Opening Inspiration

I’d also like to share the opening words of inspiration from our February meeting:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don’t do what they’re supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favours.
Careers end. BUT …

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you … or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life! The world wouldn’t be the same without some, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Do you Love Chocolate?

SACHA Chocolate Fest

The 6th annual Chocolate Fest and Silent Auction will be led in support of the sexual assault centre in Hamilton, SACHA. Tickets are $25 and a group of Soroptimists will be meeting at the main doors of LIUNA Station at 5:30 on Thursday February 11. See you there!

2010 Walk for Memories

Many Thanks to the Soroptimist who participated in the Walk for Memories on January 31.  The highlight of the morning activities was 6 of us trying to cram into a 2ft x2ft photo box in the mall for a group picture.  Thanks Janet for funding the venture, too bad the pictures didn’t work out – we got Shirley’s hair and Jane’s shirt.  Marg and Judi how did you escape the picture with Mayor Fred? Anyway, we had lots of pics taken by SNAP for the March magazine.

The Alzheimer Society raised over $32,000 today with the help of our club.  Thanks everyone for another fun adventure.

Has it affected you?

Alzheimer Disease and other Dementias touch millions of people in North America. It not only affects the person with the disease, but also their families and friends. I walk every year in Memory of my Mother, who had Alzheimer Disease for 25 years and my father, who developed Vascular Dementia from suffering several strokes and later developed a mild Alzheimer Dementia, which is also known as Mixed Dementia. Four of my mother’s siblings developed Alzheimer Disease in their early 60’s. My family and my cousins all know the increased risks involved for us, with having immediate family members diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease. I walk to alert the public to this Disease and the “Title Wave” of increased incidence of Dementias that will be diagnosed as the population in this county ages. After age 65, one of ever 11 persons will develop the disease. After age 85, one in every 3 persons will contract the disease. We still are not close to a cure. Contrary to popular believe, Alzheimer Disease is not just a disease of older persons. With heightened awareness of early detection, we are now seeing people diagnosed in their 40’s and 50’s! I walk to support the programs that are offered to caregivers, who desperately need the respite. I walk to raise awareness for the disease. I walk to get funding for more research. I walk to support those, who are living with this disease and to support their families. – Barb McCoy

Our Dad has dementia. After a debilitating stroke in June 2008, he has crawled back and continues to work hard. He no longer can walk or speak. Advanced dementia and Parkinson has made mobility and conversation is a thing of the past. Every month we see a further deterioration.  For the past six months, although he still recognizes our two boys, his grandsons, he now can’t remember their names. The little things become milestones and time very precious. – Judi Partridge

Dementia in the news:

The Virtual Dementia Tour, a hands-on tool aimed at educating professionals who spend their days working with seniors, helps employees to better understand what it is like to suffer from a form of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Read more »

McMaster University will be a key partner in a $1-million research project to improve support for people living with dementia. Read more »

Soroptimist on CNN re: Sex Trafficking

For those who were not able to watch the show, below is a link to the Jane Velez-Mitchell “Issues” program that aired on HLN Thursday with SIA President Cathy as a panelist. Jane is the 2010 Ruby Award recipient of Soroptimist International SW Washington and Soroptimist International Vancouver, Washington in the Northwestern Region. This was fabulous publicity for Soroptimist. President Cathy was outstanding and I loved her closing comments.

Click on the link below or copy it into your browser (approx 14 min clip):

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/01/15/jvm.teens.sold.for.sex.cnn

This was a “special investigation” show which is placed on CNN and cnn.com/jane (not all shows are uploaded).  As we understand it, CNN and the producers at “Issues” weigh the topic and the number of downloads on deciding future programming on those particular subject matters. The more of us that download and watch that clip the better – so let’s spread the news!!!

SIA in the New York Times

In the news:

Executive Director, Leigh Wintz, was quoted (with a picture) in the The New York Times on January 4th about international event planning:

“Leigh Wintz, executive director of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a women’s organization, has managed to cope with the dollar’s fluctuations by expanding her skills far beyond those of a typical meeting planner, becoming a foreign currency trader. Ms. Wintz says she buys futures contracts for pounds, euros and other currencies up to several months before meetings in overseas destinations. She watches exchange rates daily and keeps track of seasonal patterns in currency movements. When the exchange rate drops to what she considers a good deal, she makes her move.

“A good time to buy for pounds sterling is usually early spring,” she said. Last year, when the price of a pound dropped to roughly $1.40 (it is now about $1.62), she bought a contract. “I made money on that deal. That’s the game you play.”

Ms. Wintz said she sometimes even paid a hotel or other service provider earlier than necessary to take advantage of a favorable exchange rate.” Read the full article »

Welcome to SIA President Cathy

New SIA President, Cathy Standiford of Garden Grove, CA, left for the Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Conference in Cardiff, Wales. She will be posting highlites on her new SIA President’s Blog that launched at the beginning of her one year tenure on September 1, 2009.

The site is using actual blog software (same one as this website) so you can subscribe by RSS and keep up to date on what she has to say. Cathy keeps it updated at least weekly and she writes about really interesting topics on Soroptimist but also about Women’s Issues and public opinion. A good read!!

Welcome Members

We would like to welcome the newest members to join our club: Trish Johnson (Sep) and Bonnie Treacy (Oct).

FWRC planned to open soon

Members Soroptimist join Clare Freeman, Rachael MacLean, Debra Tigchelaar and Judi Partridge at last week’s Women’s Centre meeting. Photo by Dianne Cornish • Review

Support services for women in Flamborough will soon be closer to home, with the opening of the new Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre (FWRC) in Waterdown tentatively planned for October 19.
News of the opening means many women with family issues will no longer have to travel to Hamilton or Burlington to access services that they need, as they will be available in their home community. Guests attending an information meeting at Waterdown District High School (WDHS) last Wednesday welcomed the prospect of a community-based facility that will assist women in areas such as accessing government assistance, providing parenting support for teen mothers and offering credit and legal counseling.

Community volunteer Judi Partridge, one of the founding members of the FWRC, presented sobering statistics at last week’s meeting to demonstrate the need for the centre. She noted that about 1,000 seniors live in isolated rural areas of Flamborough, where access to services is virtually non-existent. And, she said, there are more than 2,000 people in Flamborough, including 630 children, living below the poverty line.

Already lacking infrastructure to serve existing needs, Flamborough will be faced with even greater pressures when its current population of 39,000 increases by about 17,000 as projected residential development comes on stream over the next decade or so, Partridge stated.

The new centre is the product of a collaboration between volunteers in the Flamborough community, Drummond House transitional home for women and children and Interval House in Hamilton and its umbrella organization, the Hamilton Women’s Resource Centre. Partridge said the three groups have worked for two years to lay the groundwork for the Flamborough centre.

Debra Tigchelaar, executive director of Drummond House in Flamborough, has seen first-hand the need for the new centre. “We don’t have enough resources in our area to serve women’s needs,” she said, noting that legal aid for women is sorely lacking in Flamborough. The FWRC plans to partner with the Ontario government to ensure that a legal aid centre is included at the Waterdown site.

Clare Freeman, executive director of Interval House, which provides accommodation and services for women who are victims of domestic violence, also supports greater access to women’s services in Flamborough.

Pointing out that suburban and rural women are more at risk of violent crime than their urban counterparts because of their isolation, she also acknowledged that women’s needs go beyond those associated with domestic violence. She encouraged guests to let project workers know what types of services they feel are needed in Flamborough.

One vehicle being used to determine local needs is a survey available electronically to residents in the area. It can be accessed online at http://tr.im/zy8g.

The Waterdown centre will be a satellite location affiliated and supported by Interval House and its Women’s Resource Centre, both of which will provide staff, furniture and a small budget for monthly rent through existing federal government funding directed to Flamborough through the City of Hamilton.

The balance of funding must be raised locally; applications will soon be submitted to the Soroptimists women’s club, United Way and the Trillium Foundation.

Volunteers are needed to help with fundraising, office support and peer support, said Rachael MacLean, who will manage the centre and serve as senior counselor. Volunteers are also needed to serve on an advisory committee.

Partridge said community support has been overwhelming; the Carlisle Optimists offered to donate the proceeds of their spring fundraiser to the centre, and local businesses, such as Weeks Home Hardware and Boston Pizza, also offered to help out. In addition, MP David Sweet, MPP Ted McMeekin and Flamborough councillors Margaret McCarthy and Robert Pasuta boosted the centre with letters of support when an application for government funding was submitted earlier this year.

Stressing the need for community partnerships involving the centre, Partridge suggested Waterdown needs a Food Bank and it would be ideal if a suitable location could be found in town.

The women’s centre will occupy 700 square feet at 17 Main Street South. It will provide outreach, support programs and counseling, as well as connect struggling women, children and families with professional services, legal aid support and local programs.

The centre will be particularly beneficial to women in rural Flamborough, who have limited transportation and lack access to city services.

The Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre will run life skills classes and provide help with job searching as well as access to counseling, children’s services and government programs. It will also be equipped with private rooms for counselors to work with clients.

Reproduced with permission of Flamborough Review

Take Back the Night

Take Back the Night is an annual event for women all over Canada to raise awareness on the issue of violence against women and children. In Hamilton, women of great diversity in culture, age, sexuality, education and purpose met at the McMaster University Downtown Centre in Hamilton for a rally and walk through the streets. This year, it was organized by the Sexual Assault Centre, Hamilton & Area (SACHA) and held on Thursday, September 24, 2009. With noisemakers and banners in hand, police guided us down to Hess along Main and King.

WE MARCHED … as women, to symbolize our basic human right to be where we want, when we want, and how we want in a world where there is no violence against women.

By-law retreat

Thank you Barb for hosting the ad hoc by-law committee meeting at your cottage up north. We built on the momentum of the recent President’s weekend (which Barb attended on Aug and reviewed Eastern Canada Region’s strategic plan for next year and information / events they want us to consider at the club level.

Very fruitful and we look forward to presenting the proposed changes in the coming months.