THE MONUMENT AND REACHING OUT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TEAM

The content and people’s activities for the campaign since its inception and the ChildAbuseMonument.org Web Site are highly interrelated. The basic nature of a truly multidisciplinary and holistic approach is that all components are, by definition, inseparable from each other. Every attempt is made to recognize all who participated in the project, unless individuals indicated they preferred anonymity.

(For more names of those who have assisted us as part of the "Reaching Out" team please see: Volunteers Who Have Given the Gift of Time. If we missed you please send an e-mail with your name and activity so we may honour your contribution.) mci@irvingstudios.com.

Sculptor/Psychotherapist, Michael C. Irving, Ph.D. is the initial creator of Reaching Out and the Child Abuse Survivor Monument Project. Though his talents are multi-faceted, he has been active in education, psychotherapy, art, business and writing throughout his life. He practices private psychotherapy and works with a wide variety of issues, though his skill and extensive research is primarily with survivors of child abuse and child sexual abuse. A talented sculptor, he has been selling and exhibiting sculpture in a wide variety of mediums for more than thirty years. His stone and bronze sculptures are in private and corporate collections and have been exhibited internationally.

Dr. Irving has won awards in art, community peace building and for his work in protecting children. He has published and lectured on art, myth and psychology, and featured in print, radio and television media. His vision that art and cultural activities can bring about meaningful understanding and effect substantial change, personally and socially, guides the focused determination of Dr. Irving.

He is currently in the development of another major social action art project -- Wakinyan Awasis, a sacred site to honour the spirit of the child.

CHERYL IRVING, CHAIR OF THE BOARD

Cheryl Irving is the major figure responsible for the successful 1999 Give us a Hand Tour. She has always been instrumental is guiding the ship of Reaching Out and The Child Abuse Survivor Monument Project. For several years she dedicated her time to seeing the project through its pinnacle phase. Cheryl is one of three people who are most knowledgeable about the Reaching Out project and programs. As a psychotherapist with more than fifteen years of experience in child abuse issues, Cheryl brings particular sensitivity to the project’s needs. She has a keen understanding of the role of art in personal and social healing and has extended her talents to managing more than a hundred shows, exhibitions and displays in a variety of venues. Cheryl’s greatest skills are her abilities to evaluate, analyze, strategic plan and organize.

WALLACE (AL) CLINT, MARKETING AND PROJECT AMBASSADOR

Al has been managing and working directly with the public at exhibitions and displays across Canada for fifteen years. He works as a coordinator, a point person and a spokesperson. Al’s outgoing personality and adept ability for conversation and fine tuning business relationships helps him to be highly successful in soliciting in-kind donations.

Extensive traveling throughout Canada has been a favorite pastime of Al’s for more than fifty-five years. His love of travel and his sensitivity to the community’s response to the project messages on the concerns of child abuse, place Al in a unique position to be the point person traveling with the National Reaching Out Tour. It is a tremendous asset that Al has expertise in trucking and heavy machinery operation when managing the tour displays and vehicles.

MARK CONACHER, PHASE THREE PROJECTS MANAGER AND MEDIA RELATIONS

Mark was an executive with the Ontario Public Service for over 20 years including stints with the Office of the Children's Lawyer, Executive Assistant to the Attorney General, Executive Director of the Police Complaints Commissioner's Office and latterly as Director of Corporate Relations for the Ontario Securities Commission. He is one of the founders of The Teresa Group, a charitable agency working with the Hospital for Sick Children to support families with children with HIV/AIDS.

Mark's diverse and broad experience and connections with the business and public sector communities were instrumental in facilitating valuable interest and support for our Phase III Activities. Mark was key to leading the project in the phase of turning the project's art and writing into public awareness materials.

SUMMER REA, FUNDRAISER; PHASE THREE

Summer Rea comes to us from Oakville where she ran her own business doing commercial and residential interior design. As a survivor of childhood abuse, Summer participated in our workshops and has her hand on the Survivor Monument. Summer volunteered at events where the Monument was displayed, speaking with people that would come up and ask questions, but she always wanted to ‘do more’, to contribute in a larger way. After volunteering for the newsletter, it was suggested to her that she do fundraising for the Monument Project – she jumped at the opportunity.

Being a survivor of child abuse, Summer has a vested interest in wanting to put an end to child abuse. Although skeptics tell her she is unrealistic, she forges on, believing that all that is necessary to bring an end to child abuse, is to shine a glaring light on abuse, so that it becomes socially unacceptable to allow it to continue. To quote Summer, “In the 60’s, who would have believed that drinking and driving would become socially unacceptable? Remember how people would say,‘Don’t go home now. Well, if you must, at least have one for the road.’ Drinking and driving wasn’t frowned upon and yet now, people are embarrassed (as they should be) if they are found drinking and driving. The same can be said of smoking. In 1983, when I wouldn’t let my husband smoke in the house, people were appalled that I wouldn’t let him smoke in his own house. I responded with, ‘They are my lungs’. Times are changing and I am determined that before I die, child abuse of any kind will no longer be tolerated and victims won’t feel shame for what was done to them.” Although not a “professional” fundraiser, Summer did wonders for furthering our cause and bringing in donations for awareness activities. We are grateful for her contributions.

LYNN PEARSON, VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR PHASE THREE

Lynn has been a professional coordinator of volunteer resources in a social service setting for 10 years. She was formerly a Volunteer Coordinator for the York Region Abuse Programme and Manager of Volunteer and Communications Services for the York Region Children's Aid Society and currently serves as a volunteer on the Abuse and Assault Committee of York Region.

Lynn served as an advisor on the support and participation of volunteers since the early days of the Monument Project. Lynn was key to the organization and implementation of the projects activities surrounding participation in Child Abuse Awareness Month, October 2001. Upon completion of the many activities of that campaign she began right away planning and organizing the next year's Awareness Month.

JUAN CARLOS VELA, WEBMASTER
Dozens of people have contributed significantly to creating and maintaining the web site Juan Carlos shares the webmaster responsibilities with Michael Irving.

BRADFIELD CHINHENGO, COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Brad works with an energetic team of men and women who make sure our computers are working.

COMMUNITY RESOURCE, NETWORK SUPPORT AND ADJUNCT SCULPTING TEAM

The Project Team for the National Awareness Program, Tour and Site Launch is drawn from many sources. The variety and degree of people involved speaks of the maturity of the Reaching Out Program.

Hundreds of community participants helped to create the quilt squares and poems completed on the monument as well as the images and messages used in the Public Awareness Campaign.

Marina and Vagif work with the meticulous detail of applying quilt squares

Michael C. Irving, Ph.D., Tsuyoshi Matsuura, Nina Bregman, Marina Reshetnikova, Doug Robinson, Debbie O’Roark, Mike Maston, Greg Angus, Vagif Rakhmanov and Phil Sarazen created an international representation of highly skilled professional sculptors and artists who cleaned up the quilt squares, sculpted the full size monument figures, and applied quilt boarders and quilt squares to the monument. Their extraordinary contribution assists in creating the professionally finished, high quality monument and widely distributed public awareness materials. Sid Murray and Garry Bakuniec fabricated custom tools and industrial patterns specifically for the monument sculpting.

Agnes Samler, E.D., her Board of Directors and the many staff of the Toronto Association for community living have recognized the significance of education, protection and healing for the most vulnerable in society. In providing space and many work environment comforts they have been the largest contributers to The Survivor Monument Project.

The work and donation of these high quality commercial art people is supported with further donations for promotional materials and services from Adanac Press, Business Depot, First Impressions, Kinkos, Picotte Plastics, Warehouse Plastics, Captain Copy, CP Used, In-Kind Canada, Design International, DEB Video Productions. Gwartzman Canvas and Art Supplies, Peter McCann Architectural Models, Self Serve Copy Centre, Toronto Image Works, MacWarehouse, Intercity Printing, Copies With Edge, Artistat, ARRIS Inc., Cira Co., Command Print.

The Board of Directors is comprised of an artist, an accountant, an educator and two psychotherapists. The project began as a grassroots organization of professionals and community members with a direct or secondary witness stakeholder interest in responding to the tragedy of child abuse. The board is made up of an array individuals who collectively have an understanding of the basic activity areas of the project and have a great personal dedication to seeing the project through its three millennium phases. The project board has never been a collection of high-powered business or political people taking the project under their wings, rather this has been the role of Circle of Friends.

THE REACHING OUT MONUMENT’S CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

Our Circle Of Friends membership is headed by Sylvia Fraser, Chair and represent the media, politics, business, the arts, sports, social activists and the nonprofit sector. At critical times and developments the Circle of Friends offer advice, direction and networking.

The Circle of Friends includes:

Sylvia Fraser Author CHAIR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
Doris Anderson O.C. Chair, Canadian Press Council	Senator Sharon Carstairs Senate Liberal Leader The Senate of Canada	Audrey McLaughlin Former Leader, NDP
Mark Askin Producer Molstar	Senator Thelma Chalifoux The Senate of Canada	Hon. R. Roy McMurtry Chief Justice of Ontario
Margaret Atwood Novelist	Ken Dryden President & CEO Toronto Maple Leafs	Charles Pachter O.C. Artist
Isabel Bassett Chair, TV Ontario Former Ontario Minister of Culture	Jack Emack & Ruth Bertelsen Film Makers Banff Film Festival	Jack Pearpoint Centre for Integrated Education & Community
Anne Harris International Sculptor	Senator Douglas Roache The Senate of Canada	Lorne Braithwaite President & CEO Cambridge Shopping Centres Ltd.
	Ralph Hoskins CEO Graphic Alternatives & Communications
Rob Butler Former Toronto Blue Jay Speaker on Child Abuse	Gordon Kirke Q.C. Children’s Advocate in Sports	Richard Silver Real Estate Community Fundraiser & Activist
Senator Catherine Callbeck The Senate of Canada	Colleen Klein Office of the Premier of Alberta	Allan Slaight Executive Chairman Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd.
June Callwood O.C.O.Ont. Journalist	Dale Lastman Co-Chair Goodman, Phillips & Vineberg	Larry Tanenbaum President & CEO Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Ltd

COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

The Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness provided, for a time our Revenue Canada Charitable Number Sponsoring. Ellen Campbell, Executive Director and Sanderson Layng, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness have given the project support, advice and direction for five years. The Centre has hosted "Reaching Out" exhibits at their events over the years and has participated as a partner/sponsor of our 1999 national tour, awareness campaign and other local "Reaching Out" activities.

The Canadian Red Cross Abuse Prevention Services (APS) were the major participating partners of the 1999 Give Us A Hand Tour and public awareness campaign. They provided several staff people in each of the thirteen cities of the campaign and organized for us an even larger number of trained volunteers. APS will continue to participate in another tour, and in the unveiling and content for building and developing the ChildAbuseMonument.org Web Site.

Child Welfare League of Canada (CWLC) is in discussions with us as participants in the "Reaching Out" National Tour and the Monument Unveiling. The launching of the first Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month for the new millennium took place in conjection with CWLC and several of its partners. CWLC partners with most of the agencies and programs in the country responding to child well being, and child abuse concerns. As partners they would would be able to provide us with extraordinary resources and liaisons for various activities associated with the Reaching Out National Tour, the Monument Unveiling and the promotion of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month to a national scale.

Children’s Aid Society of Toronto Foundation (CASTF) was a partner in out 2001 "Reaching Out" launch of the first child abuse awareness month of the millenniium. They have used the "Reaching Out" cast paper quilt sqares for awards and acknowledgement gifts. We look forward to a continuing significant relationship with a number of elements of "Reaching Out" and the potential of its legacy.