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You don’t have to be a star athlete to participate – many Branches are already hosting ROSE Sessions!  They are “short courses”, workshops, demonstrations, guest speakers – in other words ROSE Sessions are anything educational that involves the public.  Several Branches host ROSE Sessions each month as their regular WI Meeting. 

For your chance to bring home the gold, simply host your ROSE Session, and submit the NEW ROSE Profile form to the FWIO Provincial Office.  (The form has been emailed out to Branches on the email list, can be downloaded from the FWIO website, or photocopied by your Board Director or AVD.  The form is also available at the Provincial Office.)  Your Branch could appear on the prestigious WI Podium of Champions and win some great prizes for everyone in your Branch. 

Contest Details

Submit forms for events that have not previously been sent in –duplicate events will be disqualified.  

 ROSE Session Profile Forms must contain Session held from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.

 Participation in ROSE Program 2010 is not mandatory.  If you are unable to host an event during this time frame, there is no need to submit a form.

 Entry deadline is October 11, 2010 – no exceptions will be made.   

Winners will be selected by October 15, 2010 and will be announced on the FWIO website www.fwio.on.ca and in the provincial newsletter.  Stay tuned to the ROSE Program E-Updates, our Facebook page and the new FWIO Blog (www.wirosegarden.wordpress.com) for news.

Email your completed form to roseprogram@fwio.on.ca or mail your form to the FWIO Provincial Office.

 ** Please note, the new ROSE Profile Form allows you to submit 3 events at once.  You may use the form to submit 1, 2 or 3 events as necessary. **

Although she was a Home Economist in Woodstock, and a highschool teacher, when Carol started her next career as a Farm Wife, she realized that she needed to meet her neighbours and connect with women that she wouldn’t normally meet – Women’s Institute provided that perfect opportunity.  Through the years she has developed several friendships, held various positions at the Branch, District and Area level as well as serving as the Provincial Program Coordinator and Board Director.

Building confidence, leading meetings, travelling and the opportunity to give back to the community  are a few of the things that has kept Carol coming back to WI.   She knows that the WI organization has a bright future ahead and says “the issues from 113 years ago may have changed, but women still need women.  We need to understand each other, to support each other and to find common ground – WI’s are the perfect place to do that”.

During her presidency over the next two years, Carol hopes that Members and their communities will see the value of WI Branches.   She is looking forward to traveling the province, meeting women who have been working hard.   Good luck Carol, we know you will do a great job!

Over night two days ago a request and funding came for a container to be sent to Haiti with only a two week turn around.  I only notified all the members on Vancouver Island.  However, as of this morning, we have a request for 3 more containers with the funding complete, and the time frame for the last container probably being the last week in February.  Due to our larger time frame I am notifying all of our members across the country.

 The Warehouse has always sent to three orphanages in Haiti, so we have first hand contact on the ground, as well as through other Agencies.   The list has been added to since two days ago, so here it is:

 - SPECIAL REQUEST FOR T SHIRTS ALL SIZES

- CLOTHING, If used, make sure they are clean and mended all sizes from babies to adults Men & Women

- LINENS - towels, face cloths, sheets,

-TOILETRIES soap, tooth paste, soft bristled tooth brushes etc.

-DISHES - must be unbreakable-plastic is good.

-TOOLS - strong tools like shovels, rakes, hammers, nails etc.

 LOGISTICS:

  1. TIME FRAME

I expect the last container will be leaving the end of Feb.  Transportation plans are in the making.             

2. MAIL AND BUS

Those of you who send by post or bus, collect the lighter items, and hopefully the people who have drop-offs will look after the heavier ones.  Please send the packages to me.  (The Warehouse is not open every day so often mail can’t be delivered. Luckily I live quite close to the Warehouse.)

3. ADDRESSES PHONE EMAIL

Sylvia Hatfield – Coordinator      canadacomforts@shaw.ca 

Marguerite Swallow – Secretary      cancoms@telus.net

If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia or Marguerite directly. 

Watching the news and seeing the destruction and devastation after the earthquake that struck on Tuesday, our hearts go out to Haitian friends, family and survivors. 

While reading the CBC website, I learned that the government estimates that almost 6,000 Canadians currently live in Haiti.  The government is planning to send DART and $5 million in aid.   

A large number of fundraising campaigns are now underway…here are just a few examples of how you can support the rescue and clean up efforts:

The Canadian Red Cross

Unicef Canada

The Salvation Army Canada

Plan Canada

Humanitarian Coalition

World Vision Canada

If your Women’s Institute Branch, District or Area is planning on doing something to help during this difficult time, share your story with us.  Leave a comment below, or send an email to the provincial office.

For more than 60 years, FWIO has presented the Ontario Women’s Institutes Scholarship to a student at the U of Guelph.  This year’s winner was Shirley Walsh, a 22-year-old in her fourth  year of the Applied Human Nutrition Program.  Originally from Toronto, Shirley has a passion for food, loves kids and is devoted to her friends.  In addition to her studies, she is involved with an international development club on campus and volunteers with a Brownies group in the community.  WOW!!  Talk about busy…in fact, she reminds me of so many WI Members, I hope someone is going to recruit her for their Branch!

Shirley says, although she didn’t know much about the WI before receiving her award, she is surprised by all the work we do in the community.  She says “learning about international development has reinforced to me the idea that empowering and educating women is necessary to improve the quality of life in communities and nations.  The same is true here at home”.

I remember when I was going to school that very few people applied for scholarships.  I can still remember the student representative coming to talk to us and saying that each year a large number of grants and scholarships were not distributed because people just weren’t applying.  I don’t know what it is like today, but I hope everyone is taking advantage of all the opportunities that are out there.  Which leads me to the following…here is some great information on Scholarships and Awards that are currently offered by FWIO.  Be sure to pass this information along to anyone you think would be interested! 

 The Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) offers several types of scholarships.

 Post Secondary

 Regional Scholarships – 4 Regions – to encourage 4-H members to further their education                         

Southern Region: Dorothy Futcher Scholarship

Northern Region: Florence P Eadie Scholarship

Eastern Region: Sixtieth Anniversary Scholarship

Western Region: Hoodless-Lee Scholarship

 Applications: Available through local District WI contact. 

Undergraduate

 Ontario Women’s Institute Scholarships – to assist students studying at University of Guelph, of Social and Applied Human Science

 Applications: Available through University of Guelph – Assistant Registrar

Post Graduate

 Helen McKercher Scholarship – to assist students to pursue a post-graduate degree in Family and Consumer studies, Home Economics or in related program

 Applications: Available by contacting the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario – Provincial Office

Further Education

 FWIO Ninetieth Anniversary Awards – to assist women who seek self-improvement and pursue enrichment through the education system

 Applications: Available through Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario – Provincial Office

Woman of Excellence in Agriculture Award – open to all women currently or previously involved in agriculture at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

 Nomination Package: Available by contacting the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario – Provincial Office

Eligibility and Conditions for all scholarships and awards can be found online here.

The workshop was great – chalk full of fascinating information on how to ensure your family, friends and neighbours enjoy safe, clean water at your house.  Even for someone like myself, who has little understanding of anything scientific, the information was easy to understand  and actually made me excited about going home and checking my own well.  The only thing disappointing about the day was the dismal level of participation.  The workshop had been organized for WI Members and promoted accordingly but there were only three in attendance (shout out to Laura Rose WI – thanks for being there!).   However, everyone who did attend enjoyed themselves and will help spread the word on how we can ALL keep our wells clean, safe and working in the best possible fashion.  

Mary Jane Conboy, the presenter, stated that the stats from the Well Aware Program have shown that 89% of wells they have seen, were in need of repair.  How many people are drinking water that could be contaminated?  It’s definitely a scary thought!

Be sure to check out the Well Aware website to learn more – they have a bunch of great resources – including a free, confidential, non-regulatory check up on your well, where someone will come and examine your well and provide direction on what (if anything) needs to be done to improve the safety. 

Here are the 5 Key points from the presentation:

1. Protect the source – The protection of source waters is the first step in protecting your well water. It is often  the most cost-effective way to keep contaminants out of drinking water.

2. Have your unused well sealed properly – An unsed and unmaintained well that has been properly plugged and sealed poses serious health and safety hazzards.  If an unused well is on your property, you are legally responsible for ensuring that it is plugged and sealed properly.

3. Hire a licensed well contractor – They must comply with the Ontario Water Resources Act & Regulation 903 specifications.  They know what to look for in the well construction plan when getting work done.

4. Maintain your well – If your well is leaking or if the casing has holes in it, vermin and other contaminents can affect your water quality.   

5. Test your water – It is suggested that you test your water at least 3 times a year for bacteria – especially after heavy rain, in the spring and in the fall.  Test initallity and screen periodically for other potential contaminents.

I’ve got the information booklet at home and I have already asked my husband to take a look at it too.  I’ve also already phoned the local Health Unit to find out where I can get the free water testing done.  It’s important that we all pay attention to our water – we are responsible to ensure the safety and health of anyone who may come in contact with it.

The deadline for submissions for this newsletter is November 15, 2009.  We have included guidelines for submissions in the previous issue of the newsletter – page 13.  Here’s a recap:

We have so many Branches that we are not able to include Branch anniversary celebrations.  Since the newsletter gets published only 3 time a year, we just don’t have enough pages to print stories and photos about your anniversaries.  But, there’s still lots of great news you can send us!  We know that you are doing some very interesting and exciting things in your communities – and that is what we want to hear about!  Guest speakers, workshops, advocacy projects – let us hear all the details!  We are always looking for high quality photos that capture the moment too. 

Don’t forget that if you are submitting a ROSE Session to be included in the newsletter, that you still need to complete the ROSE Session Profile form.  You can download this form from the FWIO website in the Member Services section.

For those of you who don’t know what the WI is and for those of you who need might need a reminder….let me explain. 

WI is the Women’s Institute.   If you’re like many people, that means nothing to you…Remember that movie ‘Calendar Girls’, the women that posed for the calendar, were WI Members in the UK.  In Ontario, we are the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO).  We have about 450 Branches across the province with over 6,000 Members.  

The FWIO is a women’s organization that works on various projects and activties locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.  We look for gaps or needs in our community and then work to address them in an effort to create stronger families and more vibrant communities.   The whole thing started with the pasteurization of milk and the need to educate women (check out the entire story under the What is Women’s Institute page).  You know the white lines on highways?  We advocated for those.  Blue boxes and recycling…we advocated for those too!  Lately, we’ve been supporting the Stephen Lewis Foundation through the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.   

We hope the WI ROSE Garden will be another place for WI Members to connect with one another, learn and share ideas and continue to grow this important organization.  Be sure to visit often to stay up to date on what is happening with WI in Ontario!