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Tribute Dinner

Yorktown Family Services Tribute Dinner Celebration

Each year, Yorktown Family Services singles out one very special individual to receive the Yorktown Family Services Humanitarian Award for Community Service. This prestigious award is presented to a person whose lifetime of outstanding dedication, leadership and contributions have had a significant impact on helping to improve the lives of children, youth and women in Canada. The Award is presented to the honoree at the Yorktown Family Services Tribute Dinner Celebration – a gala event where representative from government, business and the community gather to honour the award recipient.

Each year the proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships for the Yorktown Family Services Tribute Dinner Celebration are used to support Yorktown Family Services programs and services.

2007 Yorktown Family Services Tribute Dinner Celebration

Gayle Christie, President, Yorktown Family Services presented The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain with the 2007 Yorktown Humanitarian Award for Community Service at a special Tribute Dinner held in her honour at The Old Mill Inn on April 11, 2007.

The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain is an impassioned and acclaimed advocate for improving the lives of women and children. She is a founding member of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation, which fights family violence through public education and research and chairs the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research. Mrs. McCain has played a major role in many early child development policy and program initiatives in Canada including co-chairing the Ontario Early Years Study in 1999 and co-chairing the City of Toronto’s Commission for Early Learning and Child Care in 2002. She was instrumental in the establishment of Beatrice House, a program that integrates an enriched Early Childhood Development Centre with a transitional housing opportunity for single mothers and their children. Mrs. McCain has generously offered her experience, leadership, name and financial resources to help numerous community organizations to improve the lives of some of our society’s most vulnerable individuals.

In selecting Margaret Norrie McCain to receive this award, Yorktown’s selection committee wanted to recognize and celebrate the wonderful contribution she has made to the fields of early child development and family violence research over so many years.

Over 300 guests including representatives of the provincial and municipal government, community and business leaders and personal friends of Margaret Norrie McCain attended the Tribute Dinner that raised $155,000 to support the efforts of Yorktown Child and Family Centre and Yorktown Shelter for Women.

2007 marks the eighth consecutive year that Yorktown Family Services has recognized the contributions of outstanding Canadian humanitarians. Past recipients of the award include June Callwood - 2006, Barbara Hall – 2005, Charlie Coffey – 2004, Charles Pascal - 2003, David Crombie – 2002, Bob Rae and Arlene Perly Rae – 2001 and Fergie Brown - 2000,