A Fall to remember at GNAG!

What I have learned from my first summer camp season at GNAG:

• The staff, and I mean all the staff in the building, go above and beyond every single day to ensure the best possible experience for every child in camp.
• You will be in shock at how many kind parents, residents and clients will come up to welcome you into the community.

And…

• Paul O’Donnell will catapult eggs at you, tell you to catch them and that will just be a normal Wednesday. For the record, I did not catch a single egg.

I want to thank everyone in the community who has supported GNAG by sending their children and teens to our amazing camps. Not only does your support help our organization, it also means creating local summer job opportunities for youth and young adults within the neighbourhood. Most of the amazing and engaging staff that I have had the pleasure of meeting this summer once attended GNAG camps or leadership programming as children. Seeing these individuals come back years later for summer jobs truly highlights the full circle effect of community recreation.

To the managers, staff, junior counsellors, maintenance team and volunteers, none of this would be possible without you. We are so lucky to have this many talented and dedicated members of this organization. Thank you!

I love summer and I am always sad to see it go, but I’m feeling excited that fall is around the corner. And no, I’m not just talking about fall fashion, I’m looking forward to the new programming at GNAG. With the return of more in-person programming and new activities for the whole family, this is going to be a fall to remember!

There are several new specialty programs that we are excited to be hosting and can’t wait to tell you about!

New parent and pregnancy programming will be back this fall, including certified doula Maggie Armstrong, to offer support with postpartum preparations, birthing techniques and breastfeeding basics.

Inner Fire Martial Arts is joining the GNAG family. Coach Ian Parsneau teaches more than just martial arts to your children, he offers crucial and meaningful life skills. Ian also includes relationship building, respectful communication and first aid during the coaches’ corners section of his programming.

After-school basketball is here with coach Aaron Rados. Aaron has been coaching children’s and adult basketball in Toronto for the past 10 years and is bringing his skills to the Glebe. I have seen first-hand how fun and engaging he is as a coach and how much confidence his teaching provides to children and teens in all levels of basketball training.

All fall programming is open for registration and the fall program guide is available online. In addition, we’ve brought back printed copies which are available at the Glebe Community Centre for those who like to flip through and circle the programs they are interested in.

Breakfast Club (before school) & Quest-4-Fun (after school)
(JK-Grade 6)
As more parents and guardians head back to work, we are getting more requests for before-and after-school programming. We are here to support your families with fun, entertaining, safe and educational activities every day before and after school. For more information, please contact Ali@gnag.ca.

Financial Assistance
We have provided over $6,500 of financial assistance for Summer Camp this year and are thrilled to continue to provide this service to the community. All subsidies are drawn directly from GNAG’s Community Development Fund and we have more to give out. We provide separate subsidies for childcare, camps and programming for both adults and youth. All applications are confidential and we can answer any questions on site or via email at info@gnag.ca. Please see our Financial Assistance page on www.gnag.ca to see if you or your family qualifies. We strive for accessible recreation for all participants at GNAG.

GNAG Annual General Meeting
We will be hosting the Annual General Meeting this year on site and in person at the Glebe Community Centre, Wednesday, September 21 at 7 p.m. We will be reviewing and celebrating making it through another year of the pandemic, paying tribute to the 2021-22 board members, and electing our new board of directors for 2022-23.

Are you interested in getting involved? Have a program idea or an initiative that you would like to share? Please email us at info@gnag.ca and give us all the details!