Hello McCauley. The League has received some good news recently. After more than three months, we finally have access to our bank accounts! This has been a significant consumer of our time and energy and caused us no end of frustration. But with this in place, we feel like we’re finally up and running.

As June was another very busy month, it is certainly time for another round of thanks. A hefty note of thanks goes to our soccer volunteers! For being out there rain or shine with nets, balls, snacks, and a cheerful face, your gift is worthy of a hefty hoorah! And of course, many thanks to Grace Kuipers for her hard work in overseeing our program this year.

Many thanks go as well to everyone who participated in the big cleanup on June 14. Trucks, muscles, dirty hands, and smiles were in abundance as we came together to do the work this year. Thanks E4C for organizing this event this year. It is a wonderful gift to the community.

The League would also like to say a warm thank you to our partners at the Boys and Girls Club for opening up their board room for us to use for our league meetings. And of course, to Bissell Centre for opening theirs up for us when we were in a pinch. The League would also like to wish a sincere Happy Birthday party to the Italian Centre. It was great fun celebrating this milestone with you as well this past month.

At our June meeting, the Community League agreed to show leadership in caring for the Natural Garden in the South East corner of Caboto Park. This garden has been something of a “no man’s land” the last few years, as no one is really in charge of cleaning it up. So, it is up to us! The League plans to host regular work parties and cleanups over the course of spring, summer, and fall to help this garden stay in good shape. Come join the fun! We look forward to getting a little dirty with you.

Related to that, the League board would like to encourage all of us to play a part in keeping our neighbourhood clean and making it beautiful. There are some clean up crews that come around from time to time, including a group from Hope Mission, but these crews can’t be everywhere. So this summer, let’s all do our part. If you do see syringes, please call 311 as the City tracks this information and wants to take care of this.

Don’t be afraid to do a little guerrilla gardening as well. If you see a plot that’s getting overrun or could use a little help, feel free to pull a few weeds, mow a neighbour’s lawn (with their permission), or even offer to plant some flowers. A community is built on small acts of kindness and care. Let’s try to watch out for each other!

Here are a few up and coming events in the next few weeks: July 12 is a day to be out and about with the East Meets West festival in Chinatown. Be sure to take a stroll on Church Street (96 Street) that day as well, as festivities are planned there also. Lots going on in our great community. Let’s get out and enjoy it, and do our part to make things better.

To connect with the McCauley Community League, please check us out on Facebook. Our email address is mccauleycommunityleague2014@gmail.com or you can visit one of our board meetings. We meet the first Tuesday of every month from 7-10 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club (95 Street Entrance). This month we meet on July 8. See you around, neighbour!