All Categories - CFUW Oshawa and District

October Zoom General Meeting

10/15/2020

Not to be thwarted by a nasty pandemic, Oshawa and District met on line last evening to enjoy a speaker, conduct business and just chat. Twenty eight women from our club and other clubs attended. Being on Zoom allowed us to open our meeting to CFUW members from afar, an added bonus. It was wonderful to "see" everyone.

Speaker Kiran Bisson, Ayurvedic Chef and Educator of Ki's Kitchen and Feed Your Joy provided a wealth of information on how spices not only enhance your cooking, but also your health and well being.

If you missed her presentation, you can still learn from her by following Kiran at kiskitchen.com; on Instagram - instagram.com/kis_kitchen; Facebook - facebook.com/kitchenki.

It's not a stretch to say that following Kiran's advice will change your life.

The golden girls of port perry

11/16/2019

This past Wednesday's meeting was well attended and not surprising as the topic was "How to Live Like a Golden Girl" as presented by our own Port Perry Golden Girls, Bev Brown and Martha Casson.

They, along with their house mates, are trailblazers in the alternative housing world. Through their hard work and networking they have succeeded in making real change to current municipal housing bylaws. They have been instrumental in the creation of a Private Members Bill "The Golden Girls Act 2019, being put forward by MPP Lindsey Park to amend the Municipal Act. It has only to clear final reading to become law, which given its tremendous house support would appear to be merely a technicality.

With the enactment of this bill, un-related adults (in particular those 55 and over) will now not be blocked from purchasing a single family dwelling for joint ownership and residence.

This is just one of many non-traditional living arrangements being explored as housing needs become ever more complex and the Baby Boom ages.

The Golden Girls site: http://www.100perrystreet.ca/

Lindsey Park MPP http://lindseyparkmpp.ca/the-golden-girls-act-2019/

September 29th, 2018 - the changing role of motherhood in the 21st century

9/29/2018

Dr. Andrea. O'Reilly, professor, author, lecturer, and founder of "The Motherhood Initiative" among other things, discussed how women are represented, the cultural construct and how it has evolved.

She examined the mothering role in agricultural then industrial times, the effects of WWII and then the peace economy to the 1990s and the beginning of Intensive Mothering (Helicoptering).

No matter which era, women always got the "short end of the stick". The struggle is on going.

Dr. O'Reilly has written several books which would be enlightening reading for those interested in this topic. "Rocking the Cradle", "Maternal Theory", "Maternal Thinking" "The 20th Century Motherhood Movement", "What Do Mothers Need?"and more.

humantraffickingunit@drps.ca

4/14/2016

Selecting the title of this posting will take you directly to the hotline for Human Trafficking. Don't be afraid to use it.

Human Trafficking

4/14/2016

Wednesday evening's presentation by DRPS and VSDR was very well attended, attracting individuals who work in some form of support role for marginalized people.
DC Murray, Nancy and Victim Services Durham Region Executive Director Jade, who work together in the field identifying and extricating girls at risk provided the audience an insight into who are victims, how they are recruited and maintained as "property" of a pimp.

Many of the young women work out of hotels, motels, even cars, earning big money for their pimp but see none of it themselves. They are not in the lifestyle by choice. Because they are vulnerable to begin with they are easy targets.

When asked what we could do to assist the police we were asked to be vigilant and observant. Observant when we are in hotels, motels and see suspicious and heavy traffic to a particular room. Also to be vigilant in interacting with the young women and men in our lives who might be at risk.

A simple phone call to police in that situation is all it takes to make a difference.

Kudos to the individuals who work tirelessly in this field. Help them achieve more successes in whatever little way you can.

International Women's Day 2016 - March 8

2/24/2016

Following is the information posted on the IWD site under theme.
IWD 2016 campaign theme #PledgeForParityWorldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement.
And we have much to celebrate today. But progress towards gender parity has slowed in many places.

The World Economic Forum predicted in 2014 that it would take until 2095 to achieve global gender parity. Then one year later in 2015, they estimated that a slowdown in the already glacial pace of progress meant the gender gap wouldn't close entirely until 2133.

So how do we want to celebrate International Women's Day 2016?We say by Pledging For Parity!

Everyone - men and women - can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly - whether to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias. Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity.

Commit to take action to accelerate gender parityGlobally, with individuals pledging to move from talk to purposeful action - and with men and women joining forces - we can collectively help women advance equal to their numbers and realize the limitless potential they offer economies the world over. We have urgent work to do. Are you ready to accelerate gender parity?

Make a Pledge Now

CFUW Oshawa and District is focussing locally on Human Trafficking, particularly along the 401 corridor through Durham Region. Sergeant Ron Kapuscinski of the Human Trafficking Unit DRPS, along with Jade Harper, Executive Director Victim Services Durham Unit will be our speakers at the April 13 General Meeting. All are welcome to attend.

Full Moon Ceremony - DC Calendar of events

2/18/2016

Feb.23
Please join us at Camp Samac cabin one (use Conlin Rd. entrance) for this empowering womens’ ceremony.
Kim Wheatley will be facilitating. You are respectfully requested to wear a long skirt, bring a container of water, some yellow cloth and Tobacco to make your own Tobacco tie. We will be both inside and outside, so dress according to weather conditions. Bring your hand drum or shaker if you have one. The ceremony is open to all women so feel free to invite your sisters, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, aunts and friends.

Please contact Julie or Peggy at ext 2529/2573 for proper protocol, and more information.
Start time: 6:00 p.m.
End time: 9:00 p.m.
Date: February 23, 2016
Location: Camp Samac, cabin one. Use Conlin Road entrance.

Immoral Proposal

Would you go to jail for love?

November's meeting welcomed Jennifer Graham, a local writer, presenting her self published book Immoral Proposal about her experiences falling in love with a white man during South Africa's Apartheid rule. If one has always been free to make choices in life it is difficult to imagine what life would be like under that rule. Our thanks to Jennifer for sharing her story and providing us with some insight into this stifling and dangerous environment.

Successful fashion show

4/6/2014

   Kudos to Hedy and Melanie and their committee for organizing a successful Spring Fashion Show today.

   The venue (Durham College Centre for Food) was laid out in such a way as to give everyone a front row seat to view the fashions.

   The outfits (thirty of them) from Cachet of Bowmanville, featuring several Canadian designers, were lovely and presented something for everyone.

   The desserts made by Durham College students from the Food Program were delicious and beautifully presented.

   Best of all, the proceeds realized took CFUW Oshawa and District over the top in its commitment to the Durham College Endowment fund.

   Thanks to Durham College staff for their set up and to IT for its support related to audio.

   I think I can speak for the models, as I was one of them, to say we had a great time getting into and showing off our finery with the help of Cachet staff. Most of us purchased something that we modeled as it was difficult not to.

   Our thanks to those members and non-members alike who supported this worthwhile endeavour. It was a sell out.

Bad Weather results in meeting cancellation

3/13/2014

Yet another snowfall, this one so bad that no one wanted to go out in it. Our general meeting was cancelled as a result and we missed out on a great guest speaker, Ted Barris. He will be rescheduled.

We have Resolutions to vote on which we would have done at this meeting. Stay tuned on how we will meet our March 31st submission deadline. We may have voting on-line

Status Quo? the unfinished business of feminism in Canada

3/8/2014

    Thursday evening, March 6th saw a gathering of women and men at UOIT downtown Oshawa Charles Street campus for a viewing of the NFB production of Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada.

   The film was presented in partnership with UOIT School of Social Science to celebrate International Women's Day 2014.

   The audience consisted of UOIT staff, students, CFUW members and members of the general public. The message was thought provoking and our discussion led by three panelists was lively.

   The expression "women's work is never done" applies especially well to women's issues as funding for the most marginalized members of our gender is cut, and daily we read of atrocities in countries around the world.

   Thanks to those who attended.