Date: July 27, 2010
Editor: Robert Tang |
Vol. 60 – 04 |
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Club Program
Past, Present & Future |
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| Last Week: |
Brian McAuley - Muskoka Woods at
Risk Youth |
| This Week: |
Ryan Rowland –
Classification Talk |
| Aug 03: |
Ribfest Clean Up - 9:00
– 3:00, Thomson Memorial Park |
| Aug 10: |
Ted Morrison District
Governor |
Muskoka Woods – Brian McAuley
Rotarian Gene Burns introduced Brian who is married
and grew up in Toronto. Brian and his wife have 3 young
boys, Carter, Mitchell, and Jack. After graduating from
the University of Western Ontario with an Economics
major, Brian worked in the field of finance, telecommunications
and information technology. One day he would leave IBM
after many years to pursue his current passion at the
Muskoka Woods camp. He practices the 3 C’s; Camper,
Counselor, and Career Man.
Brian starts by introducing Dave Burridge who is with
an organization called Youth Unlimited, one of several
partners of Muskoka Woods. Over the past 5 years, Youth
Unlimited has been able to send 20 youths every year
for a week or two at the camp. Muskoka Woods also works
with other agencies such as the Children’s Aid,
Salvation Army, Regent Park 614, Urban Promise, etc.
that do similar work in other communities. To date over
340 underprivileged youth and their leaders have attended
the camp.
Muskoka Woods is an 1100 acre Christian Youth Resort
that welcomes all young people of all backgrounds to
life changing experiences. Guests are aged from 7 –
17 years of age and comprise up to 27 different nationalities.
The resort was originally started by developer John
Boddy of John Boddy Homes. Camp guests can choose from
35 activities including water sports and athletics,
media and arts, leadership and team building programs.
The resort operates all year round on Lake Rosseau as
a non-profit youth organization.
One of Muskoka Woods new initiatives is the Canadian
Heroes Program. Sons and daughters of parents in our
military get the opportunity to become camp guests each
summer. This year the camp hosted 130 youth from the
parents in active duty in Afghanistan. The Canadian
Heroes program was initiated and initially funded by
the generous donation of Tom Caldwell of Caldwell Financial
Ltd.
Brian’s role is to extend a camp experience to
youth with difficult circumstances, provide scholarships
to exceptional youth who work at Muskoka Woods, and
fund year round workers who mentor youth from Muskoka
Woods in the communities. All of this is accomplished
through raising funds from individuals, foundations,
service clubs, and special events.
Brian points out that there is a pocket community in
Scarborough that would be considered at-risk. His goal
is to help us gain a better understanding of the challenges
of this community, and to see youth in this community
in a different light. Brian admits that seeing a “punk”
strutting past him can be quite intimidating but he’s
met some of these youth which Dave works with on a daily
basis and they really are great kids – sometimes
with a tough exterior though.
Dave deals with youth from government housing, single
parents, and lower income families. He recalls a certain
boy whom he dealt with for 8 years. At the time the
boy was entering grade 9 and was in Canada for only
2 years having lived in the Caribbean prior. This individual
joined the basketball camp but was subsequently thrown
out a number of times for his behaviour. Dave also coached
the same youth in high-school soccer and basketball.
The youth was eventually sent to Muskoka Woods as a
leader. He later successfully completed high-school
and became a plumber despite having an absent father
who was charged in a high-profile crime. Dave comments
that “the harder the shell – the deeper
the wound.” At Muskoka Woods the “pecking
order” disappears, horizons are broadened, and
the camp life opens one’s eyes.
Expanding this program required the construction of
Timbergrove Lodge. The new facility is a 2200 square
foot cabin specifically designed by and for our partners
like Youth Unlimited. It is designed to provide comfortable
accommodations including a common room with fireplace
which helps build community amongst the group. Timbergrove
Lodge will expand Muskoka Woods’ at-risk program
from just over 100 to over 400 youth throughout the
year. The project currently requires $35,000 to complete
the construction.
In closing, Brian’s unique vision is “inspiring
kids to improve the world by investing in those youth.”
Rotarian Kim Nilsson thanked our speakers on behalf
of the Club and presented Brian a book on Toronto as
a token of our appreciation.
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