Daily Bread Food Bank, a nonprofit suported by Yardi Canada, was founded in 1983 in Etobicoke, Ontario. Unlike other food banks, Daily Bread is a member organization and delivers food to 207 meal programs at 132 agencies across Toronto, Etobicoke and Scarborough. One in ten people in Toronto rely on food banks, twice as much as in 2022. Daily Bread distributed nearly 28 million pounds of food in 2022-2023, a 50% increase from the previous year. Clients have doubled over the years since the pandemic, and in December 2023, Daily Bread had over 284,000 clients, surpassing previous records. “Before COVID, we spent $1.5 million yearly on purchased food.  Now, we are spending that each month. This past year, we spent $22 million on food, 14 times more than pre-COVID,” said Carol Eby, senior manager for corporate partnerships. Daily Bread hopes the Canada Disability Benefit Law will be approved in the federal government’s March budget. Since many of Daily Bread’s clients rely on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), this will help them out of deep poverty and be less reliant on food banks over time. Daily Bread ensures they have enough food to provide for those in need. “Our food budget is presently $22 million, and we anticipate this will increase this year to $29 million based on economic factors remaining status quo and the impact these have on an increase in food bank clients,” Eby shares. Funding from Yardi helps Daily Bread purchase food needed to manage the consistent increase in food bank clients it is experiencing. It also helps with research and advocacy efforts to provide foundational research from clients as to why they need to use a food bank. For food bank clients to decrease, Daily Bread strives for systemic change. “This important research is used to inform and educate the various levels of government on policies that need to be created to manage the various economic issues that are impacting the citizens of Toronto,” explained Eby. As poverty rates soar and the hunger crisis worsens in Toronto, Daily Bread recognizes donors like Yardi Canada, “We are so appreciative of the very generous support from Yardi Canada. We do not receive any government funding; we rely solely on corporate donations and individual giving,” expressed Eby. Elena’s Story Many clients of Daily Bread have had compounding medical issues, leaving them unable to work. Elena, a Daily Bread Food Bank client, was in this challenging situation. Health complications forced her to shut down her sales agency, and today, Elena survives on the limited income she receives from the ODSP and support from her local food bank. She is thankful for the food bank’s having fruits, vegetables, and proteins like meats and lentils so she can keep a balanced diet to help aid her health issues. “I see more and more people using the food bank every time I go,” says Elena. “The volunteers and staff are working hard to keep up. I know it is tiring, but I want to remind everyone what a difference they are making in people’s lives, people who are struggling to have food in their cupboards.” At Daily Bread, they are committed to supporting Elena and thousands just like her today who are facing extreme challenges to meet their essential needs. Volunteer Opportunities The Daily Bread Food Bank offers shifts on Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:30 am to 11:30 am and afternoons from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. A maximum of 20 Yardi team members can join them for the morning or afternoon food sorting. Please get in touch with Carol Eby at [email protected] to organize volunteer shifts. Find future non-profit profiles...

Do you want to streamline payables and purchasing, expedite approvals and eliminate paper? It’s not too good to be true. You can with a robust cloud-based procurement solution. Your industry peers are already experiencing success, and it’s simpler than you think. The recent Yardi Executive Briefing offered multifamily property specialists an inside look at the power of modern procurement software. Peter Altobelli, VP and general manager, Yardi Canada facilitated the session, “The New Age of Canadian Residential Real Estate” with clients Christine Williams, VP, national operations and administration at QuadReal Property Group and Brian Turpin, CIO of Greenwin Corp. Early tech adaption resulted in efficiency and agility Both QuadReal and Greenwin embraced technology long before the pandemic began. The organizations actively sought solutions that promoted efficiency, accuracy and sustainable growth. Williams laughed, “QuadReal is still fairly young but from the beginning, we embraced the digital workflow and got rid of our paper trail.” Turpin added, “Proptech is exploding with different technology. Everything is paperless and more efficient. I joke that even the light switches are under my domain because everything is connected to the internet.” Technology isn’t decorative. For both organizations, technology is a core part of the business that enables greater efficiency, transparency and collaboration. By embracing technology, their teams were better prepared to shift to remote work environments and online services. When many offices closed or reduced operating hours during the pandemic, QuadReal seamlessly achieved business continuity with Yardi Procure to Pay, automated vendor management, automated procurement (including a comprehensive marketplace), electronic invoice processing and outsourced vendor payments. “Yardi Procure to Pay offers us a better way to keep track of invoices and keep us on time with our payments to vendors,” said Williams. “The Yardi Payscan, community-initiated purchase orders and approval workflows were matched to internal authority levels. Centralized invoice processing teams would receive the digital invoices and match them to the purchase orders with a few added tolerances. They would then be en route for payment approval and vendors could be quickly paid with Yardi Bill Pay.” Greenwin, which had already adopted Procure to Pay, continued operations as usual. The automation of the entire procurement life cycle was driven by benefits seen in streamlining resident transactions. “The key piece is document management,” explained Turpin. “In tech, a lot of things we do don’t have a visible impact. But when you’re tearing down unused filing cabinets and renovating rooms to add desks, it’s a visible way to see how tech benefits the company.” Buy-in and adoption made easier Adoption is around 95% at Greenwin. For buy-in, Turpin and his team positioned technology as an empowerment for success. “Yardi created a custom onboarding video for us that we send to vendors,” he said. “They see that they don’t have to mail anything. We empower our suppliers to upload their invoices to VendorCafe, to see statements and automate their process. It has a trickle-down effect.” Yardi Marketplace, an online procurement platform, was perhaps one of the easiest buy-ins for Greenwin. The intuitive platform already fit into users’ daily lifestyle. “It’s a great example of the consumer world integrating with the enterprise world. Most people shop online and we can leverage that. From a user perspective, there was great adoption because it streamlines, prepopulates fields and automates processes,” explains Turpin. Williams agreed, “Our team shops on Marketplace. The PO goes through its workflow. It’s approved, all the coding is in there and the payment is out of the door. Our team can even create a list of favourites, so their most popular products are easy to find. They’ve learnt to love the simplicity.” Improved security through portal-based transactions Secure online portals help to decrease risk to clients and vendors. In the past, vendors sent invoices via email or the postal service. This resulted in a greater risk of phishing scams, lost postal mail and delays, as well as cheque...

The most successful companies are those that utilize data and analytics as a supporting tool to adapt to rapid market changes, but how can you simplify Big Data to improve daily decision making? How can online services help you stay connected while safely doing business miles apart? There are innovative solutions that offer a combination of tools that boost profitability, efficiency, communication and even security. Read on to discover four ways asset intelligence (AI) technology can help CRE operators understand how to navigate market shifts and emerge with a competitive edge. 1. Use data to enhance asset performance On average, more North American organizations have been using big data for benchmarking and prescriptive analytics over the past few years. In fact, according to KMPG’s 2020 CEO Outlook, 92% of Canadian CEOs fast-tracked their transformation to meet COVID-19 challenges, with 76% believing that investments in tech tools such as automation, artificial intelligence and cloud systems are critical to unlocking long-term growth. As a result of the tech adoption, the CRE industry is seeing AI enable teams to identify patterns and recognize trends by easily visualizing broader pools of data that influence KPIs, all within a customizable dashboard. With the assistance of automation and machine learning, the data becomes more refined over time facilitating more informed decisions on everything from marketing spend to concessions and leasing velocity. Having ongoing access to distilled real-time reporting encourages team collaboration, a data driven culture and empowers departments to stay on track of projects – it can even give individuals the latitude to go beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. During challenging times, this refined data also gives operators better insight into deals and key early wins that can reassure and even excite stakeholders. 2. Forge a clearer pathway to success with cloud-based data management Cloud-based asset management platforms offer key insights into portfolio health including revenues, debt, risk, occupancy and sales. Such data helps asset managers make more strategic decisions and set stakeholder expectations. Benefits also abound at the property level. Today’s asset management software seamlessly integrates with site-specific tools. Integrated, cloud-based technology supports facility and construction managers, leasing agents and property-level users. From online rent payments to digital procurement, users save time, decrease redundancies and improve accuracy within a single integrated system. With site staff connected to a single point of truth, they can efficiently make better day-to-day decisions. Structured dashboards enhance the value and practicality of data. “[Commercial clients] want a solution that’s designed for them and which connects them to the central data system with mobile applications and dashboards. That’s why we created a connected ecosystem for the operations side with Yardi Elevate,” explains Brian Sutherland, vice president, sales commercial at Yardi. He continues, “Expanding data access to the back office is tied to the larger issue of data management. The challenge is dissecting data and making it actionable for informed decisions. That’s the importance of role-based dashboards that remove guesswork for building operations people who need to control costs and work more efficiently.” Modern asset management technology platforms assimilate data at the property and portfolio levels and make it universally available. With a complete set of information, asset managers can evaluate pipelines, connect investors with appropriate deals and create an effective management plan. More strategic deal execution paves the way to increased revenues and overall success. 3. Gain greater efficiency and convenience throughout your organization with online services The cloud offers a unique opportunity to work with live data from anywhere with an internet connection. Executives can review reports, approve expenses and authorize payments when and where it’s convenient for them. Asset managers virtually present live reports to stakeholders with real-time data that is consistent throughout reporting systems. Whether in the office or a remote work environment, leaders across the organization achieve greater accuracy and efficiency with online services. At the property level, online portals make it easy to process rent payments,...

In the last year, we’ve witnessed accelerated implementation of web-based property management software, automated services and paperless transactions. We now know technology is here to stay and more businesses will continue to leverage technology to help improve efficiency and continuity throughout the organization. In the Canadian real estate industry, this uptake in tech is particularly true in procurement and payment processing. If you are looking for a solution to take your organization to the next level of efficiency, an end-to-end procurement to payment software should be on your vendor list. Unlock potential value Christine Williams, vice president of national operations and administration for QuadReal Property Group, is one of many Yardi clients that are leveraging paperless solutions. “Our internal initiative is to always stay current with technology and processes. We want to empower our staff to get the job done in the fastest, most efficient and the most accurate way.” Getting invoices on the desk and scanning them is a new safety concern, as well as an inconvenient task that takes many hours from staff schedules. Rather than handling high-quality tasks, your staff is stuck sifting through stacks of paper. This is when you need a solution like a third party digital invoice services to take the burden from your team to off-site specialists who can scan and key your invoices. By outsourcing this work you free up time for your team while leadership maintains control of all invoice approvals. Cheque writing is another drain on your staff’s time and in-office hours. Paper cheques require printing, signing, postage fees and can cause potential delays. Implementing an electronic payment platform permits efficient vendor payments and data. Offering a truly paperless invoice process is key for ensuring successful business continuity.  Williams says, “Historically, manual management processes have proven to be inefficient. We are big on automating workflows at QuadReal. Wherever we can put a user access control in place from a system perspective, we would rather have someone push an approve button than a piece of paper.” Simplify vendor management Maintaining open lines of communication with your vendors is important but staff can find themselves fielding dozens of calls and emails each day. A  self-service online portal for vendors enables vendors to submit invoices, check payment statuses, manage POs and work orders when they are off or onsite. When vendors can manage their own accounts, there is less downstream burden for your staff. Williams continues, “If there is a vendor that is going to integrate ordering to purchase orders to invoice submissions and payments, they understand the market’s needs. Having that functionality takes multiple steps out of our process, making it easier for all stakeholders.” Gain control of MRO spend With the recent increase in tech adoption, some businesses are seeing a disparate supplier base across their organization leading to errors, inconsistencies and cost variables. Without a streamlined approach to your procurement spend, your team is constantly adjusting to moving targets. To take the guess work out of procurement management consider what online catalogues can offer and how your organization can benefit from tracking and centralizing all procurement decisions in a single database. Two other major wins of streamlining your processes is that your operations team feels empowered to make better decisions and it helps create consistent policies throughout your communities. Williams explains, “Minimizing manual steps makes our processes easier for our properties, staff and vendors, and we embrace tech innovation. From a site user perspective, all our team needs to do is log onto Marketplace, place their order, the system will generate a purchase order, that follows our predefined workflow to get all of the necessary approvals. From a management standpoint, we have access to the analytics, from which we gain greater visibility into our working capital and budget.” Go beyond business continuity As organizations prepare for our post-pandemic reality, integrated technology remains a key determinate in the ability to...

Did you know that 38% of Canadians say their mental health has declined due to COVID-19? The data, reported by the Canadian Mental Health Association, highlights the importance of mental health resources. Bell Let’s Talk encourages conversation and awareness around mental health. Its campaigns, such as Bell Let’s Talk Day, aim to decrease the stigma around mental health while raising funds for supportive initiatives. Your voice and experiences are valuable to your community Bell Let’s Talk and similar initiatives are important for community wellness. They create safe spaces where individuals can give and receive support and share resources. By sharing our experiences and providing a compassionate listening ear, we can promote communities that are healthier inside and out. Safe spaces are incredibly important: 65% of the 3,000 survey participants reported adverse mental health impacts related to COVID-19 in May, yet only 2% reported accessing online mental health resources such as apps and websites not involving direct contact with a mental health care provider. Supportive spaces can be a catalyst to or supplement to speaking with a clinician. Online conversations do not replace the need for guidance from a health care professional. By initiating conversations on mental wellness, you can make a difference. In a recent survey conducted by Nielsen Consumer Insights, 83% of Canadians now say they are comfortable speaking with others about mental health, compared to only 42% in 2012. Stay involved with Bell Let’s Talk On January 28, Bell Let’s Talk Day, Bell donated five cents to Canadian mental health programs for every applicable text, call, social media post or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk. A donation was also made for every view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video, and every use of the Bell Let’s Talk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter. Within 24 hours, Canadians and participants worldwide set new records for engagement with mental health conversations. Participants shared 159,173,435 messages and raised $7,958,671.75! Yardi employees were proud supporters of the event. Since its first fundraiser in 2010, Bell has raised over $121 million to support mental health organizations throughout Canada. Support for Yardi Canada employees Yardi was proud to join the 11th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day to promote social awareness and proactive measures regarding mental health. “It was an honour to support Bell Let’s Talk Day. At Yardi, we will continue to do our part to support mental health awareness and programming. Both are so very important, and we must keep these conversations going year round,” says Marla Mayes, human resources director, Yardi Canada. You can help keep the conversations going throughout the year. Below are five simple ways to help end stigma surrounding mental health as recommended by Dr. Heather Stuart, the Bell Canada Mental Health and Anti-stigma research chair at Queen’s University: Language matters: notice the words that you use when you refer to your mental health and the mental health of others. Educate yourself: take time to learn the facts and myths regarding mental health. Be kind: let others know that you are there for them with simple acts of kindness. Listen and ask: listen to hear rather than to respond, and ask how you can help. Talk about it: mental illness touches many people personally or through family and friends. Recovery is possible, and it often begins by just talking about...

Yardi returned as a proud sponsor of The Buildings Week PM EXPO 2020. Nearly 6,000 design, construction and real estate experts attended the virtual event which offered engaging content and targeted networking opportunities. One of the conference’s hottest sessions focused on using technology to overcome hurdles posed by COVID-19. In “Pandemic Proofing Canadian Real Estate through Technology and Innovation,” three industry leaders conveyed how technology helped them weather seasons of unprecedented change. Heather Brady, national director of sales at Yardi Canada Ltd. moderated a panel consisting of Maria Aiello, global head of private markets and real estate technology, MVP at Manulife Financial; Moe Ladha, finance transformation lead at The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited and Todd Nishimura, senior director of marketing, leasing and communications at GWL Realty Advisors Inc. To remain nimble and responsive, each panelist acknowledged the importance of leadership, digital communication and accessibility to data. Tech for leading with purpose Aiello proposes that during tough times, leadership must set the tone for adaptability, receptivity and a meaningful change. She says, “Manulife has been nothing but impressive with focusing on humanity by showing we are here to help. Our values and culture have extended to a different tier, and initially it was in response to the mental health of our employees and customers.” The three organizations found creative ways to virtually demonstrate empathy. Dynamic resident portals and websites were a critical resource for staff and residents. Sites focused on best practices for mental and physical health. Nishimura explains, “Mental health has become a real focus and part of the stakeholder approach. We created a COVID repository with trusted resources. The site was successful because we promoted it via email and building signage.” Digital tools for communication and transparency Virtual leasing plays a leading role in remote communication with prospects. Live virtual tours and 3D floor plans offer convenient and safe options for prospects: “The consumer has expectations of immediate gratification and ease of use. The real estate industry is catching up and maybe one day we will be on the leading edge of technology,” says Nishimura. Cloud computing keeps communication and data accessible to relevant parties. Ladha noted the importance of cloud computing in remote work environments, “Tech became critical to access data and to collaborate remotely,” he says. “Our finance teams said remote work would have been more difficult if we had not transitioned to the cloud six months ago.” He adds, “Don’t underestimate the importance and the value of a strong structure of change training and education for those involved in this digitization journey. Yes, the tech should be intuitive and easy to use but the education and support for tech competency is important for all your teams.” Additionally, cloud computing empowers organizations to accelerate decision-making processes by having its data centralized and available between platforms. Teams communicate using a single source of truth. From leasing to procurement and asset management, users can make informed decisions with consistent, accurate and real-time data. Discover more tools to help your organization navigate changing tides with efficiency and...

Efficient, automated procurement and single-point supplier management are within reach. Through Yardi Marketplace, HD Supply Canada offers tools of the trade for multifamily, hospitality and healthcare property managers. It is a collaboration that empowers clients to work with greater simplicity, efficiency and savings. For Munawar Quraishi, general manager for HD Supply Canada Inc., teaming up with Yardi was a merging of interests. Both organizations emphasize caring for employees, clients and the community. Quraishi says, “Improving our people’s lives is at the core of everything we do. We know that having engaged, successful people within our business will drive the success of the organization.” He continues, “We look at the right balance of people, profit and processes.” To enhance its processes, HD Supply Canada sought a collaborator with similar perspectives on innovative technology. Together, Yardi and HD Supply Canada aim to advance the future of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) buying and distribution. HD Supply, Canadian market leaders HD Supply Canada is the leading supplier of MRO products for multifamily living, hotels and long-term retirement care in the nation. Its pick, pack and distribute business model offers next day shipment. Product availability constantly grows: currently, HD Supply Canada offers 14,000 SKUs. Within the next several years, the goal is to get over 100,000. The process includes consulting subject matter experts on new products so that clients can rest assured they’re getting high quality and value. “Our sales team engages with vendors and peers to research and give our customers the best solution,” says Quraishi. Getting quality products into the hands of clients has involved process innovation at HD Supply Canada. The supplier was determined to implement digital solutions that streamline processes for its staff and its clients. HD Supply Canada + Yardi Marketplace add value for clients “Yardi Marketplace helps us act as solution providers for our customers, not just transaction executors. Having one platform for orders, payment and analytics will give our customers a previously unattained degree of visibility and help improve their productivity,” explains Quraishi. Previous transactions occurred via fax, email, phone and website. This approach resulted in unnecessary time delays and errors. “Yardi’s integration takes away the ambiguity of purchase order development before it gets to us, whether that’s a price change, error or issue with the print catalogues,” says Quraishi. An online marketplace also allows property technicians to maximize their time by using a mobile-ready service to place orders while they’re in the field. Clients note that site-level productivity has improved once operating on Marketplace. Additionally, HD Supply Canada conducts enterprise resource planning (ERP) through Marketplace. This allows the customer to make better decisions around budget and pricing. “This technology was a big play for us: it allowed property owners to understand how they’re spending dollars, especially in a time like today with COVID-19 where budgets and working capital become more important,” Quraishi says. “Such budget and capital insights allow clients better visibility than they had in the past.” Pouring (not trickling) the savings to clients Improved efficiencies within HD Supply Canada have a resounding impact on clients. HD Supply Canada reports that Yardi Marketplace has facilitated fewer price discrepancies, fewer errors with purchase orders and better visibility into approvals and budgeting. The organization now picks, packs and ships without completing the approval process via disparate systems and methods. The streamlined approach expedites business at multiple levels. The future of technology in MRO buying + distribution  Quraishi and his team collaborate with technology companies like Yardi to usher the distribution industry into the future. “We believe technology is the solution to help us grow and we will grow with it,” says Quraishi. “Our investment in technology allows us to enhance the customer experience. We believe our system will pull information quickly and provide superior data to our clients. Those resources will help customers understand what they are buying, standardize those purchases and realize cost savings in the...

This period of unexpected hardship has also sparked unprecedented acts of support and compassion. Several Yardi clients in Canada have stepped up to support their residents and communities through financial assistance and emotional support. Shiplake Properties: help during hard times In the throes of COVID-19, Shiplake Properties has launched several initiatives to support residents, essential workers, and the community. Residents of Toronto-based Shiplake Properties Ltd may qualify for credits toward rent increases and $250,000 in gift cards. If experiencing extreme hardship, the firm encourages residents to discuss their situations with property management using a designated email address. Additionally, the property management and development firm has offered $100 in UberEats gift cards or grocery gift cards to support residents and local businesses. For the community, Shiplake Properties founders allotted $250,000 to support University Health Network emergency staff. The funds help cover accommodation costs to support frontline workers who are staying in hotels to be closer to work and minimize exposure to families. The real estate firm also plans to support both Sinai and Sunnybrook Hospitals and The Daily Bread Foodbank in coming weeks. Greenrock Properties offers relief from duress Greenrock Property Management announced a $500K COVID-19 Relief Fund for residents and staff facing financial duress during COVID-19. The property manager has deferred all rent increases for residents. They are also offering flexibility on rent payments, such as allowing residents to use March rent deposits as credits towards April rent payments. For help beyond housing, residents will receive a $100 grocery card. Greenrock Property Management outreach extends into the neighborhoods in which they operate. The real estate firm has donated $300,000 to local nonprofits that aid families affected by COVID-19. “COVID-19 has created unique and extreme challenges for our city and communities. GREA through its Greenrock Charitable Trust has pledged $300,000 towards local charitable organizations to address concerns surrounding food security, mental health, domestic abuse, and senior care during this crisis,” states a press release. Northview uses creativity to spark hope Emotional support can also help residents thrive. To encourage social distancing while nourishing mental wellness, Northview Apartment REIT hosts Social Distancing Balcony Parties. Residents are encouraged to get outside, get creative and create a much noise as possible in support of frontline workers. The first events took place on April 5th and 15th. Residents decorated their balconies and honored frontline workers with noise makers. Whistles, pots, pans, cheering and more could be heard resounding throughout the community. Residents submitted images and videos of their parties for a chance to win $500 rent discounts. Northview matches the discounts with $500 donations to the local food bank. Northview plans to host similar events each week. Additionally, Northview has encouraged residents to paint rocks with uplifting and encouraging messages. Residents have created messages for health, happiness, and support of frontline workers. Creativity contests with CLV Group Ottawa-based CLV Group invites residents to think out of the box and show their creativity on social media. Residents are challenged to create and document visible rainbows throughout the property. To date, residents submitted rainbows using yarn, chalk, balloons, prisms, construction paper, Leggos and more! Participants vote on their favorite submissions and the winners receive grocery store gift cards. CLV Group is also publicly acknowledging their essential workers each week with the Home Heroes series on social media. CLV photographs employees executing their essential tasks throughout the property, accompanied by a brief bio. The comments are filled with messages of gratitude and encouragement. To support prospects, CLV offers rent discounts, lease concessions and free move-ins offers. Prospects can take advantage of a contactless leasing process that promotes health, efficiency, and convenience. Explore more corporate social responsibility initiatives by Yardi...

Employees from Yardi Canada’s Toronto office recently gave their time to spent a weekend day creating winter survival kits for regional non-profits. The Project Winter Survival kit assembly and donation day is organized by Engage and Change, a charity created to foster good citizenship and encourage healthy communities through giving back. This year, over 3,000 winter survival kits were distributed to over 240 front-line social service agencies and shelters in the greater Toronto area, including the Salvation Army, Street Health, Margaret’s, Covenant House, Out of the Cold and many more. “As it was my first event in Canada to help the people in need for basic and hygiene supplies, it was definitely a memorable and pleasant experience for me,” said Bharti Shisode, senior technical analyst in the Toronto office. “We turned the task into a fun competition between two teams to get the most kits completed.” “This event is a reminder to be grateful for everything we have in our lives,” said Susan Diano, CSD team lead in the Toronto office.  “For the second year in a row there was a snowstorm on the day of the event, and I don’t think that is a coincidence.  This event reminds us that even if we are in a rough season of our life, that it could be much worse and at least we have a roof over our head and food on our table.” “This was an amazing and great experience to be a part of Project Winter Survival. For me, the most rewarding part was the sense of satisfaction in making a valuable and positive contribution to the community that we live in,” said Karthik Attavar, associate technical account manager in the Toronto office. “The very fact that we had a snowstorm on the day of the event shows how harsh a cold weather can be if you are on the streets and how difficult it is to survive out there without the basic necessities of life. The kits included items like hygiene supplies, warm dry socks, hats, scarves, gloves, sleeping bags, hand warmers, bottled water, towels and snacks. There are over 9,200 people in Toronto who are homeless on any given night, affording to fredvictor.org Yardi is Energized for good. Read more about our employee volunteerism and corporate social responsibility efforts on our Giving page....

The importance of childhood play has had anecdotal value for ages. In the 1960s, however, studies on rodents and brain development encouraged neuroscientists to formally explore the importance of play in childhood development. Their efforts have paved the way for programs like Start2Finish that improve childhood academic performance through physical activity. Acknowledging multi-dimensional complexity When it comes to academic success, literacy takes center stage. The ability to read improves academic performance in mathematics and other areas of study. But the benefits of education do not stop in the classroom. Multiple studies note the correlation between a nation’s literacy skills and the well-being of its inhabitants. Improving literacy depends on consistent exposure to literature. For Canada’s 1 million children living in poverty, exposure is inconsistent at best: limited access to libraries, few books at home, and single-parent households with tight resources are just a few contributing factors to childhood illiteracy. In public schools, governments fail to adequately and equally equip all school with resources. Teachers spend $143 million of their own money to buy reading materials for their students yet the gap remains. As a result, children living in poverty are about 4.5 times behind their peers in vocabulary development. The lack of literacy development then creates a snowball effect in other areas of study. A sedentary lifestyle adds to the complexity of children’s developmental hurdles. Children in low-income homes are twice as likely as children from middle class homes to live in a neighborhood where violence and drug-trafficking are everyday occurrences. Impoverished areas also have fewer parks. Neighborhood dangers and a lack of access to green spaces minimize youths’ exposure to natural environments and safe places to play. Low literacy and physical activity contribute to an under-stimulated hippocampus in children’s brains. Executive function, learning, and concentration are all adversely affected. Overcoming invisibility to promote change When playing for the Canadian Football League, Brian Warren would often participate in meet-and-greets with kids from area of complexity. The kids would watch a game, hear a few words of inspiration, receive an autographed ball, and then return home. Mr. Warren felt like it was not enough. He soon founded Start2Finish, a nonprofit organization that uses neuroscience techniques favored by athletic and business professionals to help children excel in school. Karen Pessoa-Warren, director of operations, explains the inspiration behind the organization. “Athletes get exclusive training in the connection between mind and body. Why couldn’t this work with the kid struggling in school and at home?” proposes Pessoa-Warren. “We find the kids are most vulnerable in the areas of executive control and focus, things athletes are trained in. We’ve married these very unlikely concepts, to stimulate the hippocampus with books and physical activity. A snowball effect then happens. Not only are they reading better, which even helps with math, but they’re better able to multi-task, stay focused, and manipulate thought.” Though the research was in place, it would take a change of perspective for the organization to succeed throughout the country. The Warrens first endeavoured to shine light on local childhood poverty, a topic that went largely unrecognized. “In Canada, people don’t think we have childhood poverty,” reflects Pessoa-Warren. “We don’t have an index for poverty, but one out of five kids live at or below the poverty line. We needed to let people know that poverty exists.” Secondly, they found themselves battling the notion that poverty and poor academic performance were character flaws rather than systemic problems. She adds, “We have a strong social net here, but kids still fall through. Without understanding of the data or the complexity surrounding their lives, people thought those who struggled in school weren’t bright or that it was a family issue.” Public education continues to be a part of the work at Start2Finish. Read, play, excel Children living in areas of complexity are facing an uphill battle. The team at Start2Finish has developed a creative plan...