ADVOCACY AWARD WINNERS

2010-2011

This year as we did last year, we have chosen to honour clubs who have quietly worked on advocacy projects over the years.

Breaking Bread for Women in Afghanistan
sponsored by Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan

Over the years, the following clubs, large and small, have participated in an awareness/fundraising project to support schools and women in Afghanistan.

Some clubs have been involved in this project since 2003. While each of the clubs have been able to contribute amazingly according to their resources, for two of them this has become an extremely worthwhile annual event – CFUW Welland and CFUW Leaside-East York.

• CFUW BRANTFORD
• CFUW LEASIDE-EAST YORK
• CFUW PETERBOROUGH
• CFUW ST.CATHARINES
• CFUW SAUGEEN
• CFUW STRATFORD
• CFUW VAUGHAN
• CFUW WELLAND AND DISTRICT

2009 – 2010
This year we have chosen to honour clubs who have quietly worked on advocacy projects over the years.

Family Legal Materials for Women (FLEW) education projects:
CFUW KINGSTON
Presented a Roundtable to professionals, with Professor Nick Bala, a Family Law lawyer and Alia Hogben, the Executive Director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, in order to introduce the materials.

CFUW MUSKOKA
Partnered with the District of Muskoka to present a roundtable to professional agencies with Lisa Cirillo, FLEW Project Coordinator.

CFUW NORTH BAY
CFUW North Bay presented a roundtable with Lisa Cirillo for the professional agencies/organizations, followed by an evening public forum, co-sponsored with Nipissing University with Lisa and a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Barb Olmstead, Schulich School of Education.

CFUW SUDBURY
CFUW Sudbury also presented an Information Session with Lisa Cirillo for the local professional agencies and organizations. Also in attendance where the constituency assistants of the local MPPs.

CFUW THUNDER BAY
In partnership with Lakehead Social Planning Council, CFUW Thunder Bay presented an afternoon public forum to members, community organizations/agencies and individuals with Lisa Cirillo.

Poverty:
CFUW THUNDER BAY
Thunder Bay is again being recognized here for its work which culminated in a public forum with Senator Art Eggleton presenting the Senate report, In From the Cold: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness.”

CFUW HAMILTON
Over the years CFUW Hamilton’s Action & Advocacy Group has worked extensively on poverty projects, having sponsored an Ontario resolution on clawbacks to the National Child Benefit, doing petitions to the Ontario Legislature, creating campaigns on two other clawbacks, of student earnings form social assistance benefits and the Ontario Child Benefit from benefits.

TORONTO CAUCUS
The Toronto Caucus is the group of the six Toronto clubs. Their Sub-Committee on Poverty is to be commended for their extensive work on poverty – meeting Toronto officials, bureaucrats, studying employment insurance and meeting with politicians, meeting with United Way and 25-in-5 Network

Other projects:
CFUW BURLINGTON
CFUW Burlington has done extensive work to protect the Niagara Escarpment from a campaign to stop a highway to being very involved in the establishment and running two organizations: Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment (COPE) and Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL). PERL is, among other things, dedicated to stopping the expansion of quarrying on the Mount Nemo Plateau.

CFUW GEORGETOWN
When the local Dominion Seed House business was closed, CFUW Georgetown, seeing both the waste and the potential, organized a 'Dig Your Own Plant' sale in May 1996. This huge sale led to approximately $40,000 in profits given towards establishing a civic garden on the site. Halton Hills Council approved a master plan for an 8 acre park which included a 2 acre civic garden. As the Garden was to be largely a volunteer driven project, a steering committee of volunteers, was formed becoming The Friends of the Old Seed House Garden.

CFUW KITCHENER-WATERLOO
CFUW Kitchener-Waterloo is responsible for the publication of three books about women and Waterloo county. The first was The Women of Waterloo County. The next two, including DVDs, Proudly She Marched, Vol. I and II, highlighted and honoured the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWACs) who received their basic training in Kitchener, and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) who trained in Galt. Over 45,000 women enlisted during World War II, with many of them receiving their basic training in the Waterloo area.

2008 – 2009
This year we have chosen to honour those members who assist Ontario Council with our work in advocacy.

These are the women who research, who write our briefs and letters, who represent us to governments, agencies and partner organizations. These are the women who make us look good, and make us feel very proud of their commitment to us, to their concern and to their causes.

Standing Committee on the Status of Women Sub-Committee on Women and Violence – Judie Arrowood, Ann McElhinney, Arleen Midriak, Rhea Pretsell and Wendy Schmara are the women who provided us with the unsettling place cards about violence involving women. They have also contributed letters and analysis concerning the report involving women and poverty reduction.

Sheila Clark, Cosmetic Pesticides
Sheila has been our primary lead on Cosmetic Pesticides. Over the past year she has written 2 formal letters, 2 briefs, and along with M. Elaine Harvey presented comments in person to the Ontario Legislature Standing Committee on Social Policy. She has also created a booklet for CFUW Stratford and assisted the City of Stratford with their website, Stratford, Naturally.

Carolyn Day, Water
This has been a quiet year for Carolyn. While she has been attending numerous meetings and prepared a number of reports, she has only written one brief. In her 6 years of representing us, Carolyn has written 16 briefs to the ministries and agencies involved with the Great Lakes and water regulation, especially source protection.

Through Carolyn, Ontario Council has been invited to join the Water Guardians Network and the Great Lakes Charter Annex Advisory Panel of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Linda Hall, Poverty
Linda is best known within Ontario Council for organizing the petition presentation involving the Clawback. She convinced 17 MPPs from all parties to present the 39 petitions that clubs had signed. Currently Linda has written and assisted in writing 2 briefs and 1 formal letter concerning poverty reduction and has begun a campaign concerning child care in Ontario.

M. Elaine Harvey, Environment
Elaine, who was the previous Chair of the Standing Committee on Legislation, has continued to assist on environmental issues, especially organizing the trip to the Legislature with Sheila Clark on Bill 64, the Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act.

Elizabeth Haynes, Workplace Harassment
Elizabeth became involved in this issue with the death and subsequent inquest concerning Lori Dupont of Windsor. She has organized a petition which involved a number of clubs, and written a brief for us on the topic which has now resulted in Bill 168, Violence and Harassment in the Workplace.
Also Elizabeth, along with Wendy Taylor Chair, Standing Committee on Education, wrote a brief for the Ministry of Education on the governance of school boards

Olga Lee and Dr. Charlotte Rigby, Environmental Toxins
Both of these women, together with members of CFUW Ottawa’s Environmental Toxins and Health Study Group, prepared a substantive and scientific analysis of the Ministry of the Environment’s discussion paper, Creating Ontario’s Toxic Reduction Strategy.

Edeltraud Neal, Family Law Education for Women (FLEW)
Edeltraud, as a Past President, became involved and worked with the No Religious Arbitration Coalition which fought for legislation involving family law. Part of the project became the creation of new legal materials intended for women who might be affected by these changes. The project became known as FLEW. Edeltraud has been our representative throughout this whole campaign, both with the Coalition and with FLEW, for the past five years.

2006 – 2007 Presented May 8th, 2008

Grand Prize Winners:

• up to 50 members            CFUW Barrie & District
• for 50 – 149 members     CFUW Hamilton
• for 150+ members            CFUW Ottawa

2005 - 2006

Grand Prize Winners:

• up to 50 members                    CFUW Perth and CFUW Barrie
• for 50 - 149 members              CFUW Southport
• for 150+ members                    CFUW Etobicoke

Advocacy Excellence Certificate Winners:
   CFUW Belleville
   CFUW Burlington
   CFUW Hamilton
   CFUW Oakville
   CFUW Ottawa
   UWC North York

2004-2005:

Grand Prize Winners:

• up to 50 members                               CFUW/Perth
• for 50 –149 members                        CFUW/Southport
• for 150+ members                              CFUW/Burlington

Advocacy Excellence Certificate winners:
   CFUW/Ottawa
   CFUW/Etobicoke
   CFUW/North York
   CFUW/St. Catharines
   CFUW/Aurora-Newmarket
   CFUW/Belleville
   CFUW/London
   CFUW/Windsor
   CFUW/Orillia

2003-2004:

Grand Prize Winner                                        CFUW/Burlington
(the three Grand Prizes was started in 2004-2005)

Advocacy Excellence Certificates:
   CFUW/Etobicoke
   CFUW/Muskoka
   CFUW/North York
   CFUW/Oakville
   CFUW/Orillia
   CFUW/St.Catharines
   CFUW/Southport

Honourable Mention:
   CFUW/Norfolk