by Geraldine Di Marco
Helping others in need comes naturally to me. My love for volunteer work started during my college days in London, England with the Spastics Society. A Charitable Organization dedicated to helping disabled people to have the same opportunity like anyone else. The Patrons of that Organization included Prince Philip and Princess Marina, the Duchess of Kent. My position with the organization was to write Thank You letters to Donors which were personally signed by Actor/Singers – Sir Harry Secombe and Dame Vera Lynn, as well as helping to arrange Celebrity Nights to be held at Donors’ establishments.
I was inspired to create A Touch of Love and Hope with my husband John Di Marco, after learning of the many Health Care challenges that exist in the Commonwealth of Dominica. At that time, we were both serving on the Board of Directors of Opera Belcanto of York. The opera is our passion, but we decided to resign from our positions as Board Members in order to create and maintain A Touch of Love and Hope.
My community activities include volunteering for a total of 15 years as a member of the Board of Directors of Opera York and Opera Belcanto of York, 11 years as a member of the Property Standards Committee (during three terms of office) of the City of Vaughan, and 10 years with the Toronto Board of Education/Toronto Public Libraries in the Leading to Reading Programme, which is aimed at improving children’s reading skills.
A Touch of Love and Hope is operated by a group of dedicated Board of Directors from all walks of life who take pride in supporting programmes that support mentally and physically challenged children in Developing Countries, as well as helping to make their own local communities a better place to live.
We are very grateful to our Members, Volunteers and Sponsors – the pillars of A Touch of Love and Hope!
Thank you for your continued support and generosity and for entering this new chapter with us.
Support with a smile! Together, we can make it happen!
Geraldine Di Marco
President/Co-Founder