Raymond has a unique history with the House. His involvement began in 1984 when he first volunteered teaching computer skills to adults, while he was a university student.
“[St. Christopher House] took a chance on me because I had a lot of computer experience and computer background,” he recalls.
At the time, the community was predominantly working class and Portuguese. St. Christopher House, as the organization was known, was very concerned that the children in our community were not doing well enough in school and had among the highest dropout rates, Raymond remembers.
Going back to 1912, our organization has always been about responding to the needs of the community. Like today, the camps consisted of different educational and recreational activities that helped the children develop both creatively and intellectually, instilling them with the skills and knowledge needed to progress towards their goals.
“In 1983, they made the decision to come west [from Bathurst]. 1984 was the year that they were going to try the first program out in this area. And so, the idea was to run a summer day camp for kids,” Raymond explains.
“They needed counsellors for the kids, and so they wanted a computer person because computers were very new back then and I was a computer guy.”
Raymond fondly remembers his first experience working with the children at the summer camp. “I was nervous, of course, but found out I can work with kids. And other people complimented me on my ability to relate to kids at the time.”
Raymond continued to work with the House for the next few years. In that time, he also worked with the after-school program and the summer camps, programs that still exist at the House today.
“At the time, the area was not heavily serviced by social service agencies. I saw that the kids were starting to meet adults, including adult figures who were [university] educated, and so they started seeing other sides and other aspects of life, other than what they knew,” he shares.
“Just being part of that and seeing how people perked up when they were going to camp. There was definitely happiness there. You could see there was a difference in the way they saw things.”
Raymond remembers when the organization moved into our location at 248 Ossington Avenue in 1985. He was also present when we celebrated our 75th anniversary since our beginnings in 1912, when the City of Toronto declared a St. Christopher House Day, with festivities at Senhor Santo Cristo Catholic School (now University of Toronto Schools) and Osler Playground (pictured).
He looks back at his time at the House as having given him a different perspective. “What I learned working with St. Chris at the time was that you meet a lot of people from different walks of life, and you meet people who life hasn’t treated well.”
“You realize that you are doing some valuable work. By helping people, you are doing something constructive with your life,” Raymond reflects.
Raymond left St. Christopher House in 1988 and moved on to a career as a math and computer science teacher for Durham District School Board. He briefly returned to volunteer at the summer camp in 1990. It was his experience at the House that helped lead him to a career in teaching.
“That’s where I developed my experience working with kids and that’s why I decided that I could be a teacher,” Raymond emphasizes.
Retirement and a New Phase
After retiring, Raymond found himself with some free time and decided to reconnect with the House. He recently began volunteering as a tutor in the Adult Literacy Program at West Neighbourhood House, teaching English-language skills.
“It’s taken some adjustment, but it’s not too different from teaching. Different subject matter. Different audience. In terms of the skills being used, it’s pretty similar,” he adds.
In addition, Raymond has been volunteering as a curling instructor and junior coach at the East York Curling Club since 2018. He also served on their Board of Directors. Staying engaged with the community is a priority for him in retirement.
“You finally got time again and you are kind of past a stage in your life where you’re trying to accumulate stuff. Now, it’s time to finally get out of that rat race and recover from all the stresses of working life, and you want to start being useful again. You have the option to choose what you want to do,” Raymond shares contentedly.