New Leaf Link Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Concert, Open House

Jeff Green | Apr 03, 2024

New Leaf Link celebrates 15th anniversary with concert, open house.

When New Leaf Link was starting, back in 2009, founder Karin Steiner described its goals in a simple way.

“Our main focus is on delivering programming to our sons and daughters who would otherwise sit at home with nothing to do and nowhere to go,” she said, in an interview with the Frontenac News.

With her husband Howard Smith, Steiner was looking to create meaningful programming for their son Nicholas, who was just out of high school at that time, and other young adults who had been through the school to community program and were facing a profound lack of stimulation, at a crucial time in their lives.

New Leaf Link (aka NeLL) has been filling that need ever since, and over the years, the program has expanded to three days a week. And in 2023, the first NeLL summer camp created a new tradition for NeLL families.

Next week, on April 13, NeLL is presenting their annual spring event on a weekend, for the first time.

Brandy Sheahan, Development Program Manager at NeLL, said there are a couple of reasons for the Saturday event.

“We wanted to do something different for the anniversary, and we also want to provide an opportunity for families who may be interested in our programming but can’t get away from work during the week, to come and see what a day at NeLL is really like.”

The first part of the event on the 13th, between 11am and noon, will feature demonstrations from the cooking and science programs that are part of the NeLL programming.

Then, at noon, the concert/Karaoke presentation of original songs will get underway.

Under the direction of NeLL’s program facilitator and music instructor Chris Boal, and part-time musical instructors Gary Rasberry, Tim Sheffield and Margaret Moncreiff, NeLL participants have been working on writing and performing original songs.

The songwriting stream began last summer, when at the first ever NeLL weeklong camp, held at Camp Kennebec in Arden, participants and staff wrote two songs to mark the occasion. Since then, songwriting has been a feature of NeLL, and on the 13th , the songs that have resulted from those efforts will be performed. The words for the songs will be projected, so there will be an opportunity for audience-participation Karaoke, with live music accompaniment by all four musical instructors.

After the concert, refreshments will be served, as sharing food is a long standing New Leaf Link tradition. And, we can only hope that since it is the 15th anniversary, there will be cake.

“We are really looking forward to sharing our inclusive environment with new people,” said Sheahan. “It has taken a lot of effort from all of our volunteers and all the families who make up New Leaf Link, to have kept going through some difficult years, and a difficult Covid disruption, but here we are after 15 years, planning for the future.

The anniversary event is taking place at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church, in the gym area at the back. NeLL programming takes place at the church. Everyone is most welcome to attend.

For further information about NeLL, go to Newleaflink.ca