Many great things are happening within the club even though we are not meeting in person. First, there is the revision of several club documents. The job descriptions are being updated (original ones are still on the website). The privacy policies and the procedures and guidelines are being reviewed and updated to comply with legislation and/or internal club decisions. There is an ambitious group that is developing an online renewal form for members that will help ensure your personal privacy requests. The team promises there will be support for all members to complete it.
The Advocacy committee is very active and includes an article in every newsletter. The House and Garden Tour is only three and a half months away and plans are moving forward. This is our principal fundraiser. The team cannot do it without your support. Please assist in making this a success with donating a few hours of your time as a guide on June 5th. It is a wonderful way to get to know other club members and to let the community know what great work CFUW St. Catharines does.
The executive is planning (if all is clear) to return to in-person meetings in September. The Program Committee undertook a review of many possible meeting locations and has secured the Grantham Lions Club on Niagara Street. It is fully accessible with easy parking, in a safe area and at a reasonable cost. The room set up will be similar to what we had at St. John Ukrainian Hall with tables and chairs. We would like to thank everyone for their many location suggestions. We are so looking forward to being able to get together in person.
We are in discussion with Brock University to determine if we can partner with students and professors in the Experiential Learning Course for the development of a strategic plan for our club this fall. Some may ask why a strategic plan. A strategic plan helps the club to identify the current challenges and opportunities that we face and identify a direction the club hopes to grow and develop over the next three-to-five- year time frame. Goals and objectives would be established that align with the vision and mission of CFUW St. Catharines. We would evaluate the outcomes which would help us in our decision making. Membership is definitely an area we need to look at in detail.
Kattawe Henry, our speaker for February, gave us lots to consider. Our speaker in March will provide more thoughts to consider.
I am pleased to report that CFUW National office has relocated to a smaller and less expensive office space at Rideau Community Hub. The new address is Room #230, 815 St. Laurent Blvd., Ottawa, Ontario, K1K 3A7. The phone number, toll-free numbers and email addresses remain the same.
February, although the shortest month of the year, has had a lot of challenging weather. Thank heavens for the Canadians excelling at the Olympics. How proud we are of all participants. The work and determination that it takes to get there is incredible.
Stay safe as the province begins to reopen. Happy International Women’s Day on March 8.
Submitted by Maureen Shantz, President