Change, Gratitude and Stability

Looking over the contributions to this newsletter, the natural theme of Change, Gratitude and Stability surfaced as the underlying unspoken theme. So now it is realized and has become the obvious tapestry of our fall newsletter.

Fall is the season of compelling and dramatic change in nature- it is when change is markedly apparent, where through change nature explodes in colour and leaves collapse, swirling onto our the streets of our community. Yet there are those vestiges of spring’s promise remaining, leaves that bonded so closely to their branches that they cling almost fearfully to their trees, resisting the inevitable.

Change. As always, there is considerable change at 6 St. Joseph House. This is our first web based newsletter. We hope you enjoy it and we welcome your feedback! The dramatic expansion of our third floor loft room, green roof garden and facilities upgrades has open up exciting new possibilities. The Endeavour Volunteer Consulting Network report identified the need for change to enable us to sustain our community work. We should all embrace change as an agent of personal renewal.

Gratitude. We can only experience compelling transformation and change when we embrace it with gratitude. We are a community where gratitude for change allows us to grow and move on to bigger challenges, where gratitude for the generosity of our contributors allows us to experience and see profound change in the facility but more importantly within ourselves. As always, stories of gratitude permeate our newsletter. It is through gratitude that we learn to let go, like the last leaves of fall, so we can accept and embrace the inevitable change that brings transformation to our lives. Margarita Citron’s Gratitude programme has taught us how powerful gratitude can be to embrace change and build stability.

Stability. We are a growing community, and the support of all of our volunteer contributors is critical to delivering the stability required to sustain our community programs. We have a new Board of Directors that will facilitate change and establish the necessary foundation to nurture our growth and ensure future stability.

Finally, recognition of The Yellow Door Learning Centre as an anchor of our learning community and our learning lives provides the stability for our programmes. Through our creativity, we have established credibility. Our stability has allowed us to expand programmes that are having a tangible positive impact on our community, as evidenced by the overwhelming success of our beloved “Bell Boxes” project. It is another example of how the foundation of community and volunteerism we have built has had a very positive change in our community, established new partnerships, and earned the recognition of corporate sponsors, our civic leadership and our Mayor.

Change, Gratitude and Stability. We welcome your thoughts, and appreciate all your contributions!

About Mr. Bartolacci
Joe Bartolacci is a Toronto business leader and senior consultant with over 33 years in enterprise technology. He is currently the Regional Vice President for POG Consulting as well as President of his own small business. He has received numerous awards for performance, teamwork and leadership during his career. Joe began volunteering at 6 St. Joseph House in February of 2005, joined the board of Seeds of Hope Foundation in 2006, where he was chair from 2007 until his stepping down to assume the position of Executive Director, 6 St Joseph House.

Members of the Board of Seeds of Hope Foundation include: David Walsh (Chair), Carly Dunster, James Essex, Judy Fields, Stu Gilchrist, Miraz Manji, Vincent Narang, and Dee Sharma.