Toronto Dollar, born in St. Lawrence, still helps needy

James Boyle —Seeds-of-Hope-Logo-FI

Sales of Toronto Dollar ceased being sold at St. Lawrence Market a year ago. But the Toronto Dollar (TD$) lives on!  Not as we have known it in the past, but rather it is now focused on giving a charitable organization a way to thank its volunteers for their service.

A charitable organization purchases and gives TD$ as an honorarium to its volunteers, much like the model we had developed with St. John’s Bakery.  Participating local merchants agree to accept TD$ for their goods and/or services.  A volunteer makes a purchase with TD$ at a participating local merchant, who then redeems the TD$ at par.  Many volunteers can be people with low incomes or on social assistance.  Receiving TD$ gives them additional income which they can spend at local merchants and does not reduce their social assistance entitlement.

This new approach is still in the pilot phase.  6 St Joseph House has received some donations to purchase TD$ and is giving them to its volunteers as an honorarium for their service.  They are also recruiting merchants in the Yonge-Wellesley area.

The new TD$ is part of Seeds of Hope Foundation (http://www.seedsofhope.ca/).  You can help sustain the work of the new TD$ by making a tax-deductible donation to Seeds of Hope and designating your donation to Toronto Dollar.Toronto-Dollar-FI

Your donation will help fund the purchase of TD$ at 6 St Joseph House or other Seeds of Hope organizations.  Donate either by mail at 6 St Joseph St. Toronto, ON M4Y 1J7 or online at Canada Helps: https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/12446.

The new president of Toronto Dollar is Brian Dunk, and the Secretary Treasurer is David Walsh, one of the founders of Toronto Dollar fifteen years ago. Kim Curry, Executive Director of 6 St. Joseph House is a critical contact person.

Ian Stuart and I continue on the board, which has been renewed. Financial statements for past years have been finalized, and a next step will be the revitalization of the website.

One continuing part of Toronto Dollar is the Supper Club, which continues to meet at Hot House Cafe on Mondays, usually once a month.

Anyone interested in helping with Toronto Dollar please contact:

Brian Dunk mailto:brian.dunk@gmail.com

or Kim Curry mailto:kcurry@6stjoseph.ca