In our Hood

Big donation for a little kid! Adriana Le Donne got a surprise when her three-year-old daughter Valentina decided it was a good idea to donate a 12-inch length of her hair to the Angel Hair for Kids program. It was then that Adriana’s own mother remembered that she’d kept a 15-inch length of Adriana’s hair from the time she was a child! Valentina and her mom made their donation together. Angel Hair for Kids provides wigs and hair loss solutions to financially disadvantaged children in Canada who need them because of a medical condition or treatment. New to Leaside as of last summer, Valentina now attends junior kindergarten at St. Anselm’s Public School. Well done, Valentina – you’re a star! 

Get those cans and non-perishable food items ready. In fact, why not put them in a bag now so they’re ready to go? Collection for Leaside’s Annual Community Food Drive takes place after 9.30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30. Those who’d like to help, come on out to Leaside Presbyterian Church (Eglinton and Hanna) to pick up a route. (Students can earn community volunteer hours). Live in a condo or apartment?  Contributions can be brought to Leaside Presbyterian Church on that day.

Congratulations to First Capital Realty. Recently, the Canadian company received a Gold Maple Leaf Award for Design and Development Excellence for Leaside Village shopping centre on Laird Dr. The award also acknowledged the public-spirited work of restoring the railway maintenance building, which now houses Longos. Longos took an active part in the project, footing the bill for the careful restoration of the building inside and out, which included cleaning the wooden ceiling and bringing it up to “food grade”.

Former Leaside High School student Owen Sheppard is now an award- winning Toronto-based filmmaker, writer and visual artist who gets to do the teaching himself. After Leaside High, Owen earned a fine arts degree in film and videography. This November, Owen and fellow videographer Lokchi Lam are presenting a filmmaking workshop for youth eight and older. It’s part of the Film Literacy Project that brings film-making skills to people who don’t know what it’s all about. Proceeds from this workshop support similar workshops offered at no cost to low-income and marginalized communities. Owen has worked on projects in both Toronto and Nairobi, Kenya.

What’s up in the neighbourhood? If you’re new to Leaside or need to remind yourself of all the activities happening in the community, check out the Leaside 100 Community Celebration on Dec. 1. Recreational groups and clubs that bring activities for all ages will be represented at what is expected to be the first of an annual gathering. Admission to the public is free. For more information:

And speaking of talent in the area, Leaside High School art students will be displaying their art at the Community Celebration. It’s worth a look to see how much talent is just around the corner at Leaside, long known for its excellent art program

Leaside High School track and field is off to a roaring start. The cross country team recently had a great race in Durham Forest, with a Leaside student coming first and leading the junior boys to a second-place finish.