A curious thing about winter is that it seems to get in one last cold snap right before spring, and its usually the coldest and snowiest of the season.  In our 40 year old struggle to turn the cultural tide in favour of fundamental respect for life, we are in a comparable last and most intense phase.  How long it will be before we see the light breaking over the horizon of a new day in Canada we do not know, but we know that it is coming. The primary key to changing the culture is education. Quality, engaging, life-affirming education – which fully informs and powerfully inspires; which disarms defensiveness through its calm yet irrefutable approach; and which presents the disturbing truth about human-made threats to life yet gives primacy to their positive alternatives and to the goodness of valuing life. Toronto Right to Life has been providing this kind of education in Toronto and beyond for 40 years – through presentations to thousands annually, as well as through numerous events, publications and other proactive initiatives. 

Last year, your donations to Toronto Right to Life yielded:

• the education of 7,000 students and adults in our presentations

• the publication of a high school club manual and its distribution across Canada

• a Youth Conference attended by students from 18 schools

• the sponsoring of 357 ads on the Toronto subway system

• the formation of a nation-wide connection resource for high school pro-life clubs and other projects.

This educational year (starting in September) we have already educated over 6,000 in our presentations, are planning to open our Youth Conference to several other school districts, and are planning several other new major projects!  We do all this with a very lean budget and a staff of only 4.  Our mission-essential but minimal expenditures, however, are at present exceeding our income.  The economic downturn has resulted in decreased donations while expenses continue to increase as normal. We are falling short by about 6 to $7,000 monthly.  Obviously, we have limited reserves to remain in this situation for an extended period.  Therefore, we are making this Lenten appeal to you to contribute to our mission of vigorously “educating for life.” 

The tide is beginning to turn.  Polls consistently show a gradual but steady shift toward increasing respect for life. The opposition, knowing that science increasingly affirms the humanity and life of the unborn, and that a cultural shift is beginning, is getting nervous – now is the time to engage to the fullest!  We wish to increase our presentations, produce new resources, sponsor public advertising campaigns, host talks by renowned subject matter authorities, and with you, help take the human rights journey for Canada into its completion, when a life-respecting cultural majority will finally facilitate the establishment of the the ultimate human right into law.  This Lenten season, please donate generously to helping us build a future for Life in Canada!

Your tax-deductible donations can be made at our website, www.righttolife.to by clicking on the Canada Helps tab on the “Donate” page, by calling us at 416-483-7869, or you can simply fill out the online donation form and mail it to our office.  Thank you for choosing to secure the future! 

Paul Klotz

Executive Director

February 7, 2012: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Linda Baartse is Executive Director of the Pregnancy Care Centre (PCC), a Toronto non profit offering compassionate support to anyone facing an unexpected pregnancy. The PCC has helped over 4000 women over the past 25 years. Linda helps train support workers to listen, inform and offer hope to those who struggle with hard decisions in a crisis pregnancy. Before serving with the PCC, Linda worked 15 years in Central America and Africa as a Community Development Worker giving training and institutional support to rural women’s groups.

Past Talks

Your First Response Matters - Understanding the issues of women facing an unexpected pregnancy and offering support by learning practical response skills. 

Toronto Right to Life reached a historical milestone as the association celebrated its 40^th anniversary at our Annual General Meeting. TRL supporters and friends gathered at the North York Central Library on November 17 to hear the latest news, projects and upcoming events. We were most especially honoured to have the presence of Toronto Right to Life founder, Gwen Landolt, who shared her memories of the early years of the association and answered questions from the audience. As always, the night was not complete without recognizing a few distinct individuals who have demonstrated pro-life leadership through their hard work and dedication. Here are this year’s winners:

Laura McArthur Award for Outstanding Pro-life Leadership by a Youth was presented to

Alissa Golob, Youth Coordinator of Campaign Life Coalition.

June Scandiffio Award for Outstanding Pro-life Leadership in the Media was presented to

Salt & Light Television.

Gwen Landolt Award for Outstanding Pro-life Leadership was presented to

Kathy Matusiak, Executive Director of the deVeber Institute.

Dorothy Sullivan Award for Outstanding Pro-life Volunteer Work was presented to

Adam Giancola and accepted by Clarissa Luluquisin on his behalf.

It was truly a memorable evening to show our appreciation to all those who have been part of the TRL family over the past 40 years. Thank you to Gwen Landolt for her tireless efforts in promoting the culture of life, to all our award winners and most especially to our loyal supporters who have helped us make it this far. We couldn’t have done it without you!

 “The statutory word ‘person’ did not in these circumstances include women.”  – British Voting Rights case, 1909

 “The Reichsgericht itself refused to recognize Jews… as ‘persons’ in the legal sense.”  – German Supreme Court decision, 1936

 “The law of Canada does not recognize the unborn child as a legal person possessing rights.” – Canadian Supreme Court – Winnipeg Child and Family Services Case, 1997

Personhood has been used to both defend and deny the rights of people throughout history.  Society has redefined the meaning of personhood yet all human life must be respected and valued. 

So let’s go back to the beginning and ask this question…

Write a speech that answers this question and you may win:

First Prize $200

Second Prize $150

Third Prize $100

CONTEST RULES

1.  Contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12.

2.  The speech must be your own original work, however sources may be cited or borrowed.

3.  The speech must be 5 minutes maximum in length.

4.  The speech must represent the theme of the contest: What is a person?

5.  You must submit a written copy of the speech to the Toronto Right to Life office by April 30, 2012.

Students who effectively address the theme of the contest while supporting the pro-life view will have the honour of delivering their speech at a TRL “Sacredness of Life” event.  Date, time and location will be announced on our website – www.righttolife.to

Please send or drop off your entry to:

Toronto Right to Life Association

120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 302

Toronto, ON   M4P

You must submit a release form with your written speech. 

Click here to download a release form.

  Contact us for more information or click here  to download the Speech Contest poster.

Are you interested in working directly for the right to life?

Consider sitting on our Board!

If you are interested, contact the Toronto Right to Life office.

 FIRST PLACE

“Let Us Shine”

by Jo Eun Park

Grade 12 student of St. Joseph Morrow Park

SECOND PLACE  

“Life in a Smile”  

by Hanna Yakymova  

Grade 10 student of Bishop Allen Academy  

THIRD PLACE

“Every Life in our World is Precious!”

by Kaelyn Jihyeon Seok

Grade 10 student of St. Joseph Morrow Park

The Annual Toronto Right to Life Family Day was once again a huge success!  The event, which was held on Saturday, June 11 at Northmount School, gave families and supporters an opportunity to meet new friends, learn more about the work of TRL and celebrate life!  Families enjoyed delicious hamburgers and hotdogs as well as freshly baked goods kindly donated by some of our members.  The kiddies had a blast participating in various activities throughout the day including playing sports and doing arts and crafts, not to mention the bouncy castle which was a huge hit for both kids and the “young-at-heart.”

Thank you to the staff at Northmount School, to our wonderful volunteers for your hard work and most especially for all who attended.  We look forward to seeing you again next year!

This year’s Mother Daughter Tea, hosted by Toronto Right to Life, was held on Saturday, May 7 at Holy Redeemer Parish in Pickering.  The event was a wonderful occasion to express our love and appreciation to all mothers for their hard work and dedication throughout the years but most importantly, to say “thank you” for saying yes to life.  Guests arrived in style to enjoy an assortment of finger sandwiches, lemon squares, strawberry cupcakes and freshly brewed tea. 

The highlight of the event was an interactive and enlightening talk by guest speaker Dorothy Pilarski who shared her insights about how to take mother daughter relationships from good to great.  Everyone in attendance learned practical tips on how to strengthen bonds between mothers and daughters through communication, honesty and sharing common hobbies.

Many thanks to Dorothy Pilarski, our helpful volunteers, supporters and all those who attended for making the Mother Daughter Tea so special!

Check out our latest newsletter!

Featured Articles:

• Euthanasia: Legalized Killing’s Other Highway into Canada
• The Determing Factor of Humanity’s Future: How We See Individual Human Worth
• Re-opening the “Settled” Censored Issue of Abortion
  

And more…..

Click here to download.