Breakfast With Santa Foundation®

President’s Report

President’s Report

Breakfast With Santa Foundation
Annual General Meeting February 7, 2019

Breakfast With Santa Foundation saw 2018 as its 32nd year of existence, although it started as a non-registered, not-for-profit charity operating as Breakfast With Santa.
It was with much pride and exhilaration I was able to register the charity in 2000 as a non-profit charity and as a foundation in 2002.
Since then we have conquered many challenges, considerably increased our annual revenue in terms of donations and corporate sponsorships as well as awareness of our work in the community and fed thousands of hungry children! I’m extremely proud of our Board and the wonderful volunteers who dedicate their time, hard work, passion and belief in what started as my vision and quickly became our Vision Statement:  

To be a portal of hope to the enhancement to a child’s quality of life.

I welcome our re-elected Board Members and I am extremely fortunate to be able to welcome our newly elected Board Member Mr. Imran Hasan. Mr. Hasan is highly respect in our communities, an accomplished entrepreneur and professional and a passionate visionary especially when it pertains to children. Welcome! On a bitter-sweet note and after 20 wonderful years of passion for the work we do, hard work, enthusiasm, dedication and friendship not only to all of us on the Board but to the families and children we help as well, we see Dawn and Stephen Pullar retire from the Board of Directors. This, as they have assured me, is not a good-bye as they will always support us as much as their busy lives allow, and, I know their hearts will always belong to Breakfast With Santa Foundation. Dawn and Stephen have been a very integral part of our success over the years and until I am able to find a word that perfectly fits our gratitude, Thank you dear friends! In 2018 we continued to offer the following very successful and needed programs:
  • A Snack at a Time – feeding hungry children who arrive in school having had no breakfast and not bringing snacks, lunch nor drinks.
    We provided 45,000 nutritious meals to ensure those children received the proper nutrition every child needs.
  • Summer Breakfast Program – feeding hungry children who attend sponsored camps and who ordinarily depend on school breakfast programs for their daily nutrition.
    We provided 5,750 nutritious breakfasts.
  • Salad Days under our Nutrition 101 Program – teaching children how to prepare nutritious salads, their nutritional values and they consume those wonderfully fresh and delicious salads for their lunch that day.
  • Back to School Back Pack Drive – not as many as in 2017 but still a healthy number of 120 distributed to children in need of them.
  • Coat Drive – due to my health issues this drive was very subtle. Mr. Imran Hasan was kind enough to donate 50 coats and scarves and we did receive other donations.
    We were able to still donate 80 coats which were distributed to families in dire need before Christmas.
  • A Morning with Santa Christmas Breakfasts – we hosted 4 very successful mornings in December.

We have been very fortunate to have the partnership of amazing corporate donations making these breakfasts a reality.

A great big thank you to Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons Peel Restaurant Owners, Nancy Osberg and Andrea Polkinghorne, Amazon Fulfillment Canada, Meeting Professionals International, Toronto Chapter, The Molinaro Family, The Mississauga Convention Centre and the Mississauga Grand Banquet & Event Centre, Robert Half.

Breakfast With Santa Foundation received several requests from schools, families from the community but not registered with any community organizations dealing with hunger or poverty to attend our A Morning With Santa Program.

The demographics in our communities are changing and more often then what we were used to see in previous years.

We also learned the school boards are eliminating the Community Outreach Workers positions and will only have Settlement Workers by June of 2020

This is very worrisome as we fear the children and families (and there are many) who are now falling through the cracks due to the fact they either are not registered to receive any help or barely surpass the income limit to be able to receive help will increase drastically.

We work closely with the Community Outreach Workers in schools in order to receive referrals to our programs.  These referrals are families/children who are exceptionally limited in their resources and suffering from food and financial insecurity. In other words, no matter how one dissects the politically correctness, they are hungry and poor, needing help.

Without the help of these Community Outreach Workers I am fearful many families who do not fall under the Settlement Worker’s jurisdiction will be over-looked. This is extremely disturbing.

We need to find ways to collaborate directly with the community, churches of all denominations, social clubs, organizations in the community dealing with poverty, homelessness, and shelters.  We MUST reach those suffering in silence.

On a positive note, our Barbarossa The Return of the Pirates was an amazing success factoring in the attendance was 128 people and we raised $6,484.43!!!!!

A great big THANK YOU to all our sponsors, donors and the outstanding engagement of our Fundraising Committee. Well done! It was an incredible night!

Our Financial Statements for 2018 are not completed as of today as our year end is the 31 of December.  They should be completed by the end of this month.

My work load has been increasing steadily as well as the Board’s.  We need to work diligently to obtain a grant to hire an Administrative Assistant.

Going forward, a clearer definition of each Board of Directors position has been drafted and will be re-visited as a per need basis.

I am very excited and looking forward to a very productive and successful year with renewed confidence in our Board of Directors, partners, sponsors, donors, volunteers and new collaborative initiatives both with corporations as well as individuals.

It’s a privilege to serve my community with such outstanding individuals who share my vision, passion and desire to eradicate child hunger.

A smile at a time,

Maria Fátima Esteves
President  & Founder

Team

Our Board Of Directors

Maria de Fátima Esteves

Director

Maria de Fátima Esteves

Maria de Fátima founded Breakfast With Santa Foundation 39 years ago with the support of her husband Henry Esteves. Maria and Henry have been married for 51 years and are proud parents to Silvie Esteves. Maria de Fátima has been battling Lupus for the past 46 years. Throughout the years she has held positions in the banking, medical, governmental, and entrepreneurial fields. For the past 39 years she has been involved in a great number of volunteer efforts by implementing, organizing and promoting various events and programs. However, it is Breakfast With Santa Foundation that has touched her heart and soul and is the pride and joy of all the volunteer programs she has created, organized, implemented and promoted since she founded this charity. Maria de Fátima has won the Volunteer of the Year Award for her convention work, was nominated for the 1999 Modern Women Magazine/Flare Volutneer Awards as well as having been nominated for the 1999 Women on the Move Volunteer Awards of The Toronto Sun. Recognized by the Absolutely Fabulous Women over Forty in 2016. Maria de Fátima was also awarded the Charity of the Year Award by Brilliant Minded Women in 2017. She is also very proud to have received The Cultural Heritage Award given by the Credits, Heritage Mississauga Awards for her book in 2019. Maria de Fátima was presented with the Business Excellence Humanitarian Award by the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business & Professionals in 2023. Maria de Fátima also self published a cook book entitled “Portugal at your Table” in 2012. Maria de Fátima Co-Founded and held the position of  President of  Portugalo-Portuguese Heritage Inc.  from 2021 – 2023.

Trina Christie

President & Founder

Trina Christie

I grew up in Mississauga, went to University in Ottawa and currently reside in Oakville with my husband and teenage daughter. Giving back by way of volunteering in local communities with charitable organizations has always been a part of my life.

Alfreda Zaher

Director

Alfreda Zaher

Born and raised in Toronto, married in 1971 and have 2 beautiful girls and 2 grandchildren. I love to travel and most of my dreams of visiting various places have been fulfilled...e.g. The Pyramids in Egypt, Petra in Jordan, The Holy Land of Palestine, Dubai, Alaska, Iceland, and Canadian Rockies. I even sailed through the Arctic Circle this past September. I was employed by Air Canada for 15 years, and retired 17 years ago from Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board. At that time I began to volunteer with Breakfast With Santa Foundation and have volunteered for the past 17 years.

Samir Zaher

Treasurer

Samir Zaher

Born and raised in Haifa, Palestine and at the age of 23 in 1967 I immigrated to Canada, where I met my wife 2 and a half years later and we married in 1971. I have 2 beautiful daughters and 2 grandchildren.
I love to travel and have been to many countries over the years, my favourite places were Barcelona, Spain and Istanbul, Turkey. I cruise once a year and continue to do so.
I worked for General Motors for 12 years and retired from Förd Electronics 22 years ago.
I have been with Breakfast With Santa Foundation, for 11 years in the capacity of Treasurer.

Marilyn Marshall

Director

Marilyn Marshall

I am a mother of four, seven grandkids and one great grandson. I have been retired from the Toronto Board of Education for 11 years, I was the office secretary and really enjoyed working with the kids. Breakfast with Santa is such a pleasure to be part of such amazing volunteers helping children in need.  

Henry Esteves

Safety and Transportation Director

Henry Esteves

Henry is retired from O.P.G. (Ontario Power Generation) where he held managerial positions for over 20 years. A steamfitter by profession prior to having joined O.P.G., Henry worked in this field for 22 years. An avid soccer fan, Henry played semi-professional soccer for the First Portuguese Canadian Cultural Centre and coached youth groups Under 15 Whitby Teams. A dedicated Board Member and volunteer for 39 years, he has been extremely instrumental in the success of Breakfast With Santa Foundation and a pillar of support to his wife, Maria de Fátima Esteves, our Founder. He enjoys golfing, dancing, travelling, and spending time with his family and dear friends.

Maisa Salhia

Director

Maisa Salhia

Maisa Salhia is a long standing member of Mississauga, with strong ties to the community. She leads a successful career in sales & marketing through multi-media with international corporations, national companies, and local businesses.  Maisa is a dedicated volunteer for many charities in her community, which provides her with a deep understanding and caring for others around her.  “Our future for living in a better tomorrow is through working to build a strong society. Let’s strengthen the foundation of our youth and newcomers by giving them sustenance, basic needs and ways to thrive. Together we can get there!”

Tenci Leite

Secretary

Tenci Leite

Tenci’s roots are embedded by parents who left the island of Azores, Portugal, to live a decade in São Paulo, Brazil, to then permanently immigrate to Toronto, Ontario, Canada  in 1969.  With an understanding, and knowing firsthand of the struggles children and their families face when introduced to a new country and language, a diversified culture and academic challenges; parents seeking well paying occupations in order to provide food, shelter and basic need for their family, compassion settled in. Currently holding a managerial position in the Public Service Sector with Legal Aid Ontario, and sitting on a (second) Board of Directors for a non-profit Corporation, it reinforces morals and values of being fair, honest and to act in the best interest of individuals by insuring funds are received and well spent, meeting all regulations as well as immediate demands while adhering to the governing vision and mandate in a responsible, transparent and ethical manner. Proud of being the Board Secretary for B.W.S.F. and to be able to volunteer, gladly contribute, give-back to the Community so children and their families can have (in some-way) basic necessities, snacks, a meal, clothing  which will give them hope, a reason to smile as well as to know that we deeply care for their well-being and they, too, have  a chance, as she did, for success.

Teresa DeLuca

Vice-President

Teresa DeLuca

My name is Teresa DeLuca, I am a long time resident of Mississauga having retired from a 35+ year career with a local media company.  I am the proud mother of 3 children and 4 grandchildren. Making a difference in the lives of families in need is my passion. Being part of the dedicated team at Breakfast with Santa Foundation for more than 20 years has allowed me to fulfill my passion.