The faces of Generations: 7th bi-annual breakfast at Buffet La Stanza raises funds & awareness
by Emily Wilkinson
Executive director of Generations Foundation Adrian Bercovici likes to joke that he and his wife Natalie have 6,000 grandchildren. They've come to think of the children their organization provides food for daily as their kin. But Adrian fails to mention the rest of his extended family, volunteers, supporters, teachers, principals, school commissioners, media, and community leaders. Since its birth, Generations has become just that - a gathering of generations in the shared spirit of generosity.
At the foundation's 7 th bi-annual breakfast fundraiser at Buffet La Stanza in Ville St. Laurent May 25, Lakeside Academy students volunteered alongside seniors such as The Senior Times' own Marvin Hershorn, who traded his notepad for an apron for the event. Personalities from Global Television, teachers, principals, police officers and commissioners, and school kids mingled in the dining hall, a veritable hodge-podge of ages and backgrounds. These are the faces of Generations.
Natalie Bercovici says the success of these fundraisers is largely due to the collaboration of such diverse participants. "The La Stanza breakfast is Generations Foundation's signature event. It's a team thing. Global has assisted us in bringing out awareness with celebrities and La Stanza has generously provided food and staff," she says. "There are also volunteers from Lakeside Academy, St. Laurent Adult Centre, and the Vanier Christian Fellows, retirees and students. It's a huge group effort." In the seven years Generations has been holding the La Stanza breakfast, the organization has raised $935,000.
Generations provides breakfasts, lunches and snacks for 60 schools and learning centres. The meals provided are free. "We take great pride in the fact that we don't charge parents for the food we provide," Adrian says. "If we did, we'd be a catering service, and I don't want to be a catering service."
Jean Huote, a teacher at the École des Cinq Continents, can attest that, with cutbacks in funding for school lunches, Generations' food program is more important than ever. "They keep cutting the budget. I remember there was a lot more money when I started 15 years ago than there is now. Every year we have less," Huote says. "I've seen so many kids since I've been teaching who don't eat in the morning, who come to school with nothing in their stomachs. Now about 25% of our students use the program."
But, in its 7 years, Generations has expanded into areas other than nutrition. In addition to the school lunch program, they have been sending about 300 local kids to summer camp. At camp, the kids participate in positive activities like canoeing and swimming, and get a chance to make friends and build self-esteem. Nadia Aboukheir, an educator at École des Cinq Continents points out that the parents of the children selected also benefit from the opportunity. "A lot of times, they only have one parent at home, so it gives the parent a break," she says.
Adrian says it's the opportunity to learn that makes camp such a special part of childhood. "Natalie and I thought, 'what's the best way to bridge the end of one school year with the beginning of the next school year and make it meaningful?' This way, the kids get fresh air, they make friends, and they get a chance to learn and mature," he says. "Imagine a kid goes to camp and gets into a lake. At the beginning of the summer he only wades up to his waist but, by the end of the summer, he knows how to swim. If you give a kid the chance to learn, he will."
Learning is the reason Adrian and Natalie have added yet another program to their list.
"Afternoon study programs are important," Adrian says. "You have to have qualified tutors and a safe environment. But the kids do their homework. We give them a fair chance and they succeed. We're just evening the playing field."
As though the food, trips to camp, and homework programs weren't enough, the organization is also starting an orthodontics program for children living in group homes which aren't sponsored by the government. "The kids we've helped really, really needed it," Adrian says. "They had low self-esteem, and sometimes they got in fights at school. The way Natalie and I look at it, we're giving them their life back. Sometimes looks really do count." But Natalie insists that the program goes even deeper than helping kids achieve a healthy self-image.
"It's not just cosmetic," she says. "While that can be very important, it's also important to have the proper structure of your jaw and placement of your teeth. You keep your teeth for a lifetime."
As the organization grows, it seeks out new areas of need and finds ways to help. So how does Generations continue to branch out while still maintaining quality? Adrian explains it in terms of mechanics.
"It's like a car. You know when you get into a car and you turn the key, a lot of different things happen in different parts of the car. And a lot of people had to work for that to happen. But, once you turn the key, it sort of moves forward by itself," he says. "When we're not out there doing, say, the orthodontics, other people are. And each school has a volunteer responsible for organizing what they need. We made it possible but it's happening on its own," he says.
"It's logistics. If somebody doesn't do what they're supposed to, it's a problem. But, like a car, once in a while you bring it to the garage, or you put some gas in. That's our job."
To make a contribution to Generations or to volunteer, call: 933-8585 or visit ww.generationsfoundation.com.