A message to our readers

We are proud to present our 10th annual Report on Community Giving, which is our report to you, our readers, on some of the charitable efforts the Toronto Star made to help better our community in 2008.

Since the Toronto Star was founded in 1892, this newspaper has played an integral role in the development of this city and the surrounding Greater Toronto Area.

Our legendary founder Joseph Atkinson was a driving force in championing the cause of the city’s less fortunate. In his 50 years as publisher of the Toronto Star (1899-1948), he launched many editorial campaigns in the pages of the paper, including an anti-poverty drive that led to the creation of government programs and subsequent improvements for the disadvantaged, such as family allowances, old age pensions and unemployment insurance. He was also so concerned about the plight of underprivileged children that he established two of Toronto’s oldest and most successful charities - The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund and The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund. Atkinson also gave this newspaper’s support to many other charitable organizations in the city and around the region.

For the past 117 years, the Toronto Star and its staff have held true to Joseph Atkinson’s spirit of giving to the community. The newspaper’s early motto still continues to guide our mission: humanity above all.

Today, the Toronto Star and its employees endeavour to fulfll the goals of our founder through our own charities and through our support of various charitable programs and organizations in the Greater Toronto Area. With the support of our readers, we try in a small way to improve the lives of thousands of residents, especially children. You will see those programs and organizations listed below.

Each year, thousands of our readers generously donate to the Star’s two children’s funds, which enable tens of thousands of needy children to enjoy a few days at summer camp or a gift box at Christmas.

As publisher of the Toronto Star, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to you, our readers, for helping us give back to our communities. The combination of fnancial donations from our readers, staff and the Star’s own corporate giving provided $2.7 million to worthy causes in 2008.

John Cruickshank
Publisher

Giving children an outside chance

One of the worst summer heat waves on record prompted Toronto Star publisher Joseph Atkinson to appeal to readers to help children of the poor escape the sweltering city heat.

In 1901, he established The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund and began by providing funds for picnics, excursions and vacations at camps. Star readers responded generously that year as they have every year since then. In the 1930s, the emphasis switched to camps in the country where needychildren could spend two or three weeks running in the woods, swimming in a lake or learning to paddle a canoe.

Today, the fund helps children with debilitating illnesses, developmental and physical disabilities and those from low-income families get the chance to create some summertime memories at camp. Last summer, The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund exceeded its $580,000 fundraising goal and helped send 25,000 children to 106 day and residential camps.

Gifts to children, teens and families at Christmas

The birth of The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund charity in 1906 relates back to a vivid memory from former Toronto Star publisher Joseph Atkinson’s youth. One day, young Joseph was watching other children skate on a pond. A lady approached and asked him why he wasn’t skating. When she heard his sad tale of being too poor to afford skates, she bought him his frst pair for Christmas. Atkinson never forgot the warmth and generosity of that stranger. Years later, he told the stories of other needy children in the pages of the Toronto Star and asked readers to contribute money to help buy Christmas gifts for them. The gifts of fruit, candy, socks and mitts were distributed through Toronto’s Little Trinity Church. Today, bright gift boxes are flled with a warm shirt, socks, mitts and hat, a book, small toy, candy and dental hygiene items. The gifts are still delivered to children’s homes by volunteers, just as they were in 1906.

In 2008, the Toronto Star and sister papers, The Mississauga News, Brampton Guardian and Ajax-Pickering News Advertiser, surpassed their goal of $1.5 million and provided a gift box at Christmas to 45,000 needy children in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering. For the fourth consecutive year, the Fund also supported 10,500 teens, aged 13 to 17, by providing each of them with two movie passes and a gift certifcate for the theatre concession stand. Fo the frst time in its history, The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund also assisted 10,500 families with a gift of fresh produce and basic food staples in December through the Daily Bread Food Bank and affliated food banks across Toronto, Peel and Durham regions.

Star reaches out to our community

The Toronto Star has been a proud supporter of the United Way of Greater Toronto since its inception in 1956. Today, the newspaper supports the United Way’s fundraising efforts with extensive editorial coverage, a successful employee campaign and a corporate donation. In 2008, the Toronto Star and its employees gave more than $530,000 to the United Way of Greater Toronto.

Giving Guidelines

The Toronto Star has a long history of supporting the underprivileged. Knowing how important Christmas is to thousands of families in our community, we have supported Mission and Shelter programs during the holiday season. Scholarships and awards have also been provided to stu-dents enrolled in journalism education. The Toronto Star has focused its efforts to assist in the following three areas of concern in the Greater Toronto Area that meet the following giving guidelines:

Children: through the Star’s own children’s charities,The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund and The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund

Poverty: supporting the United Way of Greater Toronto and Mission and Shelter programs during the Christmas season

Journalism Education: providing scholarships at the college and university levels to help continue education in journalism