social purpose
I believe in the power of reciprocal inspiration. I get energy from my fans and love to hear their stories, especially when I've inspired them to be active, pursue their dreams, and get through tough times.
Q&A with Andre De Grasse, Six-Time Olympic Medallist
Canadian sprinter and Olympic gold medallist Andre De Grasse talks about giving back to the community and using his platform to inspire and empower youth.
What inspired you to create the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation?
Early in my career, when I was getting started in track, I benefited from mentorship and financial support that helped me progress in the sport and ultimately earn a university scholarship and graduate from the University of Southern California. As a result, I created the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation to have an enduring platform to inspire and empower young people to become champions in sports and life, similar to myself. The foundation is focused on providing access to sports, education, and health care. In addition, we work with partner organizations to remove obstacles that sometimes get in the way of young people reaching their potential.
What advice would you share with someone who wants to make a meaningful difference in society?
What are a few different ways to do so? I believe in the power of reciprocal inspiration. I get energy from my fans and love to hear their stories, especially when I’ve inspired them to be active, pursue their dreams, and get through tough times. This has taught me that you can make a difference in people’s lives and that energy will push you to do more and create a bigger impact. I started by volunteering with my brother when I was a teenager. As a 16-year-old, I took public transit to a mission in Regent Park and created sports programs to keep myself and the kids there busy and away from trouble. I built friendships and started to make a difference. It was as much for me as it was for the youth in the mission. This mutual inspiration can make a difference, starting with just a few people up to the tens of millions that cheer me on at the Olympics. It’s never too early or too late to start.
Volunteering Weaves us Together — Canadians Are Interconnected through the Act of Giving Back
Megan Conway
Individual acts of volunteering matter in shaping our workplaces, our neighbourhoods, our communities, and our country. We’ve long prided ourselves as being a country of people who give back — and yet current data indicates that rates of volunteering are on the decline across the country. Fewer volunteers have returned after the pandemic despite data indicating that essential services such as food banks and shelters are in greater demand. What can we do individually and collectively to reverse this trend and why should we consider volunteering?
Volunteering is, more than ever, a critical act that helps to rebuild our communities and reconnect us to one another in small and big ways.
Volunteer Canada believes in the importance of strengthening Canada’s volunteering infrastructure through cross-sectoral partnerships that contribute to building a more caring, participating, and engaged Canada. Volunteering need not be something massive or overwhelming — there are small acts we can individually take that together make a huge difference. For example, you might find ways to help an elderly or sick. Or you might
introduce yourself to the staff at a local charity and find small ways of offering your time, especially during the month of December when many organizations are challenged to meet increased need.
Small acts of participation through formal and informal service make huge impacts and this investment of time and energy is needed now more than ever. Our individual acts weave together with those of other Canadians to create a stronger, more resilient, more connected Canada. We encourage you to take one small step toward volunteering and participating.
BEYOND BORDERS: ADDRESSING AN EDUCATION CRISIS IN COLOMBIA
Dr. Megan Conway President & CEO, Volunteer Canada
Easy Ways to Give This Holiday Season, and All Year Round
Technology can be used as an incredible force for good, to easily and quickly incorporate charitable giving into your holiday plans.
All I want for Christmas is a charitable gift
New research conducted by CanadaHelps and Ipsos found that nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadians would prefer to receive a charitable gift over material gifts this holiday season. Forget the candles, mugs, or bottles of wine, and give them a Charity Gift Card through CanadaHelps, or send an eCard when you make a donation to their favourite charity.
Support young changemakers
If you have younger people in your life, you’ve probably seen their passion for social causes. From research conducted earlier this year outlined in CanadaHelps Giving Report, we found that climate change, mental health, and social justice are all top causes for younger generations. Generation Z and Millennials look to give back in many ways, including learning about and spreading the word about causes they care about, showing up to protests and in-person events, and making financial gifts. However, younger people’s ability to give is often limited by their financial resources, so giving to causes they care about on their behalf can be a meaningful gift. Cause Funds group many charities working on the same cause together, similar to mutual funds but for charitable giving, making it easier than ever to support causes that young people care about. Powered by CanadaHelps, there are more than 30 different Cause Funds on uniteforchange.com.
Monthly gifts support year-round impact
Monthly gifts provide predictable and critical funding for charities, which is particularly important during the current economic uncertainty facing all Canadians. Recurring gifts are also much easier to fit into your household budget and can be easily set up to come off your credit card or bank account each month or as a payroll deduction with some employers. Then, come tax time, you’ll appreciate the sizeable tax receipt you accumulated while knowing your regular generosity made a difference.
Putting Kids’ Safety First
Is Part of Mr. Lube’s Social Purpose
A new program by Mr. Lube Canada is ensuring that vehicles belonging to a well-known Canadian children’s charity are safe and winter-ready.
Changing to winter tires can be time-consuming and costly — not exactly feasible when you’re a busy nonprofit relying on a large fleet of vehicles to get kids to afterschool sports, clubs, and events.
That’s why Mr. Lube Canada is offering free new Continental Tire winter tires and same-day installation to BGC Canada (formerly Boys & Girls Club of Canada), one of its long-standing partners. “We know that BGC relies on these vehicles to transport kids to extracurricular activities in 70 communities across the country, and when we learned that several of their vehicles didn’t have winter tires, that was our call to action,” says Pamela Lee, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Mr. Lube Canada. BGC volunteers can simply drop off their vehicles at their convenience at the various Mr. Lube one-stop-shop locations across the country and have the quick and easy tire install done.
This initiative is part of Mr. Lube’s overall corporate social purpose of giving back to the community and helping those in need and is administered through the Mr. Lube Foundation. Since it was established in 2002, the foundation has donated over $6 million to charities across the country. “Children’s charities are very important to us,” says Lee. “During these times of rising costs and inflation, groups like BGC are looking to make every dollar count, so we wanted to make sure they were getting the most for their children by helping to keep them safe. Based on the positive reaction, this is something we plan to continue.”
We know that BGC relies on these vehicles to transport kids to extracurricular activities in 70 communities across the country and when we learned that several of their vehicles didn’t have winter tires, that was our call to action.
Mr. Lube encourages individuals and other businesses to follow its lead and support BGC in any way possible.
How ERA Is Living Its Dual Mission of Environmental Sustainability and Social Purpose
By refurbishing used electronics, the Electronic Recycling Association is helping to reduce e-waste and support groups in need.
Anne Papmehl
If you’re eager to get rid of that unused laptop, cellphone, or electronic device, the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) will gladly and safely take it off your hands.
The Electronic Recycling Association is a non-profit organization specializing in electronics recycling in Canada and across North America. Since its inception in 2004, the ERA has been working to address the growing problem of e-waste and the growing digital divide by accepting retired electronics and IT assets from individuals and organizations, securely erasing the stored data, and refurbishing them for donation to charities and other groups in need.
social purpose and how you can help.
What’s involved in your electronics recovery process?
First, we determine whether the device can be reused. If it can, we start by safeguarding the donor’s data through our data erasure software or physical hard drive destruction, which we can do at our facility or the donor’s site. Once the data is securely removed, our experts refurbish the device to give it a second life. Suppose the piece of equipment is deemed completely obsolete. In that case, we divert it to established electronics recyclers who can refine that material to its raw elements so it can go back into the manufacturing stream.
To continue this mission, the ERA needs a steady supply of electronics donations, which have slowed since the pandemic. Mediaplanet recently spoke with Andrew Wesolowski, Managing Director at the ERA, to learn more about the organization's environmental and
How does this help to combat the problem of e-waste?
The manufacture of one single computer requires 500 pounds of fossil fuels, 1.5 tonnes of water, and 50 pounds of chemicals to produce. With businesses and consumers upgrading their computer equipment every few years, that’s a lot of potential e-waste. By refurbishing, we’re not emitting any new carbon or contributing to the air, soil, and water contamination and are helping to keep these devices out of landfills.
Who receives the refurbished electronics, and what impact does it have on the communities you serve?
We help hundreds of charitable organ -
izations, non-profit groups, schools, and retirement homes throughout the year with our repurposed electronics donations. We also sell a small portion of refurbished equipment at a low cost to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the incubation phase to help them offset their technology expenditure. It’s having a very positive impact, as these charities and organizations depend on these repurposed electronics to fulfil their missions.
Why have donations been low since COVID-19?
Due to inflationary pressure throughout the economy, we've experienced some hesitancy in donations. However, we encourage Canadians to please consider donating a device that isn't in use. We also know that fear of data being recovered is one of the biggest obstacles to reuse, but as I said, addressing data destruction securely is a core element of our service offering.
What items do you accept, and how can Canadians donate them?
We accept anything IT-related, computers, laptops, cell phones, printers, monitors, web cameras, and peripherals are welcome. We have drop-off depots and do free pickups in seven cities across Canada — Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. We also coordinate collection events throughout the year in various communities across Canada, which people can learn about by subscribing to our newsletter and social media channels.
Anne Papmehl
Pamela Lee Chief Operating Officer
Lube Canada
Andrew Wesolowski
Profit with a Purpose: Why Impact Management Matters
From making money to changing the world, impact management, including measurement, is critical in supporting investors and the ventures themselves.
Tania Amardeil
Impact investing offers the best of two worlds, providing investors with strong financial returns while helping to solve complex global challenges.
It’s equally true, however, that this type of investing can be challenging to direct and assess.
This is why sound impact management, including measurement, is so important. Thanks to the leadership of organizations like Impact Frontiers and Impact Capital
Impact investors got into the business because they want to make a contribution. Without measurement, they wouldn’t know whether they were being successful.
Managers, along with the example set by high-profile impact investment funds like the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, the real value of impact management is becoming better understood and more universal.
Support the impact ecosystem
Sound impact management is important in allowing investors and organizations to make investment decisions that advance the impact ecosystem.
“Impact measurement and management are about taking a big-picture view,” says Marieke Spence, Executive Director of Impact Capital Managers, a non-profit membership organization focused on accelerating its members’ performance and scaling the private capital impact investing marketplace with integrity and authenticity.
Investing activity should be about driving not just financial returns, but also net-positive social or environmental outcomes, notes Spence. “So it’s about establishing an initial impact or sustainability thesis, and it’s also about having a process for evaluating investments, tracking KPIs, and fund management contributions,” she says.
“Impact investors got into the business because they want to make a contribution,” says Mike McCreless, Executive Director of Impact Frontiers. “Without measurement, they wouldn’t know whether they were being successful, why, and what they could do better next time.”
Change the world
The TELUS Pollinator Fund is an excellent example of the type of impact investing — including measurement and management — that can change the world. The $100-million corporate social impact fund — one of the world’s largest — invests in for-profit companies and founders committed to driving innovation and transformative solutions that help make the world a better place. It supports new and innovative technology solutions and founders from startups that are propelling the world forward. It invests in entrepreneurs addressing key challenges in health, education, agriculture, and the environment by connecting them with the resources and capital they need to grow and thrive.
“Thanks to the vision of our CEO, Darren Entwistle, the fund is an incredible mandate and responsibility,” says Blair Miller, Managing Partner of the TELUS Pollinator Fund. “It’s
amazing to be able to work at the forefront of combining passion, purpose, and profit.”
Portfolio companies and investors must work together to measure impact and present tangible results. Successful collaboration starts with having shared goals. “The first ingredient is having a shared language around goals,” says McCreless. “The second is having a shared way of communicating performance against those goals.”
Do well by doing good Teamwork and collaboration reinforce the impact. “One of our mandates is to contribute to the ecosystem and to find like-minded players, so we’re a member of the Impact Capital Managers (ICM), which is comprised of over 90 funds that collectively represent over $40 billion in impact capital,” notes Miller. Access to networks like ICM offers the Pollinator Fund team an opportunity to share their experiences on approaching impact management, while learning from other global practice leaders in this rapidly growing field.
Globally, there’s a sense of urgency to determine how businesses can be part of the solution.
Impact measurement is a critical component of responsible impact investment practices that can support financial returns while also solving the world’s most pressing challenges. “Globally, there’s a sense of urgency to determine how businesses can be part of the solution,” says Spence. It takes thoughtfulness, understanding of the relationship between impact and return, and smart measurement to know if investments are truly making a difference. Impact-driven funds like the TELUS Pollinator Fund are driven by both purpose and profit — proof that smart business and solution. doing good in the world are compatible.
To learn more, visit telus.com/ pollinatorfund.
This page was sponsored by
Save the Children: Working to Ensure No Child Is Left Behind
Save the Children is working to ensure gender-transformative and inclusive education is available to children worldwide.
Tania Amardeil
Education is a fundamental right for every child — but in a turbulent and crisis-ridden world, access to education and children’s rights are often jeopardized. “New estimates show that 222 million school-aged children are affected by crises globally,” says Sarah Moorcroft, Senior Education Advisor with Save the Children.
“There are approximately 78 million children out of school, and of those attending school, almost 120 million aren’t achieving minimum proficiency in reading or mathematics.” Save the Children is on a mission to change this. Its programming focuses on gender-transformative and inclusive education, particularly in regions where there are major crises related to conflict, climate change, and poverty — including Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, and Nigeria.
Longstanding commitment
Education is critical. It saves lives and protects children. Out-of-school children are at greater risk of abuse and exploitation, such as sexual and gender-based violence (including child marriage), harmful work, and recruitment by armed groups. Education also promotes gender equality, and women and girls’ empowerment.
“Save the Children is dedicated to advancing the rights of children worldwide,” says Moorcroft. “We believe that every girl and boy has the right to survive and thrive. We do whatever it takes and go wherever the need to give children healthy starts in life, including the opportunity to learn and to be protected from harm. We work with community partners to ensure the unique needs of children are met and their voices are heard. Through the help of our dedicated donors and supporters, we work with children to realize their rights, transforming their lives and the future we share.”
For 100 years, Save the Children has been an established and trusted voice as the world’s leading independent organization for children. It’s committed to making a difference in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children, wherever they are.
A combination of compounding crises
“What we have in Colombia right now is a combination of crises,” says Maria Paula Martinez, Executive Director of Save the Children Colombia. “We’ve been experiencing armed conflict between different groups fighting for control of the territory for 70 years, mainly because of drug trafficking. We also have the migration crisis. Over the past few years, at least seven million Venezuelans have left their country to escape violence, the collapse of the Venezuelan economy, and political turmoil, and 2.3 million of those people have come to Colombia — the majority of whom are children and youth. Lastly, our people are also being
impacted by natural disasters and the effects of climate change.”
These crises, coupled with COVID restric tions in Colombia, have left many children and youth in unsafe situations and out of school.
“Non-attendance rates increased by 13.7 per cent in 2022 and in rural areas this has reached up to 30 per cent,” says Moorcroft. “According to Colombia’s Ministry of Education, for every 100 children in the education system, only 44 graduate. This is unacceptable.”
Beyond Borders
Save the Children is helping address this with its Colombia-based Beyond Borders project.
“Beyond Borders came about as part of the Canadian government’s $400 million commit ment to women and girls’ education in fragile, conflict, and crisis situations,” says Moorcroft.
“It’s a two-and-a-half-year, $11-million project funded in partnership with Global Affairs Canada that has reached more than 26,000 girls and boys affected by the conflict and crises on the Colombia-Venezuela border to support the realization of their right to quality, safe, and inclusive education.”
Beyond Borders focuses on three main pillars: increasing equitable access to education for children, improving the quality and gender-responsiveness of teaching and school provisions, and improving educational governance by strengthening policies, planning, and coordination to ensure the needs of crisis-affected children, particularly girls, are met. To accomplish this, Save the Children partners with numerous stakeholders, including local women’s organizations, schools, and government.
Bridging inequality gaps
“Investing in girls’ education, especially in a country like Colombia, contributes to bridging the inequality gaps,” says Martinez.
Beyond Borders supports children like Marcela*, who at age 13 was forced to leave Venezuela. Marcela and her family took refuge at the Colombian-Venezuelan border. Since arriving in Colombia, Marcela has faced discrimination, struggled in school, and during COVID, was unable to access virtual classes due to technology constraints. Through Beyond Borders, she became a member of a Girls’ Club, participated in a girl-led campaign “My Dreams Go With Me” for migrant girls to tell their stories, and secured a tablet to access virtual classes.
“Now I have the necessary tools to attend my classes,” says Marcela. “I have the talent to speak in public, and discovered that I want to continue being the voice of children. I’m learning so much with Beyond Borders, especially on the rights of girls and boys. We must demand our rights.”
Working together, Canadians can continue being champions of children’s education rights.
Norte de Santander, Colombia
Marcela is a 14-year-old migrant who lives in Norte de Santander and since 2020 has been linked to the Beyond Borders project in different childled advocacy activities. Recently, Marcela presented to the Congress of the Republic in Bogotá, Colombia about the most pressing needs of children, particularly migrant children, in Colombia.
When Marcela saw herself on a giant poster, she couldn't contain her excitement. She had travelled more than 637 kilometers from a rural area on the border between Colombia and Venezuela to the capital city to be a leader and represent the voices of migrant children and adolescents, as part of the commemoration of Congressional Children's Day. It's an experience she will never forget.
Marcela's experiences and those of dozens of migrant and Colombian children and adolescents living in Arauca, La Guajira and Norte de Santander were part of the gallery 'Building Our World' supported by Save the Children and the Government of Canada. The gallery showcased stories about the barriers to education and xenophobia, but also stories about girls' like Marcela's resilience to evoke change, and the importance of guaranteeing protective spaces for all children to learn and play.
Beyond Borders: advancing child rights with education in Colombia
9 Reasons to Invest
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Raise girls' voices
Prevent teenage pregnancy
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Break the cycle of poverty
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Promote peaceful communities
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BEYOND BORDERS: ADDRESSING AN EDUCATION CRISIS IN COLOMBIA
CSwitching to a Plant-Based Diet Can Reduce Global Warming and More
Canadians can significantly impact the planet’s health and their own wellness by eating plant-based foods.
Michele Sponangle
anadians are becoming more aware that what they eat can impact the planet. Changing the way we eat to embrace a plantbased diet is a game-changing decision that can put a stop to the environmental devastation caused by animal agriculture.
An estimated 15 to 25 per cent of global warming is attributed to animal agriculture, including the direct emissions and the impacts of deforestation. The industry also causes soil degradation and is extraordinarily wasteful of resources. Faced with a climate emergency, it’s clear a diet heavy in meat, dairy, and eggs is not sustainable.
Aiming for a plant-based, more sustainable world
Eating a plant-based diet not only benefits the environment, it also prevents animal suffering and has ample health benefits, such as lowering the risk
of many serious diseases. Earthsave Canada is leading the way and encouraging people to make mindful choices about what they eat. Its goal is to promote the widespread adoption of plant-based diets. In addition, the organization offers evidence-based education and promotes awareness of the many ways the plant-based lifestyle can lead to a more sustainable world.
In fact, if everyone switched to a plant-based diet right now, the results would be dramatic. It would be equivalent to removing 9 to 16 years of global fossil fuel CO2 emissions by 2050. As well, water usage would drop since raising and feeding farmed animals requires enormous amounts of fresh water. On average, it takes 100 times more water to produce animal protein than plant protein.
During Montreal's COP15 Biodiversity Summit, the NatureBus Tour collected messages of support for a plan to restore nature. On December 7, the messages were delivered to Prime Minister Trudeau at the UN NatureCOP conference in Montreal.
Katherine Cappellacci
Avoice for nature since 1939, Nature Canada is one of the country’s bestknown conservation charities and dedicates itself to discovering, defending, and restoring nature.
The environmental organization has helped protect over 110 million acres of parks and wildlife areas, along with the countless plant and animal species that call these areas home.
The organization believes that achieving racial justice and equality is critical for the well-being of nature. Its diverse network of local organizations, the Nature Network, is unparalleled, connecting and supporting over 1,200 groups across Canada.
Nature Canada makes enjoying and defending nature accessible through numerous programs and campaigns. Its strategies for protecting nature are backed by research and powered by a passion for the great outdoors.
Through late November and early December, the organization united its country-wide Nature Network for an exciting new campaign — the NatureBus Tour.
A critical summit
The NatureBus Tour campaign was created ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15 or NatureCOP), which is currently taking place in Montreal and will end December 19. There, representatives from
195 countries are convening to set an action plan for nature to cover the next decade.
The Canadian government joined the global 30x30 conservation coalition to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. But until now, there has yet to be a plan to accomplish this. That’s why COP15 has been incredibly important — it’s an opportunity for Canada’s actions to realign with its conservation goals.
And thanks to years-long negotiations, there’s hope that the convention attendees will sign a new international agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, to end and undo biodiversity loss over the next decade. Nature Canada recognizes how this could lead to the implementation of longawaited federal action plans and generate real progress.
Working toward a common goal
Thanks to this dynamic system of environmental promotors and protectors, the NatureBus Tour is a fun-filled, influential movement.
Nature Canada’s Nature Network helped organize country-wide bus stop events to draw the public’s attention to COP15. Like the root system of a tree, these different groups — birders, botanists, trail associations, wildlife centres, land trusts, and friends of local parks — came together to sustain a larger effort. Several exciting partnerships on the
The organization made this message known to all Canadians via a nationwide NatureBus Tour. The tour concluded in Montreal with three buses making stops across Ontario, British Columbia, and the Atlantic provinces. The buses delivered letters from people across the country to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at COP15.
tour included a collaboration with renowned artist Patrick Thompson, who worked with children to design art for the buses. Social media influencer and conservationist Blake Moynes also hosted a beach cleaning and polar bear dip in Hamilton. Even the Toronto Zoo offered discounted admission for those who put messages on the bus.
A hopeful future
Thanks to this dynamic system of environmental promotors and protectors, the NatureBus Tour turned out to be a fun-filled, influential movement. At COP15, Nature Canada let decision-makers know how important nature conservation is to Canadians.
Zoos Are Inspiring People to Contribute to the Important Ways They Are Helping to Protect Endangered Species
Advocating for the animals, leading conservation efforts by Toronto Zoo are having a global impact on species survival
Sonya Friesen
Zoos emerged out of humans' fascination with animals. However, what began as a means of facilitating wild experiences, has become a profession instrumental in ensuring that the creatures we’re excited to see remain here for years to come.
Over the years, accredited zoos have evolved into conservation-based, accredited science-led organizations, largely focused on spearheading research aimed at improving preservation efforts in the wild. This includes breeding programs helping to repopulate endangered species and reintroducing ani-
For almost 50 years, the Toronto Zoo has played a leading role in global conservation efforts that are dedicated to keeping these incredible animals and their wild counterparts from becoming extinct. While we spend our time at the zoo hoping to see animals in action, the exciting part is what’s going on behind
Habitat loss continues to be a primary driver of species decline, particularly for animals like Sumatran tigers, orangutans, and western lowland gorillas. Climate change continues to have an immense impact globally, and the palm oil industry remains one of the most critical threats to endangered species. Every day, hundreds of hectares of rainforest are logged for palm oil plantations, an oil found worldwide in many of the products we use. Species are forced to move, leading to fragmented populations. As a result of deforestation, animals have moved closer to people and poaching, human conf lict, and disease are becoming increasingly common. Tigers, gorillas, and orangutans are just three species now considered critically endangered, which is when population growth no longer outpaces population decline.
Luckily for their wild relatives, the Toronto Zoo and the animals in their care play a critical role in helping to solve these issues.
Finding harmony with tigers
“Our animals are ambassadors for their wild counterparts,” says Sarah Stata, who works with Toronto Zoo’s two Sumatran tigers. Big cats are synonymous with the Zoo, but with only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, the future of this particular big cat remains critical. Over the last hundred years, 97 per cent of the tiger population has been lost, and like many other rainforest species, Sumatran tigers have felt the impacts of habitat loss and resulting fragmentation first-hand. Humantiger conflict and retaliation killings have also increased tiger mortality.
Local farmers living on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park — where 35% of the remaining Sumatran tiger population
lives — are now forced to protect cattle from the encroaching carnivores, forced closer by deforestation.
Toronto Zoo supports the Sumatran Ranger Project, a keeper-driven initiative to educate, empower and provide resources to communities to help protect their cattle and reduce retaliation killings. Each year, the project employs locals to build tiger-proof livestock corrals, not only offering farmers a safe space for their cattle but alternative livelihood options for those who may have otherwise looked to the palm oil industry for work. “It’s about educating youth in the local communities, teaching them about the wildlife and how important they are, since they are the future and will ultimately be the change” says Stata.
Re-establishing wild orangutan populations
The Sumatran orangutan has also experienced the results of human-driven habitat changes.
“The Toronto Zoo is a part of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP),” says Maria Franke, Manager of Welfare Science for the Toronto Zoo. The mission of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) cooperatively managed SSP Program is to manage an ex situ species population with the interest and cooperation of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, Certified Related Facilities (CRFs), and Sustainability Partners. “An SSP helps maintain a genetically healthy population over multiple generations, for the benefit of preserving the species, but also focusing on conservation. The Toronto Zoo has been hugely successful in breeding orangutans. We’ve had 13 offspring!”
Of course, species survival takes a village.
“We have an endangered species reserve fund at the zoo that works to link zoo-based programs with conservation projects in the field,” says Franke. One of these projects is the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, which tackles everything from habitat protection to local population management and works directly with the Indonesian government to rescue animals taken into the illegal pet trade. A critical part of the work done by the organization includes reintroductions. Having rescued over 350 orangutans and completed 207 reintroductions, it's establishing wild populations through these animals rescued. Over the next 10 years, the Toronto Zoo Wild life Conservancy is continuing to support orangutans with $250,000, helping the program to continue with confidence in funding.
Giving gorillas a chance
This work isn’t restricted to Indonesia. Gorillas have been an integral part of the Toronto Zoo since 1974, with the original patriarch, Charles, still a vital member of the current breeding program. In the wild, gorillas face similar challenges to orangutans, and as their proximity to humans increases, they’ve been introduced to diseases
against which they aren’t inoculated. “We want to keep gorillas with us, and right now, they’re still here, so we need to do whatever it takes to keep it that way,” says Sue Eberth, a Toronto Zoo keeper working with the gorillas. The zoo’s cell phone collection program uses proceeds from unwanted technology and reinvests them in programs focused on conservation, and earlier this year, the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy announced $200,000 in funding to Ape Action Africa over 10 years. Ape Action Africa works to save and care for orphaned gorillas. A Cameroonian organization, the nonprofit was the first to successfully release a gorilla into the wild and continues to provide care to over 25 Western lowland gorillas over two decades later.
Leading the way
“Our niches are so fragile,” says Stata. These animals are vital to finding an equilibrium, and as Stata notes, what that collapse looks like could be devastating.
“We need to bring new voices and ensure that serving community and caring for the natural world for future generations is at the centre of all we do,” says Dolf DeJong, the President and CEO of the Toronto Zoo. The work being done at the Toronto Zoo —from connecting people to species they have never seen before, providing funding to animal conservation organizations to sharing actions guests can take— has played a remarkable role in progressing the work of these organizations on the ground. “We've seen some great connections between our programming on conservation issues like unsustainable palm oil and electronics recycling,” Dolf notes.
This year alone, the Toronto Zoo has committed thousands of dollars to partner organizations, helping to provide these non-profits, traditionally reliant year-over-year on grant funding, with guaranteed resources to continue their work. “By working together, we can make a difference,” says Eberth. “No one wants a world without these animals.”
As a leader in conservation and species survival, your Toronto Zoo is actively engaged in the fight against extinction. Our vision is a world where wildlife and wild spaces thrive, and your support will bring us one step closer to that vision becoming a reality.
YOU can help ensure that wildlife and wild spaces thrive by:
• Supporting our Enrichment Giving Tree
• Symbolically adopting a Toronto Zoo animal
• Leaving the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy a gift in your will
• Making a donation today by scanning the QR code
To learn more about our impact and the different ways to give, please visit wildlifeconservancy.ca.
