get involved

. . . an even more vibrant place to live, work, shop, and enjoy recreational facilities, including parkland and valleys. 

Annual Membership is $20 per household for anyone living in AWRA boundaries

Out of area non-voting membership is also available at $20 per year/household

E-Transfer 

If not currently a member, please (re)-join the AWRA by sending an E-Transfer of $20 (AWRA annual household fee) to awra.thornhill@gmail.com

Be sure to include your name, email, and home address in the message box along with your e-transfer.

Cheque

Drop off or mail your cheque of $20 Payable to AWRA Inc, to our Treasurer

Sue Shillow, 82 Tamarack Dr., Thornhill, Ontario. L3T 4V5. 

Please include your name, email, home address, and phone number. 

Busy lives make challenging for residents to get involved until a crisis comes knocking at the door; unfortunately by that time is usually too late to change the outcome.

We leave a great amount of our future on the hands of our elected officials and city staff but without oversight and involvement of the residents many key local aspects get lost in the bureaucratic  process leading to unwanted results like the settlement on Thornhill Square

Most of AWRA work is possible thanks to residents that volunteer their time, expertise and/or leadership to  help ensure our community become an even more vibrant place to live, work, shop and play! . 

Get involved! just complete the form above or send us and email to awra.thornhill@gmail.com

Volunteering with us take many forms including:

• Proving your time to help run AWRA activities (e.g. distributing flyers; canvassing the neighborhood; helping organize in-person events including meetings, walks with our official representatives, park cleaning, annual neighborhood picnic and other activities
• Providing your expertise by being consulted on specific areas (e.g. professional editor helps editing letters and other formal communications to Council and other bodies; urban planners, architects and engineers provide advise on development applications; lawyers and paralegals provide advice on matters brought to the Ontario Land Tribunal; residents experienced on municipal and provincial organizations help us understand how we can be more effective dealing with local government processes; marketers and digital marketers advise can help us to reach our community more effectively)
• Providing your leadership on matters leading to the betterment of our neighborhood. AWRA's constitution includes a specific role (Project Leader) to become an appointed officer in order for you to lead a neighborhood betterment initiative (e.g. Flood Remediation; Industrial Pollution controls;  adding access to Maple Valley Park; reducing speeding on our local streets, lobbying to avoid urban over-development and transitioning towards a complete community;  and others)

Ongoing activities looking for Volunteers

• New: Bayview & John Urban Planning Visioning Exercise started August 2024 (contact ADC, see below)
• On-going: monitoring industrial property standards around Green Lane area (AIAIC)
• August/September: Neighborhood Picnic (ACE) 
• Spring/Fall: Windy Hill Park Fall clean-up (ACE) - April and September

Other opportunities:

• (Digital) Marketing: help us improve the use and content creation on all our  communication channels including AWRA website,  social media presence, print media and others. Develop a marketing strategy and design campaigns to improve  community reach and participation 
• Lawyers and Paralegal: fighting overdevelopment sometimes require knowledge of legal matters like the workings of the Ontario Land Tribunal and interpretation of the Planning Act. Help us by providing  your expertise and advice when dealing with such matters 
• Students: Participate in our working groups, providing invaluable experience and volunteer hours.

AWRA has the following working committees that always welcome volunteers

• AWRA Community Engagement (ACE) key goals include reaching the community to listen their concerns & ideas and bringing the community together by organizing different activities (e.g. annual neighborhood picnic, Windy Hill Park Cleaning)
• AWRA Development Committee (ADC) key goals include improving the livability in our area by advocating for a smart and comprehensive urban development approach and plan. The Committee represents the neighbors best interest on development applications like the Thornhill Square re-development and pursue the comprehensive urban planning of Bayview and John Precinct including the creation of a Thornhill Town Centre and the transition towards a complete community
• Bayview & John Visioning Exercise Working Group
• AWRA Industrial Area Improvement Committee focus monitoring of Industrial Property Standards Compliance in the Employment Area around Green Lane