Donation to Children's Aid

August 27, 2005 permalink

Following is a press release in which a company endeavors to create corporate goodwill by donating to the Children's Aid Foundation. Some more feedback such as that below might convince them to use some other charity for that purpose.

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August 27, 2005

Stephanie Diodati
Communications Manager
Transamerica Life Canada
(416) 883-5418
stephanie.diodati@aegoncanada.ca

Subject: Drive For Life Golf Tournament

Madam:

This letter is in response to your press release copied below. It contains the paragraph:

Transamerica will host 136 invited guests as they tee off at 10am in an effort to raise an additional $300,000 for the Children's Aid Foundation and The Jean Tweed Centre. The funds will go towards a Post-Secondary Education Endowment Fund, a new play area, and other programs to help children and at-risk mothers create a brighter future together.

Perhaps you are fooling us, but more likely the Children's Aid Foundation is fooling you. The Children's Aid Societies, supported by the Children's Aid Foundation, do not allow children and mothers to have any kind of a future together. They are in the business of separating children from their mothers, and permanently whenever practical. In the course of organizing opposition, I have accumulated the names of hundreds of mothers (and fathers) adversely affected with the actions of the Children's Aid Society because they have either lost their children, or been threatened with the loss of their children. There are also many foster care graduates, among whom none are pleased with the "care" they received while under-age. If you look into the matter, you will find it difficult or impossible to find a single parent or child happy with the "services" received from Children's Aid. You can read almost daily news of the atrocious conduct of this agency on my website listed below, or dozens of other websites created by victims of Children's Aid.

I suggest that your company can enhance its reputation by redirecting its charitable donations elsewhere.

Robert T McQuaid
RR 5
Orangeville Ontario L9W 2Z2

email:

rtmq@stn.net

web:

www.fixcas.com

news:

http://fixcas.com/news/news.htm

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Press release copied from the web at:

www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/
August2005/26/c3541.html

Attention News/Assignment/Photo Editors:
Transamerica Life Canada's Drive For Life Golf Tournament Tees Off August 30th

Tragically Hip founder Gord Downie to give live solo performance at Eagle's Nest

TORONTO, Aug. 26 /CNW/ - A major charitable commitment is driving Transamerica Life Canada's annual Drive For Life Golf Tournament. The tournament, which will feature an intimate live performance by Juno award-winning singer Gord Downie, will be held Tuesday, August 30th at the Eagle's Nest Golf Club in Maple, Ontario. Now in its ninth year, the event has already raised over $2 million for Canadian charitable organizations.

Transamerica will host 136 invited guests as they tee off at 10am in an effort to raise an additional $300,000 for the Children's Aid Foundation and The Jean Tweed Centre. The funds will go towards a Post-Secondary Education Endowment Fund, a new play area, and other programs to help children and at-risk mothers create a brighter future together.

"Children who suffer abuse and neglect, and women who struggle with addiction and substance abuse are among the most vulnerable members of society. We're delighted that every dollar raised through Drive For Life will go directly towards helping make a positive difference in their lives," said David Boone, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Services at Transamerica Life Canada.

"Transamerica is proud to be designated an Imagine Caring Company because of our long-term commitment to donating one per cent of annual pre-tax profits through our charitable giving program, in the spirit of hope," he added.

Previous Drive For Life tournaments have featured such prominent personalities as comedian Leslie Neilson, and Olympic speed-skating gold medalist Catriona LeMay Doan. "This year, we're honoured to have one of Canada's top musical talents lending support to our event," said Boone. "Mr. Downie will help us show others that it's possible to have a lot of fun, while also doing something valuable for the people of our community."

Photo opportunity:

Photographers and media representatives are invited to Eagle's Nest Golf Club on August 30, 2005. The event begins at 10am and Gord Downie is scheduled to perform at 7:30pm, following dinner.

About Transamerica Life Canada

Transamerica Life Canada is a member of the AEGON Group, one of the world's largest insurers. AEGON N.V. and Transamerica Life Canada have consistently received strong financial ratings from Standard & Poor's and A.M. Best Company. In 2004, Transamerica Life Canada had more than $600 million in gross life insurance premium and recorded almost $9 billion in total assets under management.

As an Imagine Caring Company, Transamerica Life Canada donates one per cent of annual pre-tax profits to in the spirit of hope, our charitable giving program, which in the last seven years raised more than $5.6 million for worthy charities in the communities in which we do business.

About The Children's Aid Foundation

The Children's Aid Foundation, a national organization, is committed to improving the lives of abused and neglected children through Education, Enrichment and Prevention.

About The Jean Tweed Centre

The Jean Tweed Centre is a caring and innovative centre that addresses the treatment needs of women with substance use and gambling concerns and their families. Providing specialized services to more than 1500 women, The Jean Tweed Centre is the largest such centre in Ontario.

For further information: Stephanie Diodati, Communications Manager, Transamerica Life Canada, (416) 883-5418, stephanie.diodati@aegoncanada.ca

Addendum: Here is another letter on the same topic dated August 28, 2005:

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Hello Stephanie Diodati,

My name is John Dunn. I am a former Crown Ward who lived in foster care for sixteen years. During that time, I was moved through thirteen placements and suffered abuse in a couple of the homes, not to mention the psycological trauma of moving so much, being uprooted from several schools and friends my whole life, simply because of the way the child welfare system is structured.

I created a thirteen minute documentary of my life in foster care which takes you on a virtual subway ride through the foster homes I lived in, as a way to open the eyes of the public as to how many foster children end up living as a result of the secrecy and "confidentiality" offered them by the child welfare system, which in effect, keeps us hidden from the public, and from any attempts to truly advocate for us.

I know there are good cases that come from CAS's work, I can not deny it, but there are literally thousands of children who suffer in foster care from emotional, physical and sexual abuse, all hidden from the scrutiny of the public eye.

Please, if you wish to help children and their families, consider helping them before CAS becomes involved in their lives... most of your donation will end up paying for legal fees of a Society attempting to terminate access to children in care by their natural mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters...

Please listen to my story which aired across Canada on CBC by clicking the link below:

http://web.ncf.ca/fe281/radio.html

Thank you

John Dunn
The Foster Care Council of Canada
http://web.ncf.ca/fe281/

Ontario Advisory Committee on Child and Youth Services
http://oaccys.proboards34.com/index.cgi