Sincere thanks to everyone who attended Get Lit on May 12th 2011 in the Appel Salon in the Toronto Reference Library.
Special thanks to our stellar readers as well as all of our sponsors, patrons, donors and volunteers.
Donations can still be made here on our site.
Get Lit is an unique annual fundraising event where a lineup of notable and inspiring Canadians read and discuss an excerpt from a piece of writing that they consider meaningful.
All funds raised go to The Running & Reading Club, an after-school program that effectively addresses the benefits of literacy and physical activity for children living in poverty. The program currently services over 1400 underprivileged children across Canada.
Get Lit was recently covered by the Globe and Mail. Click here to view the article.
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Romina Fontana is a thirty-four-year old Montreal native who moved to Toronto from Paris seven years ago. Inspired by Canadian poet Al Purdy’s famously intense and comic read- ings, Romina decided to create a unique event where notable Canadians could share an in- spiring piece of literature with an audience. Shortly thereafter, she was introduced to Silvia Ruegger - former Olympian, Canadian marathon record holder and founder of The Running & Reading Club. After hearing more about Silvia’s remarkable story and the life-changing success that the Club creates, Romina knew she had found her cause. As a result, the inaugural Get Lit event was held in the summer of 2005.
Over the past ten years Romina has embarked on numerous creative projects including a short film based on Al Purdy’s poem At the Quinte Hotel in 2002. The film starred Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip and was selected by Bravo!FACT, the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and the BBC. She is also a founding board member of Film North – Muskoka’s first international film festival and a trustee of Lakefield College School. Professionally, Romina is a consultant in the advertising, marketing and design sectors. She recently advised Torstar on the partnerships and brand strategy for a start-up in the wine lifestyle category.
The Start2Finish (formerly KidsFest) Running & Reading Club is a unique, life-changing program offered to children living at or below the poverty line. This high impact program helps to improve academic achievement, physical fitness and social interaction among participants, equipping each child to achieve their full potential and become a valuable contributor within their respective community and the nation.
One of Start2Finish's most innovative initiatives, the Running & Reading Club after-school program was launched under the directorship of former Olympian and Canadian marathon record holder, Silvia Ruegger. Operating directly within inner city schools, it effectively addresses the need for enhanced literacy and physical activity among the hundreds of economically challenged children it services. The program runs one afternoon per week for two hours throughout the school year, from the beginning of October to the end of May, at multiple school locations across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver. Each club accommodates approximately 50-60 children.
Through fitness activities, mentorship, and literacy support, this 32-week adventure helps children to improve their physical, mental, emotional and social health and develop a love of reading. Students spend the first 45 minutes of each weekly session in physical activity, which includes circuit training, running-based games and relays. This is followed by a 20-minute character building component and snack time. An inspirational "word of the day", is shared by one of the team leaders and the group is invited to hear a story and participate in a discussion about this special word. The children then enjoy a nutritious snack and beverage. The next 45 minutes are devoted to improving the children's literacy skills. Each child keeps track of their progress in physical fitness and reading through a journal. They then choose books categorized according to reading levels, and read either on their own, with another student, or with the help of a volunteer. Just before the children are dismissed, those children who show great effort and attitudes are acknowledged by their team leaders.
The Running & Reading Club also incorporates several special opportunities as part of the program for economically-challenged students. In addition to celebrations such as the annual Start2Finish Holiday Celebration at a movie theatre and sports game outings, the program culminates in a 5km race, as well as a jeopardy-style reading challenge and an awards ceremony, affirming each child’s achievement at the end of the school year.
The nurturing environment created at these after-school clubs helps to build confidence and discipline within the children, giving them hope to believe for future success. Start2Finish’s dedicated matrix of community volunteers forms a key part of the program. Acting as role models and mentors, this rich and diverse community of coaches play a key role as challengers and encouragers to children in need, creating a hyperbaric chamber of hope that enables them to pursue and achieve goals.
Program requests from communities nationwide flood the Start2Finish (formerly KidsFest) Head Office, and the organization desires to respond to the desperate needs of children throughout Canada. As support and sponsorship of the program grows, Start2Finish is making preparations to extend the program into every Canadian province and territory.
For further information, or to get involved, please visit the Start2Finish website at www.start2finishonline.org or contact the Running & Reading Club Executive Administrator, Lina Balsamo, at 1-888-320-8844 ext. 202.
2012 event details coming soon
2012 event details coming soon
Member of Parliament, St. Paul's
Lawyer, Former Attorney General of Ontario
CEO, Habitat for Humanity Toronto
Founding partner of KPMB Architects
Host of CBC Radio's As It Happens
Olympic and World Champion Kayaker
Globe & Mail columnist
Olympic and World Champion Kayaker
Reading List:
Declaration of Interdependence,
David Suzuki
Adam started kayaking at the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville in 1995 when he was 13 years old. Adam was Canada's lone double medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics at the young age of 22. Adam captured a gold medal with a victory in the K1 500m event one day after racing to a bronze in the K1 1000m. He was chosen as Canada's Closing Ceremonies flag-bearer, and the 2004 Lou Marsh Award winner for Canadian Athlete of the year. More recently in August 2007, Adam became the World Champion in the K1 500m adding a silver in the 1000m K1. In 2008 Adam carried the flag for Canada into the bird's nest stadium at the summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Adam is currently preparing for the 2011 World Championships en route to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.
Adam is also an athlete ambassador for Right to Play, and the David Suzuki Foundation. He has spoken on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund and at many schools on the importance of healthy and active living, community involvement, and his experiences as a Canadian Olympian. Adam graduated valedictorian of his class in 2007 from McMaster University, with a Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. More Info ›
Host of CBC Radio's As It Happens
Reading List:
Satanic Verses,
Salman Rushdie
Carol Off is a Canadian television and radio journalist, associated with CBC Television and CBC Radio. She has been a host of CBC Radio's As It Happens since 2006. Previously a documentary reporter for The National, Off also hosted the political debate series counterSpin on CBC Newsworld.
She is the vice-president of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She was awarded ACTRA's John Drainie Award, for distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting, in 2008.
Off has also written several books on the Canadian military, including The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle (2000) and The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: the Story of Canada's Secret War (2005, ISBN 0-679-31294-3).
In 2006, she released a book, Bitter Chocolate, about the corruption and human rights abuses associated with the cocoa industry. She claimed that French-Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer, who was kidnapped in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in 2004, had been murdered for exposing Ivorian government corruption in connection with cocoa.
Off got her start in journalism as a staff writer for The Gazette, the student newspaper at The University of Western Ontario. More Info ›
Lawyer, Former Attorney General of Ontario
Reading List:
Prayer for Owen Meany,
John Irving
Michael Bryant is the father of two young kids, a former politician, and a lawyer. For ten years he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Paul's in mid-town Toronto, and served in the McGuinty Government's Cabinet in various portfolios, including Attorney General for four years. Born and raised in Victoria, BC, Bryant was educated at UBC, Osgoode Hall Law School, and Harvard University. He taught law at King's College (University of London), Osgoode Hall and University of Toronto, where he is an Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow.
He practiced law in NY, Vancouver and Toronto, and presently serves as Senior Advisor at Ogilvy Renault in Toronto. Michael loves to read and reads alot; he loves to fish but doesn't fish much; for many years he was an amateur boxer and a decent trumpet player, but now just jogs randomly and plays guitar for fun.
Founding partner of KPMB Architects
Reading List:
In the Skin of a Lion,
Michael Ondaatje
A founding partner of KPMB Architects, Marianne McKenna’s diverse range of internationally acclaimed projects reflects her goal to work with organizations that want to transform society and encourage community building. Her past projects include the Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake which was the ambassador for Canada at the 2002 Green Building Challenge in Oslo, Norway; an integrated vertical campus for Concordia University in downtown Montreal; and the Royal Conservatory’s TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto which earned KPMB its 11th Governor General’s Medal, Canada’s highest honour for architecture.
Current projects include the University of Waterloo Quantum-Nanotechnology Centre, the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and the Walker Arts Centre at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT).
McKenna established and taught the first Professional Practice Course at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Design and Landscape to educate students on the pragmatics of practice, inclusive of finance, marketing and management. She has juried a range of art competitions for integrated artworks and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Contemporary Culture (ICC) for the Royal Ontario Museum. More Info ›
Globe & Mail columnist
Reading List:
Winnie-the-Pooh,
A. A. Milne
The Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente is among the best-read (and most controversial) columnists in Canada. She is responsible for starting dinner-party debates on subjects as diverse as the decline of men, the trouble with education, and the war in Libya.
Margaret has been a full-time columnist with the Globe since 1999. Before that she was the editor of several leading business publications, including Report on Business.
She has won a variety of journalism awards, and is the author of two books, An Accidental Canadian and You Can't Say That in Canada.
Margaret grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and came to Canada with her family in 1963. She received a BA in English from the University of Michigan, and an MA from the University of Toronto. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Ian McLeod. More Info ›
Member of Parliament, St. Paul's
Reading List:
The Bear Came Over the Mountain,
Alice Munro
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, MP, MD, was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1997 general election and was re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2006 and again in 2008, representing the electoral district of St. Paul’s. In December 2003, in the wake of the SARS outbreak, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed Carolyn as the first ever Minister of State (Public Health). As Minister, she set up the Public Health Agency of Canada, appointed the first Chief Public Health Officer for Canada and established the Public Health Network which enabled all provinces and territories to work with the Federal Government on protecting the health of Canadians.
Dr. Bennett served as Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament and the sub-Committee on the Status of
Persons with Disabilities (Human Resources Development Committee).
Dr. Bennett also served as Chair of the Liberal Women’s Caucus. Most recently, Carolyn was the Health Critic for the Official Opposition and currently serves as Critic for Democratic Renewal.
Prior to her election, Dr. Bennett was a family physician and a founding partner of Bedford Medical Associates in Toronto. She was President of the Medical Staff Association of Women’s College Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, and has served on numerous medical boards. More Info ›
CEO, Habitat for Humanity Toronto
Reading List:
The Man Without a Country,
Edward Everett Hale
Neil began his career in project management at Tridel Construction, Canada's largest condominium developer. In September 2000, he made a radical career change by joining Habitat for Humanity Toronto; at the time as the youngest CEO of a Habitat affiliate in the world. Since that time Habitat for Humanity Toronto has accelerated its building program from an average of 1/2 a house per year to 84 under construction in 2009 alone. The Habitat Toronto ReStore operations have grown from $250,000 in 2000 to over $2.5 million in 2009.
Neil Hetherington holds degrees or certificates from University of Western Ontario - Huron College, Seneca College, Harvard Business School and the University of Virginia - Darden Business School.
Neil enthusiastically builds with Habitat for Humanity both locally and internationally, and has worked on Habitat homes in over 15 countries.
Neil is the grandson of the late General Arnold Brown, the International Leader of The Salvation Army.
Neil currently is a director of the Churches on the Hill Food Bank, Camp Kwasind as well as a volunteer at Out of the Cold. He writes a monthly column for the Toronto Star, is a licensed and active pilot, and in his spare time enjoys numerous sports and furniture making. More Info ›
Former Canadian Ambassador to
Afghanistan, Conservative Party candidate
for Ajax-Pickering...
Conductor and Artistic Director, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Elora Festival Singers...
Editor-in-chief, Toronto Life...
Advertising guru, co-founder of Pirate Radio & Television and host of The Age of Persuasion on CBC Radio...
Business strategist, consultant and author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes...
Journalist and columnist, The Globe and Mail...
Mayor of Toronto, lawyer
and book lover...
Journalist and host of
CBC Television's
George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight...
Style Reporter for
The Globe and Mail...
Athlete, Canadian Olympic
Gold Medalist in Women's Wrestling,
Beijing 2008...
ER physician and author of
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures,
2006 Giller Prize Winner...
Comedian and host of The Comedy
Network's popcultured with
Elvira Kurt;
Contributor to CBC Radio's Q...
Children's author; Children
and Youth Advocate, Toronto Public Library...
Journalist and correspondent for CBC's The National...
Journalist, author and host of CBC's Power & Politics...
Architect, Hariri Pontarini Architects...
Owner of Grano restaurant and host of the Salon Speakers Series...
Advisory Board Chairman, Get Lit
Former Executive Chairman, Alliance Atlantis
Co-Founder and Chairman, Samara
Author and activist...
Founder and Executive Director, War Child Canada...
Award-winning filmmaker, National Film Board of Canada's Filmmaker-in-Residence...
Journalist and former host of CBC Radio's Metro Morning...
Award-winning playwright, novelist and columnist...
Author, Poet, Former Poet Laureate - City of Toronto...
Restaurateur and local activist...
Filmmaker and runner...
Documentary film maker, freelance journalist and founder of SAMA (Sacred Arts Music Alliance)...
Canadian Olympic Athlete and founder of The Running and Reading Clubs...
Journalist and author...
Advisory Board Chairman, Get Lit. Former Executive Chairman, Alliance Atlantis. Co-Founder and Chairman, Samara
Michael MacMillan co-founded Atlantis Films Limited in 1978. In its early years, Atlantis was primarily a film and television production house, winning an Oscar in 1984 for its short film Boys and Girls and an Emmy in 1992 for Lost in the Barrens, amongst many other awards. In 1993 Atlantis became a broadcaster with the launch of its first network, Life Network. In 1998 Atlantis acquired Alliance Communications in a reverse takeover and the company became Alliance Atlantis Communications. Under Michael's continued leadership, the company operated 13 Canadian television networks including HGTV Canada, Showcase, History Television, Food Network and Life Network. The company also distributed and produced movies and television programs including the hit series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
In 2007, Michael retired from Alliance Atlantis after selling the company to Canwest Communications and Goldman Sachs.
Michael has been involved in numerous community and industry organizations over many years. Current community organizations he is involved with include: Toronto East General Hospital, Human Rights Watch, The Toronto International Film Festival and Upper Canada College.
Michael is a co-owner of Closson Chase Vineyards in Prince Edward County, Ontario and operates his other business interests through Southhill Strategy Inc.
He lives in Toronto with his wife Cathy Spoel and their three daughters.
Owner of Grano restaurant, host of the Salon Speakers Series
For the last twenty years, Roberto Martella has greeted neighbours, friends and celebrities alike at the North Toronto restaurant that he and his wife, Lucia, operate on Yonge Street just south of Eglinton Avenue. The restaurant is a mix of culinary and cultural expression; a meeting place where musicians, artists, academics, entrepreneurs, writers and wine lovers come together under the spell of Roberto's gracious and warm hospitality. Roberto is the consummate host, connecting together food and ideas and people, all the while championing the best of Canadian and Italian culture.
Grano is much more than just a restaurant; Roberto has brought people together through Italian language classes, the well-known Grano Series (a salon series of current events), literary readings, mentoring dinners bringing new young artists and musicians together with the older establishment, a TV show, Cooking with Saints, and numerous other planned and spontaneous gatherings of the interested and interesting. Roberto says, “In Canada our institutions have failed to bring us together. We need to get out of our psychic enclaves and recognize how much we share in common.
Writer; President, Ramsay Inc.
Bob Ramsay is the President of Ramsay Inc., a communications consultancy whose services range from business writing to journalism to presentation training to people-herding. The company has one office, three employees, and clients in Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
His life includes birth in Edmonton… high school at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario… University at Princeton (BA in English) and Harvard-Radcliffe (Diploma in Publishing).
After that he was a speechwriter for Ontario Premier William Davis… an editor at Clarke Irwin Publishers… a copywriter at Vickers & Benson Advertising... co-founder of Canada's first film, TV and arts marketing firm… and a partner in Remarkable Communications and Advance Planning Inc.
He's married to Toronto physician, writer and adventurer Jean Marmoreo.
Style Reporter,
The Globe and Mail
Amy is a fashion and lifestyle journalist with the Globe and Mail in Toronto. She studied media criticism at New York University, graduating in 2002. After interning at a record label, an ad agency and a gossip rag, she moved back home and began writing for Flare magazine. In 2004 she wrote her first piece for Globe Style. As a freelancer, she kept herself busy, writing memorable pieces on fashion, design and social trends for Globe Style and Globe Toronto, as well as for nearly every Canadian fashion publication, from Fashion to Flare. In 2006, she became Features Editor for the twice yearly Holt Renfrew men's and women's magazines. Amy joined the Globe and Mail as the paper's style reporter in March, 2007.
Since then, she has produced memorable interviews and attracted a loyal following to her widely read (now-retired) Suitable column about the dos and don'ts of what to wear to work. Other regular features include seasonal fashion reports, profiles of noteworthy Torontonians and a bi-monthly trial of new workouts and fitness gear. For three consecutive years, she covered the party beat at the Toronto International Film Festival (don't underestimate the skills required for 24-hour schmoozing). Amy also contributes to Toronto Life, Canadian House & Home, Fashion and Wallpaper* magazines.
President and Founder,
Film North
Lucy Molnar Wing is the Founder, CEO of Film North, Huntsville International Film Festival. She is a graduate of York University, Glendon College with an honors degree in Political Science, as well as Ryerson University with a degree in Image Arts/Photographic Film Studies. Her four careers have included establishing an independent paralegal company in the 70’s. Studying at the Chelsea School of Fine Art in London and Ontario College of Art led to working as an exhibiting landscape painter in the 80’s and 90’s. To expand her horizons in 2003 she entered the photographic arena as an exhibiting documentary photographer winning awards for excellence. Her innovative intelligence has benefitted affiliations with educational institutions. Former positions include President of The Guild of Royal St. Georges College, Board member of The Lake of Bays Sailing and Lake of Bays Tennis Clubs, Board member of Canadian Stage.
In the early 2000 ‘s she anchored her vision of Muskoka’s first international Film Festival by purchasing the domains for Film North, Huntsville International Film Festival, and slowly building the non profit organization towards its inaugural year of 2010. Film North is an independent film festival of the highest standards with a mandate to enhance the cultural fabric of the community while creating another rung on the ladder of opportunity for emerging film makers. Her charm, team spirit, clear vision is formidable as she steers Film North into the future. She was born in Budapest, Hungary. She currently lives in Toronto and Lake of Bays and has two sons.
Senior Cultural Affairs Officer,
City of Toronto
Lilie Zendel has been a figure on the Canadian culture landscape for over 20 years working as a theatre festival producer, arts manager and promoter, funder and consultant in the arts, culture and creative industries in Canada and the U.S. Since joining The City as Senior Cultural Affairs Officer, she has led numerous initiatives related to the City's Creative City and Prosperity agenda. She has worked with various tiers of government, economic and urban regeneration agencies and local arts and heritage organizations on policy and strategic development.
Prior to joining Toronto Culture in 2005, Lilie spent 13 years leading the international cultural relations portfolio at the Canadian Consulate in New York. Lilie started her career at Harbourfront where she was the founding Artistic Director of Toronto's World Stage Theatre, an highly respected international festival dedicated to contemporary work.
2012 event details coming soon
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Sincere thanks to everyone who purchased tickets and donated to the cause in 2011.
Additional donations can be made here with PayPal.
Cheques can be made payable to "Start2Finish" and sent to:
Karen Warankie
Start2Finish
1295 North Service Road
Burlington, ON, L7R 4M2
Ph: (905) 319-1885 ext. 201
Fx: (905) 319-3413
info@start2finishonline.org
www.start2finishonline.org
