PRESENTED TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING JUNE 1, 2010

Open Arms Children’s Foundation (OACF) had a very successful 2009. The major fundraising activity was the sixth annual silent and live auction held in October at the beautiful Bata Shoe Museum in downtown Toronto. The Bata Shoe Museum and the Malivoire Wine Company were much-appreciated corporate sponsors of the event that netted over $20,000. The volunteer Fundraising Committee did an exceptional job soliciting interesting items of very good value and organizing a well-run evening of fun for all guests. Among the highlights of the evening were the ability to view the Bata Shoe Museum collection and the selling of amazing “bling” by our child volunteers. Feedback from the attending guests regarding the venue was extremely positive. Therefore, the Fundraising Committee determined that the next silent and live auction, which is planned for the spring of 2011, would also be held at the Bata Shoe Museum.

In 2009, Open Arms Children’s Foundation received over $50,000 in donations and raised over $20,000 through fundraising activities. OACF is especially thankful to Kathy Soden and Jean Desgagne for hosting a lovely fundraising cocktail party, partly sponsored by TD Bank Financial Group. OACF was also very pleased to again receive a cash donation in the amount of $5,000 from BMO. As a result of the fundraising and all donations, OACF was left in the position to be able to meet all its financial commitments, including its pledge to the New Hope Foundation for $20,000 to help fund the Alexandra Yeo/Open Arms wing of the critical care unit run in Xinyang, Henan Province. This pledge is matched on an annual basis by an additional $20,000 from the Koerner Foundation.

2009 saw Open Arms Children’s Foundation sign an Agreement with Fu Hui Canada Foundation and donate $1,500 to support 10 children. OACF also agreed to make a $15,000 donation to Fu Hui to establish an endowment that would allow additional orphans from Liangshan in Sichuan province to attend school. A second donation of $1,500 was made at the end of the year to support another 10 children. Information regarding the work of Fu Hui is available at www.fuhuieducation.org

OACF has completed its funding obligation to Half The Sky Canada Foundation. Half The Sky Canada Foundation was still in the process of reorganizing during 2009 and, as a result, no funds were forwarded by OACF to Half The Sky Foundation during this transition period.

Open Arms Children’s Foundation received contributions of over $70,000 in 2009, and funded over $64,000 to its charitable projects. Its administrative expenses during the year were approximately $7,000.

The Board of Directors welcomed Alex Yu as a new member. Alex has volunteered to maintain our web site and was a member of the 2009 Fundraising Committee. The on-going hard work and dedication of the board members: Deborah Maw, Vice-President; Ellen Pekilis, Secretary; Jean-Philippe Cadot, Treasurer; Daniel Chan; MaryAnn Crichton; Julia Ouellette; and Kathy Soden enabled OACF to continue to operate with due diligence and vision. Thank you to all of you on the Board for your deep interest in the welfare of the orphaned Chinese children we have been able to serve.

Respectfully submitted on June 1, 2010 by:

Evelyn Wilson
President
Open Arms Children’s Foundation