you spend your time. With time and good health, plus a bit of determination, then toss in some experience, knowledge and other resources … you can do some incredible things.

When you hit 50, it’s interesting that you think about the amount of time you have and the number of things there are to do in this great world. To be giving and helping others in whatever capacity it might be – working in a soup kitchen in a hospital, financial contribution to the arts, active participation in something – it all helps to bring a sense of satisfaction.

What do you consider your biggest achievement?

Growing a small Canadian enterprise into an international organization brings a sense of accomplishment. I’m proud of raising a family. And I’m proud of being involved and helping make a difference in those areas where I’m an active contributor. I serve organizations to move them ahead, not simply to get my name on a letterhead.

What do you want to achieve in life now?

This is a time to bring real focus on some of the areas I have chosen to devote more of my attention to. With the military for instance, the link between the broader community and our armed forces is important. All that we appreciate reposes on the fact we enjoy safe, secure sound environment to go about our lives. Without it all bets are off.. Our military is populated by hardworking people who risk the ultimate sacrifice. Even though they chose this life and don’t ask for much, we owe a debt to them. We try to help through the scholarship fund, as well as a significant program for camps for children of deployed soldiers

How would you like your own story to inspire others?

I have great hope that people would get active in whatever way they can to serve the community. All of us have something to give, whether it’s background, experience, finance, contacts, resources, or a combination. Just being available. The sense of satisfaction from this is immeasurable.

What would you like to be remembered for?

As a good father, a good leader, who made a difference in whatever organization he was involved in and who made a lasting and positive impact on others. The things we do at AGF help others to achieve their financial dreams, which in turn helps them to put kids through college, be philanthropic and have a good retirement. I can feel good and passionate about what I do.

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by Dayle Haddon

Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and has the largest gap between the rich and the poor. More than 45% of the children and 60% of the country live in on less than a dollar a day, which is defined as extreme poverty by the World Bank.

The staff of the local NGOs say that the biggest challenge in Bolivia is the protection of children. Abuse, violence and abandonment are commonplace. The borders are not strictly enforced and trafficking of children through Bolivia is easy. From there, I was told, they can simply be walked across to a neighboring country. In fact, recently, a group of children who were trafficked from Haiti during the confusion of the earthquake ended up in the city of le Sucre, enroute to Paraguay. The government was working to find their families in Haiti and send them back safely.

We visited Breeze of Hope, a center for children who are victims of abuse and violence. I asked the age range of the victims and was told from one month to seventeen years old. Few cases get to court. Trials take years and they are too expensive for most. I was told that the court often blames the child for what happened. There are so many cases of rape that there is a demand for the death penalty or castration for those found guilty. This makes it very difficult for a child to accuse an aggressor especially when it is a family member. As we left the center, I noticed the children’s drawings framed on the wall. One was a self- portrait in crayon of a young girl looking out at us with huge tears flowing down to the bottom edge of the picture. Another drawing said it all. It showed a bedroom with a large closed door in the foreground. On a bed, face down was a little girl crying. Above her head was the caption which said, “ ?Porque yo’ “Why me?”     (more on next page)

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Former supermodel establishes ‘WomenOne’ charity to help women from developing countries

It’s virtually guaranteed … you have seen the face of Dayle Haddon.  She has been in the beauty and fashion industry for over 35 years.

A baby boomer, a stunning beauty, both inside and out, and now an active UNICEF Ambassador, Dayle Haddon is the only model to have had four major cosmetic contracts with Revlon, Max Factor, Estée Lauder, and L’Oréal – for which she has been spokesperson for over 15 years. Dayle has adorned the covers of dozens of magazines internationally, and has starred in many beauty campaigns. All this happened after her years as a young ballerina with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, when she danced with the Bolshoi and the Kirov ballet companies when in Canada. Discovered by model maven Eileen Ford, then by photographer Guy Bourdin her career went into orbit.

Well into her highly successful modeling career, Dayle realized that women over 40 were not being represented by the beauty and fashion industry. She felt she had an opportunity to change that perception from the inside. She has since been on the forefront of this now well-known age revolution and the result has been two bestselling books on inner and outer beauty, both translated into more than six languages – Ageless Beauty and The Five Principles of Ageless Living.

Dayle spoke recently with Tempo Toronto.

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On any given night in Toronto, during the cold months of late fall and winter, a number of Out of the Cold shelters spring up around the city. From early November until late March, Out of the Cold at Holy Blossom Temple, located at Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue, opens its doors to feed up to 116 homeless guests.

In its 14^th year of operation, the Holy Blossom Out of the Cold is part of a coalition working to ease the plight of homelessness and socially isolated people in Toronto. Last year HBT’s Out of the Cold provided over 2,500 dinners and overnight shelter for over 750. Guests are offered a nutritious meal, nursing services, a warm place to sleep for the night, as well as clothing and other essentials.

In order to pull this off, Out of the Cold begins at 9 a.m., with volunteer crews working in unison on a  myriad of functions – from shopping for needed food and other items, to preparation of sandwiches (guests are given a bagged meal upon their departure), cooking dinner, dining room setup, serving, cleanup, security, entertainment, organizing beds and blankets for stay-overs, and ending with the breakfast crew that arrives at 5:30 a.m. the next day. Needless to say, it takes incredible coordination, and immense dedication from each and every person involved for this program to run like the well-oiled machine that it needs to be.

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Through ongoing Malawi mission, church group reaches out to impoverished village, and brings hope

Greg Harper, 52, has been a police officer for almost a quarter of a century, most of which has been spent with the emergency response unit (ERU, commonly known as the “SWAT” team). In a nutshell, when the public needs help they call the police, when the police need help they call the ERU. Greg is currently the unit commander for York Region, directing the handling of high risk situations. And if you were to meet him, you would feel most reassured that such a strong, calm individual with integrity to spare is directing a crack team that helps keep us all safe.

His caring nature led him to embark on a mission trip in the summer of 2006, instigated partly by his own personal faith journey which began following the death of a friend early that same year. He became a committed Christian, and joined a church. Eleven members of that church group, under the leadership of Minister David Sherbino, organized themselves to go on a mission to Kasenjere in Malawi to help the villagers finish a church that had been started over 10 years before. Greg and his wife Geri were two of the missionaries.

Greg had never really travelled before, and certainly not to a third-world country, which made the whole idea daunting to him. Until his return from Africa in September 2006, he did not realize it was to be a life changing experience. It was a humbling experience for Greg to see first hand how people struggle just to survive. It made him realize how lucky we are in Toronto, and how much many people take for granted. Predictably, he felt anger towards waste, ignorance, selfishness and complaining that prevails in parts of the westernized world.

“The biggest misconception about mission work, and I didn’t tune into it myself until the second time I went, is that it’s not about going and doing things for them – to build a school or a church for example, things they really can do for themselves,” said Greg. “What is more important, more impactful for them, is the time that we spend together: the fact that we travel all the way across the world just to be with them, and that they are not forgotten.”  (Continued, next page)

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Peggie Pelosi stumbled into her life purpose after turning 50. Having spent her entire – successful – career working because she needed to make a living, she found her true calling in her third age.

Peggie shows corporate leaders how to develop strong, sustainable connections between their company and relevant causes. In the process, she transforms entire corporate cultures to create truly inspirational places to work. Peggie explained to Tempo Toronto how this came to be.

“I was hired by a public company in 2000 to turn it around. Sales had been flat for a few years, and I had the role of inspiring the sales force to grow the business. I hadn’t heard of Corporate Social Responsibility at that time, but I already had an intrinsic sense that corporations needed to give back. Sure, the company had written cheques to charities, but they didn’t remember anything about the causes they were supporting.”

Her action was to find a charity that would meet a need for engagement, and to roll out an optional program in which employees could participate. It was a children’s hunger fund.

“The company made pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements, and there is a huge need in the world for proper nourishment. So, we ‘adopted’ orphanages,” said Peggie. “I took the CEO, board members and employees to San Salvador to get them engaged with the children. Once we had formed this partnership with orphanages, the whole company became enthused. We raised $120,000 in the first year.”

Fast forwarding three years, sales more than doubled, and share value went up by more than 3000 per cent (yes, three thousand). Why?

Peggie knew. “The company looked exactly the same from the outside. But through an internal lens you saw the complete culture shift that hat happened. The company became an inspiring place to work, and we attracted and retained the best people. That has a huge impact on the bottom line.”

This was Peggie’s “aha” moment. She realized that most people weren’t satisfied with going to work just to make a living. She know that there was a missed opportunity for businesses, and for her to help businesses figure out how to do this – how to develop a strategy to breathe giving back into their culture. Orenda Connections www.orendaconnections.com was born. She published her book, Corporate Karma: How businesses can move forward by giving back, in 2006.

Now, Orenda Connections works with businesses to show how to create partnerships between companies and their corporate social responsibility. The recent Roots and Shoots program, a co-development between Roots Canada and Jane Goodall, instigated by Peggie, is one example. Roots, already a philanthropic organization about 2000 strong, has a history of giving away a lot but had never engaged its employees. Under Peggie’s guidance, the recently launched “Roots Cares” engages each employee and reaches out to youth in their local communities to get them involved in community environmental activity, which is naturally close to Jane Goodall’s heart.

October 27 sees her Toronto conference “In Good Company” at the Berkeley Church, on Queen Street East, bringing together non-profits and corporate executives to dialogue about the importance of best practices around corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Back to Peggie, who had observed many people seemingly knowing exactly what they were here to do, but hadn’t yet visualized her own life purpose. It took her a half century to get there, but she now knows that Orenda Connections allows her to combine all the skills she has and apply them in a way that has real meaning both for her and for the people with whom she works.

“It gives me purpose. The return on the emotional investment is enormous.”

Tina Rogers

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