Semaphore
Newsletter of CFUW-Scarborough—August 2012
President’s Message
I am wondering how many members have
quickly scanned to the bottom of this message to find out who the Author is, and
thus, who the President will be for the upcoming year! I am thrilled with taking on
this position.
My youngest, Patrick, has turned 12 this
year, and graduated from Agincourt Jr.
Public School. This momentous step
means that I have also graduated from the
hours of volunteering and chairing Parent
Committee meetings, being treasurer and
boiling hot dogs for fundraisers. June and
his graduation brought mixed feelings, as it
represented an end to a stage in our lives,
when time had come to pass on the torch.
As I was contemplating what to do with my
“new found spare time”, this opportunity
knocked on my door. I should mention –
just so you can all “get-to-know” me a bit
better - Julia turned 14 this summer, so she
has graduated from McKenzie, and is starting at Agincourt Collegiate in grade 9. My
husband Scott had a total hip replacement
last October, and is currently gaining back
strength and mobility and is now back to
work.
I joined Scarborough CFUW shortly after I
graduated from U of T – Pharmacy, (1988)
and joined my mother, Helen Nighswander,
at the monthly meetings. I can remember
as a child my mom going out to CFUW
events. It really has been a part of my entire life.
As I read through the files of information
passed along to Presidents, I am reminded
of the History and exceptional Issues that
CFUW stands for. Although Scarborough
membership enjoys our monthly
meetings and speakers, we also enjoy our friendships and experiences
in our small groups. CFUW also
represents and presents as a united
front on issues affecting women
through resolutions, voted on at the
Annual General Meetings. Pat Westcott represented our club at the recent National AGM in Victoria,
“Voices: Yours, Mine, Ours.” She will
be presenting a report about her experiences.
CFUW was founded in 1919, our
Scarborough Chapter celebrated its
50th Anniversary in 2010, and we
have many dedicated members
whose experience and leadership
have promoted our club. I am hoping
to continue on and utilize the ideas
and suggestions that each member
brings forward. Let us all unite and
celebrate another year of advocacy,
focusing on women’s issues, and enjoying friendships.
Remember the easiest way for us to
grow our membership is if we each
bring a friend or coworker along to meetings, introduce them to
other members, and encourage them to join.
Be well, and I look forward to seeing you all in
September.
Lynne Anderson
President 2012/ 2013
May Dinner 2012
We all enjoyed our event on May 14 at Bluffer’s Restaurant on a beautiful and warm
evening. Our Social Chairs, Rosemary Dennis and Sandra Campbell, had made
perfect arrangements, and the chef as usual presented an excellent meal. Our Program Chairs, Catherine MacOdrum and Corona Liscio brought Raheel Raza as our
speaker. With her topic, Women on the Verge: Human Rights and Women in the
Middle East, she showed us some of the struggle women in Egypt and other countries have in gaining equality. She emphasized that Islam treats women as equals
to men. Ms. Raza described the work she does in Toronto to educate fellow Moslems on this point, and the hostility that she provokes among some members of that
community. Many thanks to all our Club members who contributed to the successful
evening.
Anne Smith
Important Dates
CFUW-Scarborough
General Meeting
Monday, September 17
Knox United Church
7:00 pm
Bring & Buy Book Sale!
———–———
OC Standing Committees
Yorkminster Park Baptist
Church
1585 Yonge Street, Toronto
_______
Saturday, September 29, 2012
_______
Saturday, January 19, 2013
_______
Saturday, March 16, 2013
______
_
Topics to be Announced
For the latest information on
these meetings, please visit the
Ontario Council website at:
www.cfuwontcouncil.ca
______________
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Page 2
CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
Interest Groups
Evening Book Group
"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you carry away from it"
James Bryce, Irish Legal Historian
and British Ambassador to the USA,
1907 - 1913
Theatre Group
The books chosen for this year
are:
The 13th Tale by Diane Setterfield
Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
Room for All of Us by Adrienne
The Evening Book Discussion Group Clarkson
Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
meets on the 4th Monday of the
Paris Wife by P. McLain
month at 7:30 pm at members'
homes. Lively discussion is followed The Time in Between by Maria
Duenna
by coffee and desserts. January is
"Favourites Night" when everyone
If you are an avid reader, consider
brings their "best reads" of the past 6
joining us as we continue our
months to outline the plots for the
quest for the "perfect book”.
others to consider adding them to
their "must read" list. May is planning
Beverly Baird 416-261-0316
month for the following year along
with a delicious "potluck supper".
Monday Afternoon Books
The group meets the 2ND Monday
of the month from 1:00 to 3 .15.
Our lunch is Brown bag fashion
brought from home. September
10 we begin. We now number
13, Rose Sheehan having joined
us.
leased in paperback in June. The
presenter is SHIRLEY KNAUTZ
and the hostess is MAUREEN
CORBY. For further information or
a request to join us I can be contacted at 416-497-5242 or
[email protected].
Anyone wishing to be #14 would
be welcomed.. We have a challenging reading list for the club
year. We are beginning with
RULES OF CIVILITY by AMOR
TOWLES, a new novel just re-
CHARLES W. ELIOT: “Books are
the quietest and most constant of
friends…The are the most accessible and wisest of counselors and
the most patient of teachers.”
Muriel Cluett
To date, play lists for the coming
theatre season, 2012-13, have not
yet been published, but we look forward to yet another season of stimulating and thought-provoking entertainment in Toronto’s live theatre
scene. Theatres most frequently
attended include Tarragon, Factory
and the plays offered by Nightwood
Theatre, an all-female theatre company.
Thursday evening is our
“night-out” and we take in from 4 to
6 plays during the club year.
The highlight in the 2011-12 season
was most certainly Margaret Atwood’s “The Penelopiad”. If you
love live theatre, add your name to
the sign-up sheet at the September
general meeting. I hope to have a
first play chosen. The sheet will
include a column for your tick mark if
you are interested in joining the
group and another for the play on
offer. Once committed, each of us
is responsible for the cost of our
ticket. We will be
given a group rate
with a minimum of
10 attendees.
Ann Rutherford
416-261-6753
416-497-5242\
New Interest Group?
The Montreal Club has produced a booklet BEGINNING THE CONVERSATION: 15 Case Studies on Financial Literacy.
Helen Nighswander has agreed to work with me if enough of you are interested in forming a group to discuss some or all of
the case studies. The developers test ran all their case studies with several groups, and found funding from a financial group
to produce the booklet. The full text is at uwcm.com - click on Financial Literacy. I think the scenarios would make for interesting discussion. Anyone interested can give me a call or send an email.
Pat Westcott
416-269-1145
Hiking Group
If you enjoy fresh air and good company come and join
us for our walks. We usually walk the 4th Sunday of the
month and like to explore natural areas in the Toronto
area or different parts of the city. Our first
hike will be on September 23and we plan to walk along
the Waterfront Trail east from Rosebank Rd. in
Pickering. We will meet at my place at 1:30 and
drive out together. Please let me know if you
plan to attend.
Marilyn Lind
416-282-0946
Out to Lunch Bunch
If you enjoy a diversity of tastes this is the
group for you. Lunches are held on the
Last Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. If
you are unable to sign up at the general
meeting you can always contact
Grace. The September lunch will
be held at Dragon Pearl Buffet,
865 York Mills Rd.
Grace Lord
416-438-6129
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CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
More Interest Groups
Film Femmes
MAD (Making a Difference)
Our new National president, Susan
Murphy, describes Advocacy as the power
of possibility- changing the current picture
with one that is more positive. I like that
description and it’s what keeps me going
and belonging to this small group of dedicated women called MAD.
CFUW is an independent, member funded
organization, and as such we have the
power to help build a better future for
women and girls in our communities as
well as all over the world. Each year in
April, our club members work on the resolutions that will be presented and voted
upon at the National AGM. MAD takes the
responsibility of writing letters to different
levels of government in hopes of influencing policy through these resolutions. We
live in hope of receiving replies and even
invitations to meet!!
Because of the Internet we have
many opportunities to sign petitions
and so we try to make members
aware of these opportunities. We will
omit your name from these group
mailings if you so inform me.
We investigate ways to help women
and girls in our community improve
their chances of living productive,
fulfilling lives through our support of
scholarships and funding of courses.
We welcome club members with new
ideas and interests to join us. We
meet once a month, if needed, in the
afternoon, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Please get in touch with either Gail
Doehler or myself.
Catherine Molyneux
416-443-9558
Our group meets the 3rd Tuesday of each
month from September through May at the
AMC theatre at Kennedy Commons. We try
to choose interesting or controversial movies. Iron Lady and The Artist were two of our
favourites of the past year. April and May
were disappointing months as no movies
were up to our standards. The summer
months were no better so we are keeping
our fingers crossed that the rest of the year
is more exciting.
We welcome new members and ask that
you get in touch with Muriel who will notify
you of the choice of film, date and time via
email. Let her know if you will be attending.
If you don't have email call Marion and she
will give you the information. We meet in
the lobby of the AMC and go in as a group.
If you are late you will have no difficulty finding us as we sit together in a row inside.
Revolving Books
Marion Johnston
Muriel Cluett
416-293-8014 or
416-497-5242.
Here is your opportunity to read a paperback book each month, pass it along
and keep one at the end of the year. Sign up will be at the September meeting
with the first book available at the October meeting. Books are then circulated
at the meetings in November, January, February and March. A nominal fee is
charged to cover the cost of the books. We explore both non-fiction and fiction
- usually current, including mystery, biography, thrillers and perhaps a little sci-fi
-with the emphasis on Canadian authors. This is the interest group that does
not meet!
Gourmet Lunch Group
Ruth Wolff 416-284-3702
We enjoy chatting about anything and
everything and we always have fun together. If you would like to join us, we
would love to hear from you.
The Gourmet Lunch Group meets the first
Friday of each month, from October to
June. We take turns hosting. The hostess
of the month plans and prepares the
lunch, with copies of the recipes for each
member. Each person pays $10.00 to
cover the cost of wine and food.
Carole Torrance
Afternoon Bridge
The Afternoon Bridge Group meets in
members’ homes the third Thursday of
the month (October to May) at 12:30.
We enjoy friendly, interesting conversation during our bag lunch, with tea and
coffee provided by the hostess .
Substitutes are needed for our bridge
group. Please sign up and join us once
in a while. You will be warmly welcomed.
Anne Ellis Taylor 416-261-5190
Couples Bridge
Couples Bridge
meets the first Friday
evening of the month
for dessert and coffee
and sixteen hands of
bridge. Substitutes
would be most welcome.
Kathie Krashinsky
416-282-6075
416-438-8652
Healthy Gourmet
On the second Thursday evening of the
month, members gather to enjoy a healthy
meal and the company of friends The hostess provides her home and wine, while
three members cook various courses of a
meal that the hostess has chosen. The
cost is $20 per month per person and all
chefs and hostesses are reimbursed for
their costs. Join us for conversation and
great food. The September soup dinner
and planning meeting will be held on September 6. Please contact Marg if you are
interested in joining.
Marg High
416-283-8682
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CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
CFUW AGM, VICTORIA, BC
The first business session of the AGM on Friday morning hit a small bump with discussion of the AGM Standing Rules. After
some intense discussion, a motion to allow debate on previously circulated amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws Revision
was passed. We then enjoyed the Welcome Address by President Brenda Wallace, the Report from Executive Director Robin
Jackson, and received good wishes from Catherine Bell of IFUW and Florine Swanson of Women Graduates USA. The balance of
this session was a presentation by Carol Hare of the Financial Report and the discussion which arose from it. This discussion was
completed at the Saturday morning business session, and the report was accepted. There will be a $10/person fee increase applicable in 2014.
After the final issues of finance were dealt with on Saturday, Lynn Franklin presented the report on the Charitable Trust. The assets of the Trust stand at $1 290 400. Seven fundraisers brought in $12 000 last year; and 14 awards were made for a total of $84
000. The balance of this session was devoted to discussion of the Constitution and Bylaws Revision. All the proposed amendments failed. The latter parts of the document were dealt with at Sunday’s business session.
After the Constitution and Bylaws were passed on Sunday morning, the Resolutions were dealt with. Five were passed: Ensuring
Food Security, Retention and Promotion of Women in Skilled Trades, Climate Change-Mitigation, Adaptation and the Inclusion of
Women, Toward a Mental Health Strategy for Canada, Full Accessibility and Barrier-Free Environments. The resolution regarding
Site Placement of Industrial Wind Turbines was defeated.
At various points throughout the days, clubs were acknowledged for reasons such as significant increase in membership and special projects. One of the latter was a follow-up by the Montreal Club. They produced a booklet on Financial Literacy, and there will
be more on that elsewhere in this newsletter. The Friday Workshop I attended on “Voices of Immigrant Women” featured two such
women and an advocate for immigrant workers’ rights. My reactions to what I learned range from pleasure and appreciation for
women such as the two women panellists, to frustration with the inconsistencies in the administration of the system which can lead
to many difficulties.
All in all, they were busy, eventful, and thought-provoking days. Thank you for having had me as your delegate.
Pat Westcott
CFUW AGM 2013 WILL BE IN SASKATOON, SK JULY 11-14. The theme is “Living Skies - Women Soar”.
A VIEW FROM THE SIDELINES
Since I have family on Vancouver Island I decided that attending the national AGM was a good start for a visit with them. My husband and I booked into the Laurel Point Inn and enjoyed a three day mini “vacation” on our own. The Inn is located on a point between the inner and middle harbours and is within walking distance of all the downtown area has to offer. Over the course of our
stay, we enjoyed afternoon coffee at McMurchie’s, breakfast at “Willies”, a wonderful stroll through Beacon Hill Park and a fish and
chips dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf. The weather was a bit on the cool side and rainy but didn’t dampen our enjoyment in spite of
the homelessness evident in many places. All in all it was a wonderful leisurely exploration of downtown Victoria.
As for the conference itself, I’m sure that Pat will have more details to relate. We did go to CFB Esquimalt and had a tour of the
Dockyards with the group followed by a great dinner in the officer’s wardroom. All the tour guides were female officers as was the
speaker, Rear Admiral Jennifer Bennett, the first female to reach this rank. Her talk was both inspiring and amusing as she related her experiences serving in a predominantly male organization.
The Saturday business session which I attended was well run and impressive in its attention to procedural rules. The motion to
approve a $10.00 (ten dollar) increase in dues passed easily in spite of opposition from some clubs fearing loss of membership.
Lynn Franklin spoke on behalf of the Charitable Trust with a plea to help increase the amount given out to $100,000 by 1919 in
honour of our centennial. A committee has been working on the History Project, an initiative to acknowledge ten decades of work
by CFUW members which will eventually be available on disks. They also hope to have a commemorative stamp and even a national day.
The revision to the articles and bylaws of the constitution had to be dealt with item by item. Amendments to amendments had to be
dealt with one by one according to parliamentary procedure and became a lengthy process. Fifty seven articles out of 112 were
accepted by the end of the day, the others being tabled to the Sunday session. This meant, as well, that the Town Hall meeting re
the IFUW scheduled for two hours in the afternoon had to be shortened. It also meant that none of the proposed resolutions came
to the floor that day, a disappointment for the two Kincardine delegates I met who had come to support the moratorium on wind
turbines. I do not know what happened at the Sunday session considering that so much constitutional business was yet to be
transacted as well as the resolutions. Hopefully there was still a quorum to conduct things.
The Federation Banquet on Saturday evening was a relaxing enjoyable event to counter the stress of the business session. There
were more male companions present: the meal was very good and the musical entertainment afterwards put a fitting end to the
conference for many.
Gail Doehler
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CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
NEWS FROM THE FRONTILINE– NATIONAL AGM
CFUW Scholarships
Report for the Charitable Trust, reported $1,290,400 in assets. Seven notable fundraisers last year brought in $12,000.
Donations to the Charitable Trust can now be made on line. 14 awards were made this year for a total of $84,000.
Project Awards:
Ontario
Thunder Bay – Public lecture and forum on sustainable energy in SE Asia.
Niagara Falls – Historical fashion show and buffet dinner.
Ottawa –Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-School Youngsters (HIPPY) Project.
Belleville – Public Forum: Oka to Attawapiskat.
Perth – Public Forum on the Power of Local Food/CFUW Open House.
Kanata – Inukshuks and Igloos Food Drive with Retirement Home Residents.
Guitar Groovers public performance (members playing and singing to raise funds).
Aurora Newmarket - Special recognition of their Flash Mob.
Quebec
Sherbrooke and District – Townships walking calendar.
Atlantic
Halifax – intergenerational climate change workshop with Dalhousie Students/
Fund raising concert featuring public school music students.
St. John’s – fresh start baskets for women living in shelters.
Women on Tap (tap dancers) public performances.
BC
Parksville Qualicum – project with the RCMP for intermediate grades (5-6) – how literacy relates to life.
Kelowna - selling Femina Coffee (fair trade coffee that supports women in South and Central America); neck supports for
seniors in homes; and staffing a Salvation Army ‘kettle’ .
AWARDS
Over the years our club has built up the award fund at UTSC to just under $130,000. For the year 2012 that provides 3
awards totalling $4860. The university is encouraging us to try to build the fund up to $150,000, which would allow us to
give 3 awards of about $2000 each. Michelle Coutinho from the university spoke to us at the June executive meeting about
how much these awards mean to the students and outlined different ways the club and university could benefit each other.
The executive will discuss some of these in September. I would encourage those who are able to use the form enclosed
with your membership renewal to make a donation to the award fund. Cheques should be made payable to UTSC with
CFUW Scarborough – OSOTF in the memo.
Fundraising from the fashion show allowed us to give 2 awards of $1000 each to students at Centennial College. One
award is for the fall semester and one will be given in the spring semester 2013. Money raised from the fashion show also
provided $1000. to the Scarborough Women’s Centre. Their thank you note is included in this newsletter on page 7.
Kathy Krashinsky
CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
Page 6
Book Review
A Mountain of Crumbs
A Memoir
by
Elena Gorokhova
In this memoir “a mountain of crumbs” is a game invented by Elena’s grandmother during a time of famine in 1920s Russia.
A piece of bread and a square of sugar are crushed Into crumbs to fool Elena’s uncle (then a child) into thinking his share was
twice that of the others. “A mountain of crumbs” is also to be seen as a metaphor for what the promise of the1917 revolution
had become.
At age ten (1955) Elena became friends with a girl her own age, Masha, whose mother taught college English and had Masha
enrolled in a school where English was taught. To Elena the word “English” sounded majestic and alien. In her family no one
spoke a foreign language, especially one as foreign as English. For her it was a rarely heard language of mystery. On the TV
there were no programs in English or about the English which added to the allure for her of the language.
At this young age, during her summer vacation, she went daily to an English tutor and by fall had qualified to become a student
at Masha’s school. She continued her study of the language through the years until she was qualified to be a teacher of English
in the Russian educational system. When all this started her doctor mother tried to indoctrinate her into the world of medicine by
taking her each November during the school recess to her medical institute. This was in reaction to her other daughter having
chosen acting for a career.
Elena’s mother was a physician and surgeon who later took a Ph.D. in Anatomy research. Elena says of her mother “born eight
years before Russia turned into the Soviet Union my mother became a mirror image of my motherland, overbearing, protective,
difficult to leave. Our home was the seat of the politburo, my mother its permanent Chairman” ,, and ,, “if I could have attached
the word “intelligentsia” to her weighty figure I wouldn’t have had to escape to America on an AEROFLOT flight, a startled face
gazing from the passport in my hand, a ravaged suitcase on the KGB inspector’s table packed with twenty kilograms of what
used to be my life” She saw her mother as educated but not terribly cultured.
Elena became reconciled with her mother after her move to the USA. “Living in the US gave me a distance she could not
invade” ,,.:”In hindsight I certainly seem to have followed in her footsteps, which is a rather unsettling thought”. Her father (her
mother’s third husband) was a Communist Party member, head of a technical school in Leningrad.
The inspiration for this memoir about the bleak years of her growing up was Frank McCourt (ANGELA’S ASHES). She met him
at his memoir workshop in 2003 at the Southampton Writers’ Conference and was inspired by his teaching. He had this to say
about her book....”those who have traveled from another place to America will find themselves in this rich memoir”.
A review attributed to SAGA (U,K.) has this comment on her memoir: : “Her richly detailed story explores the reality of her
politically subversive passions for language and freedom in a fearful, failing society that distrusted its citizens and repressed
individuality.”
Another review (ELLE) sees in the memoir “nostalgia for place and landscape that’s seemingly steeped into every Russian
soul.”
My own reaction .. awe at her determination and single-mindedness to realize her dream of someday experiencing
“Englishness” abroad …. awe of her mastery of the English language to the degree that she could choose it for the writing of
her memoir in a prose style that is poetic and evocative.
Muriel Cluett .. August 2012
Page 7
CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
Toronto Caucus
Visiting Other Clubs
The Toronto Caucus representing the six Toronto CFUW clubs
have been lobbying on behalf of early learning and childcare.
They sponsored a successful symposium with Margaret
McCain and Kelly McQuaig in April. With Margaret McGovern
as chair the Caucus has pushed successfully for support from
all the regions in the country as well as recognition of this initiative from the national office.
This July the CFUW Belleville club organized a garden tour in
their area as a fundraiser for their scholarship fund. Donna
Campbell and I joined in on a very hot Saturday and had the
pleasure of exploring a couple of gardens in Belleville proper
and several in Prince Edward County just across the Bay of
Quinte bridge.
This September, the Caucus has been given the chance to
promote this cause at the regular standing committee meeting
to be held on September 29. The afternoon session of the
Education Committee will be devoted to the need for a province
wide strategy for early learning and childcare. The Caucus is
busy preparing material for this session as well as taking up the
challenge of the provincial government’s discussion paper entitled “Modernizing Child Care in Ontario”. This paper has a
number of questions which the Caucus will address.
With evidence-based scientific findings to back up the importance of early learning and child care, this issue is very current,
especially in the light of all day kindergarten for four and five
year olds. In this changing landscape the Toronto Caucus is
trying to add its voice to all those working for a better child care
policy in this province.
Gail
The tour was well organized with easy directions and signage, a
box lunch which could be enjoyed on the road or at St. Thomas
Anglican Church which was the home base and a wonderful
array of raffle prizes. The money raised from this project (about
$10,000) funds about 10 scholarships given to local high school
students who want to go on to either college or university.
It is interesting to see how other clubs operate and I hope many
of you will take the opportunity to attend other clubs’ events.
One such event is the Ontario West Fall Gathering which will be
held in Guelph on Oct. 27, 2012. Ontario Central has not had a
Fall Gathering since the one we organized and the roster of
workshops looks intriguing. This is a great way to see how active the CFUW is other jurisdictions. Watch for the poster at our
September meeting.
Gail
Page 8
CFUW - SCARBOROUGH Newsletter
Membership
We have been able to hold our membership to about 60 over the past few years so I am hoping that by renewing your membership this year this club will remain vibrant and committed to serving our community. Please forward information about any
prospective new members to me as soon as possible so that I may send out membership packages to them. One change of
note is the deadline for sending in your fees. As per our revised constitution the deadline for paying membership fees is now
September 30. I do hope this will not inconvenience you.
Your membership renewal forms along with the donation forms for our UTSC scholarships will be sent out to most of you via
email in early September. Please deal with this item of business right away if possible so that by our initial September meeting
we will know what we have to work with.
With thanks
Gail Doehler
ONTARIO COUNCIL AGM, MAY 2012
CFUW Etobicoke hosted this meeting with the theme, “Green Energy: Is a Future without Fossil Fuels Viable?”. Peter Love, a
professor in the Faculty of Environmental Science at York University, was the keynote morning speaker. Other specialists in sustainable energy joined in the afternoon debate. They all thought that the technology is available for sustainable and renewable
energy to replace fossil fuels, but that a huge shift in society's attitudes is essential to achieve this shift. You may find details of
the discussion and data about energy usage at: www.cfuwontcouncil.ca/agm.html.
Ontario Council presented a DVD to us all, to show us how to be in compliance with Ontario's 2005 Act: Accessibility for Ontarians
with Disabilities.
Ontario Council's President for 2012-14 is Brenda Robertson, member of CFUW North Bay. CFUW Sudbury will host the AGM in
2013.
Thank you for sending me to the 2012 AGM. I enjoyed meeting and having discussions with members from across Ontario.
Anne Smith
A Million Pennies for Minds
This is a message from Bonnie Buxton who will be our speaker for the October meeting.
Many people have small caches of pennies lying around, which will be unusable after Dec. 31, 2012. A million pennies equals
$10,000, which is what we need for our new FASworld Toronto program working with adolescents and young adults with fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Most of these young folks have learning and behaviour problems as a result of the alcohol
their birth mothers consumed before the babies were born.
If CFUW members have $25 or more in pennies, we can arrange to pick them up, and issue a tax receipt. If it's a smaller
amount, they can just bring them on October 15 and we can collect them then. If they don't mind rolling them (paper rolls are
available at Staples), I'd be even more grateful!
KNIT-A-SQUARE PROJECT
The knit-a-square project is a world- wide community of volunteer knitters and crocheters for charity. “The goals of this
project are to warm and comfort AIDS orphans with blankets, hats, vests and pullovers and to raise awareness of this
mostly hidden tragedy”.
The 8”/20 cm. squares are collected at each meeting and they are sent to South Africa about three times a year. There,
they are joined into blankets and distributed among the orphaned AIDS children.
Since September 2009, CFUW Scarborough members have knitted and crocheted over 300 squares.
If you are interested in this project, please contact Lenora Fleming at [email protected] .
Editor’s Note:
Thanks as always to everyone contributing to this issue. Your participation is
welcomed - if you have an idea for an article or wish to send a letter to the editor,
please contact me at:
[email protected]
Newsletter edited by
Toby Tenenbaum
Content accurate as of
August 12, 2012
We’re on the Web:
http://cfuwscarborough.org