The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OkillLiving LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.comKSM bidding adieu to an old friend By Nathan Howesondary education with scholarships. IOAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFthink thats the real difference thats beenmade, he added.err Street Ministries (KSM) willWard said his most significant contri-see a changing of the guard onbutions to the organization have came inKMonday with a new executivethe way of providing staff members anddirector.volunteers with the tools they need toFor the past two years, Benjamin Wardaccomplish their jobs and help changehas served the Oakville community, man-peoples lives.aging day-to-day operations for KSM, butLast May, KSM opened a $6 billion,has now decided to step down to pursue19,000-square-foot Dream Centre tonew employment as president and CEO of expand its services and programs, anda publicly traded gold company in theexperienced a drastic food shortage inUnited States, starting in October.August that saw their food banks nearlyI really had accomplished a lot of theget wiped out.things I set out to at Kerr StreetOne of the challenges is creating(Ministries) and another opportunityawareness that poverty is in fact an issuecame along to move in a different direc-that exists in Oakville. Many people stilltion and it was just time to move for-dont know over 13,000 people live belowward, said Ward.the poverty line in our community, saidOfficially he will be staying with theWard. Trying to make people aware of organization until Sept. 23, but his lastthat and then to show them that Kerrday on-site will be July 28, after a 10-dayStreet Ministries helps these people bytransition period working with hisgiving them the tools and the resourcesreplacement, David Di Sabatino, who hasthey need to pick themselves up and toworked as a senior pastor at the Libertymove on.International Church in Toronto.The biggest challenge (is) to let peo-Ward said his new job will be a bit dif-ple know and to get people to donate soferent from his role at KSM, as he will bethat a difference can be made in theirmanaging a more complex organizationlives, he added.and working within the publicly tradedIt is this challenge of making peopleenvironment.aware of the poverty situation in the com-My time here was definitely valuablemunity that will remain for some time asand we took the organization from theDi Sabatino takes over as executive direc-place of providing great and well-meaningtor, Ward said. services, to providing them in a synthe-Most people just have no idea thatsized way that really helped the peoplepeople live below the poverty line andwho come through the front doors andstruggle with the basic necessities in life,really needed the support of the commu-said Ward. They have dreams (and) aspi- OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTOnity, said Ward.rations (and) want to succeed, and theySince coming onboard with KSM injust need the opportunity to do so.A NEW PATH:Ben Ward, who has been heading up Kerr Street Ministries (KSM) in recent years,2009, Ward said the biggest change heKerr Street (Ministries) has grownwill be leaving to pursue a new role. has seen has been in the lives of thosesignificantly over the past two years andwho come to them for assistance.is now very well-positioned to move for-menial jobs and didnt have any hope, more.Ive seen people who are foreignward in the future, and I know that thesaid Ward. They came to us because they Its the kids who come from difficulttrained doctors who came to Canada tocommunity will continue to support himwere hungry, but at the end of the day we backgrounds and home environments andwork who werent able to, who became(Di Sabatino) and the people who arewere able to help them with much live in poverty who are going to post-sec-clients at our food bank that worked attruly in need.De Sabatino taking over the helm at Kerr Street MinistriesDavid Di Sabatino will take over fromAssuming the role of senior pastor in As he and his wife set about dealing witha weekly participation rate of more than 70Benjamin Ward as executive director of Kerr2003, Di Sabatino and his wife Jessica, these needs, they created an organizationper cent of the full congregation.Street Ministries on July 18.worked hard to build this congregation from with numerous parallels to the services pro-In addition to his responsibilities atDi Sabatino completed his Bachelor of 20 to several hundred on a weekly basis.vided by KSM.Liberty, Di Sabatino also serves on a numberReligious Education degree in 2000 andIn addition to providing traditional pastoral Di Sabatino has been successful in fundof boards, which have allowed him thesince then, he has held several pastoralduties for his congregation, Di Sabatino recog-raising and has achieved leadership inopportunity to work with many CEOs of roles, most recently with the Libertynized a number of practical physical needs resource management.Fortune 500 companies throughout CanadaInternational Church in Toronto. existed for many members of the congregation. Under his leadership, Liberty has achievedand the United States.www.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, July 15, 2011 22