THE “REACHING OUT” MONUMENT SITE

I tried to tell.
No one believed me.
Sylvia

FLOWERS BLOOM

Beauty: roses represent life
pain and truth,
abuse in destruction,
brokeness, life and creation.
Flowers bloom,
are beautiful then die
bringing hope for the next generation
to journey through exhaustion,
distrust, lack of sleep and sadness,
hopeful for trusting to come is real
tiring and afraid
the sorrow and grief are also real.
The pain fades and then explodes
and comes real sad: pain fades again,
repetition: a part of the journey,
broken hearts and butterflies,
hopefulness is sometimes real
sometimes not real.
The afraidness fades
and the journey continues and
the roses bloom.

Sylvia

Silence is Deadly.
Our Voices and Stories
Must be Heard!
Derek D.

Sheldon Kennedy at the Maple Leaf Gardens exhibit of the Child Abuses Survivor Monument art, poetry and information highlights. After his skate across Canada, Sheldon donated an incredible 1 million dollars to Canadian Red Cross Abuse Prevention Services.

Michael painting the patina on Sheldon Kennedy's cast paper quilt square. The squares has a map of Canada with the route of Sheldon's skate along with the question, "Are we there yet?"

Martin's Hope

Free

I am tired of these binding restraints
I don't want this burden of unwarranted constraints
It's time to shed what I don't deserve
I want to live life with elan and verve
What will it be like to live life free
I'm willing to do anything to be the real me
So now I lay down my defenses and masks
to devote my energies to more productive tasks
I know it won't be easy to change my ways
but the results will be worth it, much happier days.

Stephen

TO BE HAPPY AGAIN

To be happy again
Would mean closure.
To learn for the first time
To let go and don’t look back.

To be happy again
Would mean healing
To learn for the first time
To trust and to live life

To be happy again
Would mean forgiveness ?
I am not sure about Forgiveness

Can I be happy again ?

Jennifer

FREEDOM

Freedom lost
innocence broken
dark holes linger past
empty dreams
forgotten hope

In change
pain travels through
finger tips
touch hurts
in the struggle

life began
in the dark somewhere
tiny sparkles of light
reaching
a lost hope

Climbing past
dark holes
finding lost dreams
tiny fingers of innocence
a gentle touch

light moves me slowly
forward to a child
stars in her eyes
reaching for me
old freedom found.

Donna

ELMO'S BALLOON OF WORDS

Elmo popped a big balloon
Rainbows are very beautiful
Birds eat Bugs
The Sky is blue
White and black are not colours
Triangles are shapes
Blue Jays are a baseball team
Red and blue make purple
Butterflies are pretty and colourful
Grover and Elmo are best of friends and buddies
Except they are different colours

It is good to be happy
and glad and proud
and joyful

Jessica

Discussions are occuring on the placement of the "Reaching Out" Monument in a prominent location downtown Toronto. The embracing nature of the figures is a comforting feature, easily drawing spectators into their space. Multitudes of people from our city, from the country and from around the world will pass by the “Reaching Out” Monument and under the arch created by the adjoining arms. The prominence of this work will increase as the years pass.

CREATING A LEGACY
MEANINGFUL LOCATION

The “Reaching Out” Program and Monument is an epic work of art and social initiative. The public is now prepared to take the awareness and response to child abuse a step further, along the path of acknowledgment and action.

LONG-TERM PROMOTION
OF THE SITE

Initial distributed material will review unveiling activities and will additionally detail the monument and its long-term role in providing support for survivors and those responding to concerns of child abuse. Pictures and maps for later reference and client referral will be included in these materials.

We already have media outlets who have made verbal commitments to run Public Service Announcements to advertise the “Reaching Out” as tourist attraction in Toronto. Conference organizers and event consultants have discussed special conference excursions to the monument.

The monument and its location is excellent content for magazine articles, guide books and tourist site lists. Schools, children’s church programs and social service providers have had field trips to the monument studio and have discussed the valuable role of the monument site as a place to visit to facilitate child abuse awareness, discussion and learning.

THE IMPACT OF
THE MONUMENT

Through the power of the monument images, everyone who spends time at the “Reaching Out” site will be impacted on both conscious and unconscious levels.

The final actualization of the bronze figures will have a dramatic and transformation effect on numerous survivors of abuse, the community and across the nation. The “Reaching Out” image is destined to become an easily recognized and identifiable symbol. This means everyone will be able to confront the difficult concerns of child abuse.

The widespread presence of the symbolism of the monument as part of the national psyche will help normalize society’s willingness and ability to address the issues of child abuse. It will be of value in fund raising for child abuse prevention and in rallying greater corporate sponsorship and partnership with child abuse concerns.

“When I imagine my sculpture up on the monument, sealed forever with other survivors’ creations, right out there for society to experience our heroism, our courage and our victories to overcome such horrendous criminal offences against child-humanity, I feel a great burden lift from my soul.

SPONSOR RECOGNITION
FOUNTAIN/WALL

At the installation site an adjacent granite wall provides a place for sponsor acknowledgment, a fountain and benches. An informal setting is created for resting, contemplation, talking, grieving and celebrating victory over adversity.

The granite Sponsor Recognition Wall/Fountain will be approximately 7 feet high and rest against the Galleria wall along with information on the Monument and its meaning and story. Sponsor and donor names will be carved into the granite with major donors receiving the most prominent location and size. A Premiere Sponsors’ name and logo will be in a prominent size and location on the “Reaching Out” Recognition Wall/Fountain. sponsor list

As a unique fountain, water will gently flow down from the top surface of the granite wall and flow across the sponsor and donor names. To create a damp hand print on a plain bronze quilt square of the monument, visitors will first rest their hand on the wet wall and therefore on or next to sponsor names. The connection by an individual with a corporate entity or a powerful personality will be a poignant and cherished experience for many visitors.

I am Reaching Out
to save the children
of the future.
Brian