I Am More Than…

At the 72^nd Annual General Meeting of JVS Toronto on September 25, we shared how complexity of needs is a growing trend among the individuals we are seeing throughout our employment centres and across our programs.  

In this year’s annual report, our theme is: “I am more than”.

• I am more than the neighbourhood I come from.
• I am more than someone who didn’t finish high school.
• I am more than my disability.
• I am more than a newcomer to Canada.
• I am more than an older worker. 

This theme reflects the fact that when individuals come to us looking for help on their journey to employment, there is often more to their story than what we see on the surface. Individuals are juggling an array of personal circumstances, many of which are complex.  We need to recognize that when they come through our doors they are more than just a person looking for work.

JVS Toronto is a multi service organization offering services to many client populations. While their stories and circumstances may be different, for all of these populations, there is usually more complexity to their situations than we see right away.    

At JVS Toronto, our vision is that every individual has opportunities for employment. We can’t achieve this vision alone. We rely on the support of donors, government, funders, employers and community partners to create and deliver specialized programs and services that address the unique and complex needs of the clients we serve.

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Recognizing client success, and the contributions of volunteers and employers, has been a staple each year at JVS Toronto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).  On September 25, JVS Toronto presented its AGM Awards to six very deserving recipients.

“Our award winners all have one thing in common,” said Jonathan Kopman, Board of Directors Chair, when introducing the 2019 awards presentation, “they made a commitment to use our services. Whether they are a client or a volunteer, we honoured them for making that commitment to better their lives and the lives of others.”

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Agency founder, Max Enkin, was part of a group of Jewish business leaders who started the agency in 1947 to provide employment and vocational services to Holocaust survivors and veterans of the Second World War. Between 1948 and 1949, he was also involved in bringing Jewish Holocaust survivors to Canada from Europe after the war as part of the Garment Workers Scheme, now known as The Tailor Project.  

Read more here about The Tailor Project.

Recently, during Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah; JVS Toronto attended A Common Thread: Celebrating the Untold Stories of The Tailor Project at Holy Blossom Temple. The event honoured Max Enkin and others who were instrumental in bringing Jewish people to Canada from the deportation camps after World War II as part of The Tailor Project. 

The success of this event and importance of The Tailor Project lead event participants, Larry Enkin (Max’s son) and Paul Klein, CEO and Founder of Impakt, to receive an invitation to appear on an episode of The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Larry Enkin and Paul Klein included Kim Coulter, President and CEO of JVS Toronto, in the interview to provide the perspective of connecting immigrants to jobs in Canada, then and now, to ensure they can lead self-sufficient, meaningful lives. 

Watch us on The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Untold Stories of The Tailor Project.  

Read more about JVS Toronto’s newcomer employment services here and Jewish community employment services here.

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Watch the trailer of The Tailor Project documentary.