Portage Ontario Fresh Start
Fourth annual Fresh Start Dinner and Auction raises over $110,000 for addiction treatment
On the evening of June 8th, 190 guests gathered for the 4th annual Fresh Start Dinner & Auction at the lush Rosedale garden of Dr. Peter and Mrs. Susan Schaal to raise awareness and funds in support of the Portage Ontario Youth Treatment Fund. The fund provides access to the Portage Elora treatment centre for adolescents. Through incredibly generous donations and the purchase of auction items, the event successfully raised over $110,000. This total far surpasses Portage Ontario’s goal of $85,000, an amount that would give ten Ontario youth the chance to change their lives at Portage this year.
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Pictured here: Sarah, a Portage Ontario graduate who spoke at the event and Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair.
Third Annual Fresh Start Dinner & Auction: A Huge Success
Friends and supporters gathered on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 in Toronto for the third annual Fresh Start Dinner & Auction in support of the Portage Ontario Youth Treatment Fund. The event was hosted by Dr. Peter and Mrs. Susan Schaal and raised $88,000 in support of Portage's residential rehabilitation facility in Elora, Ontario.
Michael Howlett, chairman of Portage Ontario, was in attendance and thanked everyone present, "We are grateful for the show of support we received this evening," he said. "If children are our future, then supporting this organization is an investment."
Following Michael Howlett's address, Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair took to the podium. He stated that "Drug addiction is an illness. It can affect everyone. There are too few places like Portage to send our youth to. Drug addicts don't belong in jail; they belong in treatment."
The evening included dinner in a Rosedale garden and a silent and live auction. The highlight of the event occurred midway through when Catherine, and her mother Jane, revealed the story of their family's struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Catherine attributed her 2-year sobriety to her stay at a Portage treatment centre.
"We are grateful to the Portage organization for being so instrumental in Catherine's recovery," Jane told the guests. "They helped her find laughter again. They helped her find the joy in a new day and be grateful for the life she has. Mostly, they helped return our darling daughter, whom we feared we had lost."
2009 Fresh Start Dinner and Auction
If you would like to become in involved in the 4th annual Fresh Start Dinner & Auction as a sponsor, donor or volunteer or if you would like more information concerning fundraising campaigns, contact Jennifer Blunt,the Portage Ontario Director of Development, by email at jblunt@portage.ca