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Testimonials
Please click on the links below to read the full stories.
If you would be interested in submitting a story or testimonial of your experience as a Block Parent® volunteer or as an individual who has received help from a Block Parent® home, please forward the information to the National Office:
Email: info@blockparent.ca
Mail to 7-50 Dunlop St. E., Barrie, ON L4M 6J9
Fax to (705) 792-4245.
Gertrude Roes, an honorary life member of the Block Parent® Program of Canada,
- writes about the beginning of the Program in the 1960s.
In 1969 when the National Council of Jewish Women (London Chapter) came to the school of our children to talk about the Block Parent® Program they had started in London in 1968, my husband Bill and I signed up right away. I saw this as a visible protection for our children, walking to and from school.
I have seen the development of the Program from a local initiative to a national entity- that was very exciting and I can look back at many historical moments in the history of the Block Parent® Program. It has given me friends forever, not only in London, not only in Ontario but in all of Canada. I still correspond with Block Parent® friends from coast to coast. It shows that the Block Parent® Program can connect Canadians wherever they live. We can build bridges and overcome regional differences.
Block Parent® has been a big part of my life and I am proud of how it has grown over the years. May it continue to flourish and be a "safe haven" for the young and the not-so-young.
Kathy Wallace, past Chairperson of the Saskatchewan Block Parent® Advisory,
- tells how her nineteen year involvement began.
In the fall of 1990, a mother approached me within weeks of the new school year. It did not take me long to agree to become one of the many homes in Saskatoon, joining those across the country, that displayed the red and white window sign. My location would prove to be effective on the everyday walks to and from school as well as my foot in the door with Block Parent® for the next nineteen years.
It did not take me long to attend a local meeting and become involved on the Board. Serving on a local Board allowed me to hear and see firsthand how the Program was working in the community.
In 1995, I felt that it was important to serve on a Board at the Provincial level and allow me to share our local ideas with communities in the Province. I remained on at the Provincial level until November 2009.
Along with those Block Parent® signs being displayed in windows coast-to -coast, are friendships gained from coast-to-coast. These have been remarkable and remain to this day.
Francine Chartrand, Director with the Block Parent® Program of Canada Inc.,
- "Each time that a child seeks assistance by ringing my doorbell and that I am able to help is a precious moment for me."
I have been part of Block Parent® for over 13 years now. I became aware of the Block Parent® Program when a young boy, barely 4 years old, went missing and was found dead a few days later. At the time, I told myself that, if I had done something to help him, he might still be with his family. I looked into Block Parent® and joined the Program. Since then, I have been involved at all levels-local, regional, provincial and national-to find the most means possible to ensure child and senior safety and to promote prevention and awareness in schools, senior citizens centres and child care centres. My main goal is to recruit more safe homes to ensure child and senior safety.
Each time that a child seeks assistance by ringing my doorbell and that I am able to help is a precious moment for me. My involvement with the Block Parent® Program, in addition to helping children, has enabled me to meet people who share the same goal: child safety.
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