Driven by the passion of our team, Bain Toronto is involved in numerous community projects. Over the years, our commitment has taken many forms, from after-school tutoring at St Christopher's House and holiday events at the Red Door Shelter to recent pro- bono projects with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Special Olympics of Canada. The work of Doug Roth, with a team of dedicated Bainies, will ensure that pro-bono work will continue to be an integral component of the Toronto Office.

Our links to these organizations began with the personal interests of individual Bainies and grew to personally touch many more members of the Bain Toronto team. As with everything we do, we take pride in our work to make our community a better place.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada
Since 2007, the Toronto office has been working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, which protects and preserves areas of biological diversity through purchases, donations, conservation agreements or other mechanisms to maintain their intrinsic value for future generations.

The Natural Conservancy is a perfect fit for Toronto's pro-bono initiative: its mission appeals to the spirit of Bainies and our team can have a profound impact on the their most critical issues. Tony Rodrigues and Chris Young have been the champions of the Nature Conservancy at Bain, whose commitment ultimately led Bain to dedicate a team to address the organization's most important issues.

Starting in November of 2008, Bain conducted a four month project to help the Nature Conservancy address two primary issues: 1) Determine the best model for the Head Office to interface with Provincial 'franchises' and 2) Redesign the decision process for critical decisions to increase operational efficiency.

We hope that this is only the beginning of the profound positive impact Bain Toronto will have on the Nature Conservancy for years to come.

Special Olympics of Canada
Since 2007, the Toronto office has been working with Special Olympics Canada (SOC), which facilitates the involvement of Canadians with intellectual disabilities in organized sports. 

The SOC is a perfect fit for Toronto's pro-bono initiative: its mission appeals to the spirit of Bainies and our Bain team can have a profound impact on the SOC's most critical issues. Over the course of the relationship, Catherine Lemire and Jed Fallis have been advisors and active participants in the organization's off-site meetings.   

Starting in November of 2008, Bain conducted a four month pro-bono project to help Special Olympics Canada achieve 2 of 5 pillars of its 5-year strategic plan: 1) To increase the number of participating athletes by 7% per year until 2012 and 2) To increase the number of coaches and volunteers by 9% per year until 2012. 

We hope that this is only the beginning of the profound positive impact Bain Toronto will have on the SOC for years to come.

St. Christopher House
St. Christopher House (SCH) is community centre in a low income Toronto neighbourhood. As a multi-service agency, they offer multiple programs including adult literacy, employment counselling, Meals on Wheels, and numerous youth programs, such as after-school tutoring.  

Bain Toronto's relationship with (SCH) began in 2002 when an 11 person pro-bono case team had a mission to determine how to improve access to financial services for 2-3 million low-income customers currently under served in Canada. Through interviews, focus groups and secondary research, we determined the types of services required by this low-income segment, and we developed a "thin channel" or "branchlette" model for the Royal Bank of Canada. Our efforts were even profiled in the Toronto Star, a national newspaper, as the first pilot branches were launched in the community SCH aims to serve.

In 2002, we continued to build on our relationship with SCH by participating in the Youth Tutoring Program. Recognizing the peaks and valleys of casework don't always allow for a regular volunteering schedule, a group of Toronto Bainies developed a program that allowed them to share volunteering responsibilities. The ability of Bainies to make a long-term commitment to a student while still managing their work demands, has attracted 'tutors' from all levels within the office and has allowed a lasting community relationship to develop. Today, we continue to volunteer at St. Chris and have just launched our 7th consecutive year of participation in the tutoring program.

The STOP
Bain Toronto's relationship with the Stop Community Food Centre (The Stop) began in 2003 when Chris Dawson, a partner at the time, brought Bain and The Stop together. The Stop works to increase access to healthy food through food banks, drop-in programs, community kitchens and more.

In 2003, Bain conducted a 3 month pro-bono project to help The Stop understand 1) their client base; 2) the retail food options within their catchment area; and 3) how their client base accessed food and thought about their food purchase options. Our study formed the basis for The Stop's now annual "user survey" which is used daily by the organization to plan programs, apply for grants and serve their community in a more targeted way. 

Over the years, Bain has continued its relationship with The Stop, using the themes of food and the community for several of our ESPRIT events. Amongst our most popular events have been three highly successful Iron Chef competitions in The Stop's community food kitchen. Michelle Monteiro continues to lead Bain's involvement with The Stop as a member of the Board of Directors.

The United Way
The United Way supports a network of over 200 health and social service agencies delivering quality services and programs to every corner of the city. For the past 15 years, Bain Toronto has raised funds for the United Way through pledge forms and events. It is truly the time of year each Toronto Bainie looks forward to: we hold amazing, fun events and raise money for a worthy cause, all at the as same time! Events range from the CN Tower stair climb to the newly added 'Costume Auction' where Bainies pledge to see their favourite partner in embarrassing costumes.

While there are several events, the most notorious is certainly the Hamburger Eating Contest (HEC). The HEC sees people from all over the office put forth creative pledges, egging ON colleagues to eat as many McDonald's hamburgers as possible. The 2008 Champion, and long time HEC entertainer, is Jeff Kadanoff. This event and several others not only raise a lot of money for the United Way, but they also bring the office closer together.