OUR STORY

A number of years ago as my husband and I were motorcycling through the states, we stopped in one particular city that left quite a lasting impression on me. We walked through their downtown core, the heart of their city. They had permanently closed off the street to vehicles and had made it pedestrian friendly. As we walked down the middle of the street, there was such a sense of life in the place. The lights in the trees on both sides of the corridor & the lights shining on the fountain that was in the middle of the square, were dancing to the music that was being played in the street.  Most restaurants had outdoor cafés which were filled with young and old alike relaxing & enjoying themselves. The place was so alive. I felt safe.  It was clean & attractive. It was prosperous.  It was a destination where the community met. Captivated by my surroundings, a thought crossed my mind, “Oshawa could be just like this.” Quite a few years passed & I never gave much more thought to what we had experienced in that place until I saw the front page of our local newspaper. A pilot project to have an outdoor café in our downtown core was about to be put in place.  I had a flashback of the beautiful heart of that city of where we had been many years before. “This is the beginning of a dream coming true for Oshawa.”  Deep inside me, I heard a voice that said, “I have a dream for Oshawa. I’m looking for people to partner with me to see that dream come true.” At that moment I knew I wanted to be a part of something that was much bigger than myself. I wanted to be a part of the solution.

Plan 20/Twenty which is Oshawa’s downtown revitalization plan consists of five pillars – Business Growth, Residential Growth, Physical Environment, Social Experience, and Communications. After several years of volunteering & getting others involved in the downtown core in various ways, we recognized that more family filled events needed to be incorporated into the fabric of the Social Experience of our downtown. We also observed a need that Plan 20/Twenty had not addressed or incorporated as a pillar of revitalization.  What was being done to address the many underserviced individuals that were on our streets?  We concluded that the community could bring solutions to these two needs that would contribute & enhance the revitalization & transformation of the heart of our city. Thus, Community Builders Network of Hope was birthed.

Quotes

• “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” – Christopher Reeve
• “Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards men and towards objective things.” – Albert Einstein
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
• “Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.” – Sam Walton
• “Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
• “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
• “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
• “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
• “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – e.e. cummings
• “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
• “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
• “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” – Zig Ziglar