THE CHILD ABUSE SURVIVOR MONUMENT PROJECT PHASE OF CREATING THE "REACHING OUT" CHILD ABUSE MONUMENT IS COMPLETED.

We are grateful to all those who: attended workshops to make the quilt squares; attended and were part of organizing our Research Forum at the Hinks Institute and our Information forum at the Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens; particpating in orgainzing and doing all to work of a cross Canada art and awareness tour; helped with sculpting the full sized Monument figures; built and rebuilt a web site over the years and help our with many exhibites and events over the years.

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. Recoginition of those who participated in The Survivor Monument Project and assisted Dr. Irving in sculting the "Reaching Out" Child Abuse Monument can be found on: Volunteers Who Have Given the Gift of Time and Assisting Sculptors. 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 -- The heARTWORKS Project the celebration of living from your heart and for your heart.

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

Previous to coming to the Monument Project , Al clint managed and worked directly with the public at exhibitions and displays across Canada for fifteen years. With the Monument Project he worked as a coordinator, a point person and a spokesperson. Al’s outgoing personality and adept ability for conversation and fine tuning business relationships helped him to be highly successful in soliciting in-kind donations.

Extensive traveling throughout Canada was 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 1999 and 2000 National Reaching Out Tour. It was a tremendous asset that Al has expertise in trucking and heavy machinery operation when managing the tour displays and vehicles.

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.

 

Debbie O’Rourke, Robyn Irving, Ph.D., Harold Toivainen, Alison Black, Spencer Whyne, Yuuko Kanagi and many volunteers have created a large project photo archive that is valuable for the ChildAbuseMonument.org Web Site and public awareness campaign content. The International School of Design and Technology, Hawk Productions and Molstar Entertainment have taken project archived materials and used them for Child Abuse Awareness Public Service Announcements. Clinicians, survivors and child abuse stakeholders developed and attended the research forum that generated the Information Highlights on What Canadians Need to Know about child abuse. These are used as information boards for quilt square art exhibitions and are resource materials for public awareness activities.

Children from across Canada provide visualization drawings and messages that are used for some of the quilt square content and are valuable contributions for the public awareness material content.

A network of musicians associated with Subtonic Monks volunteer to provide project events with music accompaniment ranging from high classical, through choral, jazz and steel band and reggae. Their range of music blends in with, and enhances, gatherings of doctors and business people or students and artists. Phil Sarazen, Glenn Gibson, Jeffory Burke, Peter Jarvis, Rick Monaco, Bridgette DeBernardi, Phil Morris, Andrew Frost, Glendale Phillips, Curtis Jones.

A variety of grocery stores, restaurants, high end chefs, and event organizers have rallied behind our cause to donate food and supplies for events. A group of project volunteers turn what is donated into some spectacular events.

Community Volunteers make significant contribution to every aspect of the project. The list above attests to the wide variety of professional and business people who volunteer to the project. These volunteers make up an even larger, active group, committed to the Reaching Out Monument project.

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

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.

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.