Sandra Whiting and other community members honoured at the Jamaican Canadian Association Diamond Jubilee
September 8, 2022
‘I don’t know what I am going to be when I grow up’, Sandra Whiting would frequently tell her mother.
She has stayed true to that declaration.
“I tell my friends the same thing now,” Whiting said. “Everything I have been involved in is something I am interested in and felt important to be part of.”
Very close to her heart is the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) that honoured the raconteur and active community organizer with a Lifetime Award at a celebration on August 13 to mark its 60th year of existence and Jamaica’s diamond jubilee.
The organization was established shortly after Jamaica achieved independence on August 6, 1962.
“I am over the moon,” Whiting said of the recognition. “Coming from an organization that I have been a member of for many years and have served on a multitude of committees, it signifies that I should pause for a moment and take stock of all the things I have done.”
Sandra Whiting with former Toronto Blue Jays Joe Carter (l) & Jose Delgado (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she graduated from St. Hugh’s High School where she was an active volunteer.
“I ran the debating and newsletter clubs,” said Whiting. “I was always organizing and bossing people around. I like to say that the only people that hear my mouth are those I care about.”
After about two years at the Bank of Montreal in Jamaica, she came to Canada for vacation in the early 1970s and liked what she saw.
“It was summer, the weather was beautiful and I attended the Toronto Caribbean Carnival,” Whiting pointed out. “I fell in love with the city and pledged I would be back to stay.”
A year later, she fulfilled the promise.
Whiting spent the next seven years as a Loans Officer at a Bank of Montreal branch in Toronto before joining ‘Share’. In five years with Canada’s largest ethnic newspaper, she managed the defunct ‘Excellence’ magazine, wrote a column, served as office administrator and made some sales.
“I loved it,” she said. “I enjoyed going out and being an ambassador for the newspaper. The experience was also enhanced by the fact that I lived about three minutes from the office.”
Sandra Whiting with Share newspaper publisher Arnold Auguste (l) and the late Bromley Armstrong (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
With an interest in the arts, Whiting’s next workplace was Harbourfront Centre where she was a Community Arts Programmer for just over two decades.
Working with over 450 organizations, the Centre hosts more than 4,000 events annually in several disciplines, including theatre, dance, literature, music, film, visual arts and craft.
“Harbourfront opened my eyes and mind to all the different cultures and groups in Toronto,” Whiting, the eldest of four siblings, said. “I believe I have worked with every cultural group in this city. I cannot stress enough how important it is to be at the table. Most times, people program for us and tell us what we should see. When you don’t have a voice at the table advocating for you, it makes a huge difference.”
During her time with the Centre, she conceived Kuumba that is the longest-running African Heritage program at a major cultural institution in the city.
A charismatic storyteller, Whiting’s tales are filled with African and Caribbean folklore vibrancy, coloured by magical experiences growing up in the Caribbean and enriched by the joy of living in Canada.
She learnt the interactive art from her mother.
“My mom told the best stories,” said Whiting who was the recipient of an Ontario Black History Society Award in 2019. “I can’t say she did it the way I do. She taught me to read. My dad loved reading and all of his children had to do that. I also just like to talk. I am a chatterbox. So I was always telling stories and sharing things that happened.”
In Canada, she was introduced to ‘1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling’ created in 1978 as a platform for storytellers and listeners to gather downtown every Friday night for an open evening of oral stories.
“One day, I put my hand up and said, ‘I have a story to tell’,” she recalled. “That was when I really started telling stories in Canada.”
In the last three decades, Whiting has been involved with many organizations in the Greater Toronto Area.
A former Black Business & Professional Association President and Board member, she also served as President of the Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education (PACE) Canada, chaired the JCA Walk Good Walkathon, the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, Factory and Obsidian Theatres committees and was a member of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Performing Arts Development Fund, the Empire Club of Canada and the Caribbean Cultural Committee boards.
Black Business & Professional Association new President Sandra Whiting (c) with executive members Lisa Goldson (l), Connie Foster, Clinton Roache, Michael Lecky, Chimbo Poe-Mutuma, John Andrade & Jacqui Debique in June 1995 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Since 2020, Whiting has been teaching and facilitating online learning through the Institute of Change Leaders founded eight years ago by retired politician Olivia Chow.
She is also a Jamaican Patois/Creole Court Interpreter and Vice-President of Culchaworks Arts Collective that celebrates stories drawn from the African-Canadian, Caribbean-Canadian and African-American cultural legacies, having universal resonance through the arts.
Other Lifetime Award winners were Eunice Graham who was recognized by the JCA for volunteerism a decade ago, Francella Moore and Bruce McDonald.
Bruce McDonald (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
A member since 1989, McDonald has chaired several committees, including the walkathon, car raffle, Father’s Day Breakfast and New Year’s Eve dinner & dance and served for 11 years as the fundraising committee co-chair.
“The JCA is like my second home,” said the 92-year-old volunteer. “I have enjoyed every moment spent here.”
In the keynote address, University of Guelph Chancellor Mary Anne Chambers said the JCA has been a place of acceptance, comfort and support for Jamaicans in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond who sometimes had reason to wonder if they belonged here.
Mary Anne Chambers (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“The JCA has long advocated for social justice, sometimes making itself a larger target than its individual members,” said the former Ontario government Minister who migrated from Jamaica with her family in 1976. “It is said that a community can be defined by how it treats its most vulnerable members. The JCA deserves our appreciation for the love and respect shown for our seniors, whether through the preparation and delivery of meals or through special programs and events that enrich their quality of life.
“After all, we know that without the love, dedication and sacrifices of the elders in their lives, younger generations might not have had the opportunity to succeed and achieve a better quality of life, often far greater than their grandparents and parents had experienced themselves.”
Education is a core component of the JCA’s commitment to transform young lives.
The organization runs a Saturday morning tutorial program that engages students in hands-on, practical and relevant real-life experiential learning.
In 2003, it launched a scholarship program to help young people pursue higher education.
“It is an undeniable truth that education is the foundation for better futures and the opportunity to make our world more caring and progressive,” said Chambers who funds nearly 60 scholarships at colleges, universities and community organizations, including the JCA. “When we support and guide our young people so they can rise above the challenges many face every day, we help them to believe in themselves and we give them hope. When we emphasize the importance of education, we help our youth to appreciate the opportunities that education can provide. When we help them to recognize and respect the value of honest work and the joy of seeing what their skills and efforts can produce, we help them to experience genuine pride. And when we show them how to truly love themselves and how to love and respect others, we give them the very best gift of all.”
The theme of this year’s celebration was ‘60 Years of Greatness’.
“I love recognizing extraordinary accomplishments, especially by those who are often viewed as ordinary people, underestimated people and people I think of as ‘salt of the earth’ people,” added Chambers who is a GraceKennedy Ltd. Board Director. “Some of you have credentials, whether in a skilled trade or in some other profession. Some of you are considered essential workers, especially when there is a crisis like the pandemic that has no regard for status or wealth. The reality is that we are all essential to the wellbeing of each other. This room is filled with ordinary people who are accomplishing extraordinary things in your everyday lives, overcoming challenge after challenge as you care for your families and help to sustain and improve life for all of us. For that, I thank you.”
Community Awards were presented to Andria Babbington, Neil Armstrong, Kathy McDonald and Camille Hannays-King.
Andria Babbington (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
In May 2021, Babbington made history as the first woman of colour to lead the Toronto & York Region Labour Council that represents nearly 22,000 unionized workers in Canada’s largest urban centre.
Starting his journalism career in 1991 at Radio Jamaica, Armstrong came to Canada three years later and spent a decade at CHRY, serving as News Director, Spoken Word Co-ordinator, Program Co-ordinator and Acting Station Manager before joining the Jamaica Gleaner (Canada) in May 2005 as freelance editor/writer.
Neil Armstrong (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“Shortly after coming to Canada, I was voluntarily writing feature articles for the JCA’s newsletters,” he said. “Since then, I have been covering the organization’s various activities and matters related to the community. This award is a surprise and I feel humbled to be acknowledged for my years of doing what I do best – journalism.”
A Peel District School Board (PDSB) Trustee since 2014, McDonald co-ordinates a community youth steel band, recites Jamaican folktales at community events and is a member of the Congress of Black Women Brampton chapter.
Kathy McDonald (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
In the role of Co-chair of the PBSB Parent Involvement Committee from 2012 to 2014, she promoted and encouraged parent involvement by organizing workshops, speakers and activities to help families’ support their children.
Hannays-King is a retired Humber College Student Success & Engagement Counsellor.
Her association with the JCA began in 1985 when she started as a Community Development worker in the Caribbean Youth & Family Services program. She returned to the organization years later to serve in a volunteer capacity.
Camille Hannays-King (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“The JCA is a warm place where I feel welcomed and I want to share my skills,” said Hannays-King who chairs the organization’s Women’s Committee.
Hyacinth Wilson was the recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award, Wilbert Johnson was honoured for 25 years of continuous membership and Michelle Davis was recognized with the President’s Award.
She is in her second term as the JCA Fundraising Director.
Michelle Davis (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“The award means everything to me because I enjoy being part of this organization and around wonderful people,” said Davis who, two years ago, was the recipient of the University of Toronto’s Arbor Award that is the highest honour granted to volunteers. “I am humbled, appreciative and looking forward to serving the organization.”
A PhD candidate at Walden University, her research focuses on Caribbean youth, sexual empowerment and parental communication.
Federal Minister of Housing and Diversity & Inclusion Ahmed Hussen and Members of Provincial Parliament Mitzie Hunter, Charmaine Williams and Patrice Barnes attended the gala.
New Members of Provincial Parliament Patrice Barnes (l) & Charmaine Williams attended the JCA gala (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
The JCA founding executive comprised its first president Roy Williams, who is 93 and was at the event, Mavis Magnus and the late Bromley Armstrong, Phyllis White, Violet Carter, J.B Campbell, Esmond Ricketts, Ira Dundas, George King and Owen Tennyson.
