FWRC Update: May 2010

Dear Sisters of Soroptimists

The following is a quick update on the Flamborough Women’s Centre activities/new programs. We want to update the Soroptimists every quarter on the success of our programs and the wonderful work done by our counsellors to support women in the Flamborough community. We very much appreciate your support and donation made as we opened our doors in Waterdown.

Highlights: New Programs
* Women’s Resource Books needed - if anyone has new, used, or gently used books to donate please call Amanda at the FWRC 289-895-8580. Any self journey, self help, new mom, inspirational, achievement type of books are appreciated.

* Since April 26th, Legal Advocacy and Duty Counsel are now available through the Waterdown FWRC in Waterdown on Friday’s. Our legal advocate provides court support by attending hearings with women, research/legal assistance with paperwork, guidance through the legal system - since April 26, three (3) Flamborough women have been assisted and accompanied to court.

* Waterdown Highschool Students Fashion Show in April raised $1,500 dollars donated to the FWRC for an Art Therapy program for domestic and sexual assault victims. We were fortunate that a trained art therapist who lives in Freelton contacted us and will donate part of her time to ensure this program can continue after the first 8 week session.

* Journey to Self weekly program, run at the Waterdown offices, is assisting 8 women as they recover from psychological abuse.

* Go Girl program for grade 8 girls is currently in it’s 3rd week. This is a pilot project run by FWRC counsellors at the Flamborough Centre School, requested by the Principal. 18 girls are registered for this in-school one hour session which will run for 8 weeks - more are expected to join. This highly successful program will be offered in 5 Waterdown schools starting in September to grade 6, 7 & 8 girls. Activities include knowing who you are, societies image of the perfect woman, negative imaging of women, who determines beauty media/movie influence - tearing down barriers to self expression. All hugely successful.

* May 12 Credit Counselling session offered free by a local Waterdown business. FWRC will offer one specific for teen girls age 14-18 in June or September.

* June 16th FWRC is holding a sexual support peer to peer training program for women of all ages including teens.

* FWRC is working closely with Waterdown police services, high & elementary schools, medical clinics and dentists. There are increasing requests for support and new programs. We are also receiving many women from north Burlington and Halton Women’s Shelter who have had to move out of Flamborough due to lack of affordable housing and local shelter.

* Private counselling sessions are held weekly on Wednesday at the FWRC. Currently assisting 20 women dealing with family crisis, stalking issues and self esteem/bullying with teens.

Yours in community, with kind regards,

Judi Partridge ~ Advisory Committee
Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre

Ancaster Food Drive

Thanks to all of the Soroptimists that participated in the Ancaster Food Drive [yesterday].  With our eye catching T-Shirts, we were the most visible group there!  I would like to extend a special thanks to Erica and Paige for getting up early this morning and volunteering with their Mom’s ( Alice & Shirley E).  It was wonderful to see so many from the community helping for this much needed service.  I have attached a few pictures of the highlights. Again, thank you for all of your help.  We are one awesome club!
Barb

Update: The spirit of generosity and sense of community was once again clearly evident for the annual Ancaster Community Food Drive.  On Saturday, February 20, 2010, hundreds of volunteers canvassed door to door throughout the community collecting a record total of 75,000 lbs of food and $7000 in cash donations.

Thank you to the Flamborough Chamber of Commerce, Bottom Line, for their article (page 9) »

February is Teen Dating Month

According to Soroptimist International, fifty-seven percent of teens know someone who has been verbally, physically, or sexually abusive in a dating relationship; females ages 16 to 24 are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence than any other age group. Educate yourself on how you can impact the life of a teenager (male or female). Download your copy of the Soroptimist White Paper »

Soroptimist International of the Americas, working to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world, examines the issue of teen dating violence. Dating and intimate relationships are a normal part of growing up for many adolescents. Yet teenagers frequently form their first romantic relationship without a clear understanding of what constitutes a healthy versus an unhealthy relationship. As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to becoming targets of dating abuse. Fifty-seven percent of teens know someone who has been verbally, physically, or sexually abusive in a dating relationship.

Although the patterns and signs of teen dating violence tend to mirror those exhibited in adult abusive relationships, there are some unique issues that teens face. This white paper examines those unique issues as they relate to the factors that influence teen dating violence, as well as the consequences thereof.  The paper also addresses the unique obstacles teens face when seeking help and/or deciding to end an abusive relationship.

If you want to get involved, there is a Model Program Kit that you can implement through your club. You can also order Soroptimist Teen Dating Violence bookmarks to distribute. The 2 x 7 inch glossy bookmarks promote healthy dating relationships among teenagers.

Donated items give new life to women in need

Rescued and Restored, Drummond House’s new fundraising initiative, has secured 3,000 square feet of warehouse space on Hwy. 6 thanks to Soroptimist member, Maria Demkowich, owner of J.D.J. Trailer Manufacturers.

The fundraising venture is set to operate as a used furniture, clothing and accessory shop. Funds generated from the sale of items will go towards the shop’s operational costs. Additional funds will support Drummond House’s operational costs.

Organizers and project volunteers, wishing to see a good turnover, are constantly collecting new items. To donate, interested individuals can call project manager Nick Marusich to arrange a pickup: 905-876-8281

Rescued and Restored, located at 1056 Hwy. 6 in Flamborough, is open for business and the public is invited to shop every Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Read full story in the Flamborough Review »

Wesley Christmas Stores

December 2009 saw SI-DAF donating $600 of gifts to the Wesley Christmas Store in Hamilton.

The ‘Store’ is set up over the Christmas period for those members of our community who are not fortunate enough financially to be able to buy gifts for their loved ones. The ‘Store’ is made up of two sections, one for gifts and one for food and is managed, in the main, by volunteers, many of whom come back year after year to help make sure everything runs smoothly and that the ’customers’, young and old, male and female, are given a warm welcome.

One visit to the setting up phase of this ‘Store’ brings it home to you just how fortunate the majority of us are. Find out how you can get involved »

Annual Awards - request for assistance

We are requesting the help of the community to help share this opportunity:

Women’s Opportunity Award applicants are women, who as head of their household, have returned to school or a training program to improve their working status to assist their family. Download our Women’s Opportunity Award flyer »

Violet Richardson Award applicants are girls between the age of 14-17 years old who volunteer in their community. Download our Violet Richardson Award flyer »

These are our signature programs and we really need to be able to recognize and reward wonderful women who are making a difference in our community, so please assist us in encouraging these women to apply.

Thank you so much.

If I had $1,000

When the Waterdown Rotary Club offered ‘grants’ to local individuals or service clubs with interesting ideas of how they could put a sum of money to work, Sandy at SI-DAF jumped at the opportunity to receive a portion of this funding. We were all the more grateful when they announced us as one of the winners!

Our plan is to use the funding to help women who are moving on after their stay at Drummond House in Flamborough (a local organization offering temporary housing with practical assistance and compassionate care) by providing them with a little extra financial assistance in their next step of their personal independence. The club’s goal is to take the $500.00 granted to them by the Waterdown Rotary Club and add to it via personal contributions from not only club members, but also from people: right here in our community who also would like to help make a difference.

The goal it to first double or triple the initial amount before the club’s members will then approach local area businesses to purchase gift cards for the ladies. At that time they are hoping the merchants will further contribute to this by providing additional contributions of even more gift cards.

Congratulations to our Award Winners

SI-DAF handed out over $2,500 in bursaries at our awards dinner last Thursday, held at the Dundas Golf and Curling Club.

The Violet Richardson Award is given to honour young women age 14 -17  engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. This year’s award was given to a female student named Elizabeth from Parkside High in Dundas who volunteers with the Junior Civitan Club and answers letters to Santa for the Canada Post. She received $300 plus an additional $200 was donated to the Civitans.

The Women’s Opportunity Award is a grant awarded to female heads of households who need additional skills, training and education to enable them to upgrade their employment status to re-enter the workforce so they can provide adequately for themselves and their families. This is the signature award for Soroptimist International and is awarded in over 125 countries worldwide. This year’s recipient was Edith Kaggwa, a mother of four who has been accepted to the Mo-Mac nursing program.

We were also delighted to have Shirley Eden present the Making a Difference for Women Award to Debra Tigchelaar for her contribution and dedication to Drummond House in Flamborough. Our club provided $750 towards their Gala dance.

We were also delighted to honour three of our club members: Jane Oulton who is a charter member; Nancy Davidson and Shirley McCoy were honoured for their 20 years of service with our club.

Ancaster Community Services Annual Food Drive Set a Record

The Ancaster Community Services Annual Food Drive was held on Saturday Feb 21 and a total of $5000 in cash and 79,000 pounds of food was raised!

Our Soroptimist sisters were there with their shirts on and hands ready to help. Thank you to SNAP for including a picture of us!

Each aisle was divided into basic categories: vegetables, soup, dry pasta, canned pasta, pasta sauce, macaroni & cheese (aka KD), beans in sauce, fruit, juice, milk, toiletries, baby food, cookies & crackers (and desserts), cakes & pudding (and baking supplies), condiments, meats & fish. Never had any of us seen such a well organized, all-hands event!

“It is always a very humbling experience to see how a community can come together and give so generously so that the most disadvantaged in our midst can have food on their tables”, said Pauline - a member of SI-DAF and the Ancaster Lions Club.

According to a recent article, over the past five years, the cost of a monthly Nutritious Food Basket for a family of four (based on Canada’s Food Guide) has increased by 14.2%. According to the Hamilton Public Health Services report entitled ““The Cost of Basic Nutritious Food”, the average limited-income family has to choose “between eating well and paying the rent to survive.”

For more information about how you can get involved or make a donation to the Ancaster Community Services, call 905-648- 6675. Items currently in high demand include:

• pasta
• canned salmon and tuna
• stews
• soups
• and canned vegetables

Soroptimists Invest in Hamilton’s Youth

“At least 600 of Hamilton’s Youth are street-involved or homeless”, the 2005 Addressing the Needs of Street-Involved and Homeless Youth in Hamilton report states.  Wesley Youth Housing (WYH) is working to change this with a supportive transitional housing program specially designed to transform the lives of Hamilton’s street-involved and homeless youth. They are working to decrease homelessness by investing in the lives of at-risk youth, ages 16 to 21, and working to create individual well-being, independence and housing stability.

 Moved by a past guest speaker, Paul Johnson, Director of Wesley Urban Ministries, we have donated $1,500 to support their mission.

Pauline Hardcastle presents a cheque to Paul Johnson, Director of the Welsley Urban Ministries

The money will be used to support one year of Life Coach sessions, which cost approximately $100 to run each month. The youth work one-on-one or in group sessions towards life skills such as budgeting, grocery shopping, cooking and time management.

A snapshot of a pod interior (kitchen area)

The remainder of the funds will be used to assist with the turn over costs for a fully furnished, all female shared accommodation pod, located at the Main and Hess program facility. Each pod has a common kitchen and eating area, a living room and two bathrooms, plus a locking bedroom for each girl.

Youth are referred primarily by agencies; however self-referrals are accepted. If you would like to find out more about the program or how you can get involved, contact Wesley Urban Ministries at 905.527.4430, by email youth.housing@wesleyurbanministries.ca, or visiting their website at www.wesleyurbanministries.ca