Nominated by Amy Katz, Bathurst-Finch Network Facilitator; Hannah Bontogon, ANC Community Engagement Worker; Jenny Lyttle, Community Dietician, New Heights CHCs

Christopher Rzepa has contributed to the health of the community in many ways. Most importantly, from the perspective of New Heights Community Health Centres, he has gone well beyond the call of duty to open the school up to the community and provide a warm, welcoming and well-supported environment. He has also formed partnerships with New Heights to promote health for the students of Rockford School. Here are a few examples of recent collaborations between New Heights Community Health Centres, Christopher Rzepa and Rockford School. We think they will help illustrate the amazing contributions Christopher is making to the health of the Bathurst-Finch Community!

 Bathurst-Finch Network Community Conversation

On November 3rd, 2009, the Bathurst-Finch Network held its first community event at Rockford School-a Community Conversation, dinner and agency fair. We organized the event very closely with Christopher from the beginning. He offered us many school resources and promoted the event, provided staff support and gave us all the logistical help and advice we needed. Christopher, himself, stayed late in the evening doing whatever was required to make the night work. From the beginning, Christopher was extremely helpful and made us feel comfortable using the school.

The event was a big success. Approximately 150 people attended, participated in a lively community conversation, ate a beautiful dinner and took part in an agency fair. We received tremendous feedback about the event from community members, and the event went a long way towards contributing to the work of the network. It also went a long way toward building the health of the community: community members commented that they were thrilled to sit down with neighbours, talk about issues, and build a sense of community. They also said they learned a lot about the services available to them in the neighbourhood including health, education and employment services. Community workers also felt they learned a lot about the neighbourhood and each other.

The Bathurst-Finch Network's first community event simply would not have happened the way it did without the vision and support of Christopher and Rockford School. Many network members-mostly workers from community agencies-who took part in the event commented specifically on Christopher's contributions to the event, and how important the partnership with the school was to developing, promoting and carrying out the night.

 Rockford Chess Club

Christopher was very supportive in working with parents on the Parent Council to shape the Chess Club in partnership with Action for Neighbourhood Change. He was very open and flexible to improving the proposal so that the project would be sustainable. In the end, the proposal was well-received and the Parent Council was granted the funds to begin the Rockford Chess Club! While there were challenges with delays in receiving resources from the funder, Christopher forged ahead anyway and did what he could to keep the Chess Club running and keep the children's enthusiasm and motivation going. In general, Christopher showed his dedication and support by constantly putting the children's needs and interests first. Read more about the Rockford Chess Club here.

 Community Garden

Christopher was very open and supportive of having a Community Garden in partnership with the school and the community. He expressed the importance of creating learning opportunities so that children can know where their food comes from. He was also very accommodating in helping the Community Garden move forward by allowing the community to use the library space to hold their meetings. In the end, the original spot on school property was no longer a viable option for the garden, but Christopher remained open to partnerships and was instrumental in getting it going!

 Healthy Child Screening at Rockford School

The Healthy Child Screening is a health promotion endeavor that New Heights Community Health Centres undertook in 2008. New Heights has partnered with local schools to facilitate the one-day screening. The aim of the screening is to identify children, aged 2-6, who may require attention for issues such as dental, eyesight, behaviour, physical and emotional development, nutrition and settlement. The screening has been successful in that it has helped numerous children, who may have otherwise been missed, get referred to appropriate specialists or experts, and receive early intervention. In June 2009, New Height's CHC's conducted a Healthy Child Screening at Rockford Public School. Christopher was supportive of the screening and acted as a liaison with the teachers. The event was successful-approximately 25 children came to the screening with their parents and rotated through numerous provider's stations. New Heights can only be successful in the types of endeavors with the support of other community members who care about the health of the community - Christopher Rzepa is one of these community members. 

 Conclusion

These are just a few examples of the many collaborations between Rockford School and the community of Bathurst-Finch. In our experience at New Heights Community Health Centres, as vice-principal of Rockford School, Christopher is a pleasure to work with; gives excellent advice about community events and programs; provides all the support needed to carry out successful community partnerships and is genuinely committed to the health of both Rockford students and the community at large, often going well beyond the call of duty. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to nominate him for the Health Champions Award. He deserves it!