Has anyone else had it with this weather yet? Not only did it foil our attempts to meet in January, but it seems to have been the coldest night of the year every night since mid-November! Therefore, I think its very appropriate to kick-off our February newsletter with a shout-out to our CFUW Stratford Coldest Night of the Year (CONY) team!

Congratulations to Kate Welsh and her walkers, who are so close to their team goal of $5,000 raised to support the Stratford Connections Centre and Shelterlink Youth Services. CNOY is a Canada-wide fundraising program for community non-profit organizations, and Stratford is always one of the top participating cities. This year, there are 77 local teams, and CFUW Stratford is #6 on the funding leader board. Yet another example of the wonderful generosity of this club! If you would like to donate, or join the team walking on February 22^nd, please go to cnoy.org and look for “Stratford” under Locations.

Many thanks to the team working to promote our International Women’s Day Breakfast on March 8th. They have been out and about in the snow, papering the town with our posters, and we are seeing the results in ticket sales. Again, a big thank you to so many of our members who have been so supportive, who have already purchased tickets, and organized tables for friends and interest groups. We are in good shape and looking forward to a really exciting and inspiring morning!

Our February general meeting is always about Advocacy. Our two committees, Violence Against Women, and Climate Change Action, have been very busy this year, working with the community, and making a difference in Stratford. Please join us on February 25^th to learn more about the Sustainable Shopping Cart (doesn’t that sound great?), and hear Lisa Wild from the Emily Murphy Centre speak about her organization's programs that help women escape abuse and build new lives. Also, check out the Emily Murphy fundraiser information in this newsletter – it’s a great night out for a great cause.

I look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks…and maybe also for a thaw? We can dream 😊

Cambria

Speaker Program 2024 - 2025

Past, Present, Furure - Living Your Best Life

Bad Weather? No worries - January Zoom with Mike Masse

Mindfulness Coach, Mike Masse, joined us via Zoom January 28th, and started his presentation with a short guided meditation. He then proceeded to teach us in an engaging way about the theory of mindfulness and the benefits it can bring to our well-being. Starting the year with wellness in mind. Mike has great resources on his website, so whether you missed his presentation or you would like more information check out Mindful Mike.

Next General Meeting
Tuesday February 25, 2025 at 7pm
Stratford Secondary School

Focus on Advocacy

Two presentations from our Advocacy committees

The Violence Against Women Committee presents;

Special Guest Lisa Wilde, Emily Murphy Centre

Lisa Wilde is the Executive Director of the Emily Murphy Centre, a charity we have been supporting this year. She will discuss the organization’s second stage, rent geared to income housing and support programs assisting women and children who have experienced violence.

The Climate Change Action Committee presents;

Stay Tuned for the Sustainable Shopping Cart! We will be introducing the Cart (Literally! :) The timing couldn’t be better - turns out Sustainable also largely means Local, Ontarian, and Canadian.🍁

International Women's Day Breakfast!
Saturday, March 8, 2025

We are more than halfway to sold out thanks to so many members buying tables and individual tickets. Also - thanks to businesses in town buying sponsored tables and to KDB Law who are our Trailblazer sponsor. It’s going to be a wonderful, interesting morning!

Verna will have tickets at our next meeting on Feb 25 – if there are any left! Tickets are available online right now at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/50797/

Agenda: 8:30 doors open with buffet breakfast at 9 am, followed by speakers and panel discussion on the theme of “Breaking Barriers – Stories of Progress,” moderated by our own Deanna Horton.

Can’t attend the Breakfast on March 8? You can still help!

How? Purchase a ticket for someone who can’t afford it.

Etransfer $45 to cfuwstratfordtreasurer@gmail.com and indicate in the message box that you wish to donate the ticket.

There are people out there who would really appreciate your assistance! We will find that person for you.

** All proceeds from this event will benefit the CFUW Scholarship Fund **

Advocacy

Violence Against Women Committee

Darren Fischer from the Community Resource Office and Wanda Hughes a Halton officer came to present to the group. Darren told us that initially he was the only community resource officer but now there are 4 who work in Stratford, Perth South and St. Marys. We asked about how to include men in our efforts to prevent Violence Against Women. He said there needs to be support for men who are abusers and he suggested contacting Cynthia Miller at Family Services on 42 Waterloo St. He said he is preparing a presentation for teen boys and Nora mentioned that there was a program for boys at the Health Unit which was discontinued during COVID. He also referenced the John Howard Society which runs programs for men who have been involved with court and Family Services which is more proactive. He suggested volunteer groups come to schools to discuss with the students and he also suggested having a booth at Community events.

The group is discussing adding further poster campaigns, given the success of last year's poster (we will continue to replace posters as needed and add posters to other locations - and possibly expand to other centres like Mitchell. The focus of an additional poster campaign would be to encourage men to become involved in the campaign to stop violence against women - how to recognize a potentially abusive situation and what to do about it. We were encouraged by Darren Fischer who thought this would be a worthwhile thing to do.

Advocacy Special Guest

On March 17th at 3:00 pm at 378 Nelson St. Gwen Lamont, author of "The View From Coffin Ridge - A Childhood Exhumed" will speak to the Committee to Prevent Violence Against Women. Should other CFUW members wish to hear this celebrated author please contact Leora at Lrissin@sympatico.ca

Climate Change Action Committee 

• We have printed and delivered the 2nd Stage Anti-Idling request to schools. We have reminded them to reach out to their parents and caregivers and ask them to please not park at the end of the day and wait in their vehicles while idling their engines.
• We also met with Taylor Crinklaw, Director of Infrastructure Services, and shared the updated list of schools that have or do not have Idling By-Law signs. He will also share the list with Adam Bettridge, Director of Building and Planning, and with the By-Law Officers..

• Although schools are now supposed to pay for any signs they request, we encouraged the City to gradually put up Idling By-Law signs at all schools. Meetings to come are with the Mayor and the Police Services.

Save the date - MARCH 6

Interest Groups

Excursions 

Don't be shy - Check out our website for great interest groups! Email Patsy Berton for any further information or to sign up.

Interest Groups

CFUW National

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Kz-Tzy9fTcKAA8MZSm2m-Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
 

Celebrate International Women's Day (March 8) with CFUW by viewing the documentary 'WOMAN'! Those who register will be able to watch the film online any time from March 1 to March 15, 2025. You can watch it with members of your Club, or organize a public screening and hold a discussion about the film afterwards.

To learn more about the film and to register to receive a viewing link, please read and submit this form: https://forms.gle/RzwqZTZ2tT3kvhXF9

Graduate Women International 

February 11^th, chosen to honour Marie Curie’s birth date, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day was established by the United Nations in 2015 to recognize “the importance of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the scientific community.”

Globally, only around 30% of researchers are women and only 22 women have been awarded a Nobel prize in the sciences. Surprisingly, many 1^st world countries, such as Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany and the US, have lower percentages of women in STEM (less than 30%) than counties such as India (40%) and Mongolia (57%). In Canada, women hold 34% of STEM degrees but are only 23% of the STEM workforce in Canada. 

GWI has been committed to reducing the gender divide in education, included STEM, since its inception. GWI, with its special consultative status at the UN, has been central to much of the policy and program advocacy development by UNESCO and UN Women to promote and support change.

GWI has also promoted changes in various member National Federations and Associations for example, Singapore (UWAS) established a Student Enrichment Platform that allows disadvantaged students to utilize smart technologies to gather and act on data, Uganda UAUW) carried out a “gender-sensitization” of school laboratory technicians to facilitate increased female laboratory participation and Russia (FUWR) established a roster of role models and created an interregional network of Stem Clubs.  

Special projects were also undertaken in The Netherlands (GWI-NL), Australia (AFGW), Switzerland (SVA), Senegal (ASFDU), Figi (GWF), Ghana (GAUW) and Canada (CFUW).

Yes, the gender divide in STEM has diminished over the last 10 years, BUT there is still much to be done, especially in 1^st world counties. If we want the young women in our lives to make the contributions to society that they are so capable of doing, we have to advocate for the necessary changes.

Extra! Extra!

Looking to rid yourself of the winter blahs?

Look no further!

Join us March 8 for Music & Mirth, a night of laughs, lyrics and love - all in support of The Emily Murphy Centre

Laugh away the winter chill with the hilarious improv of Rebecca Northan and Kevin Kruchkywich known for their lightning fast, unpredictable and hilarious performances. Northan is a Canadian Comedy Award winner and co-creator of the theatre sensation Goblin:MacBeth and the upcoming Goblin:Oedipus. For three decades, Kruchkywich has made people laugh, cry, gasp and applaud on stages around the world. Past patron Judy Maddren, a CBC announcer, said, “It is not often that I can experience a belly laugh, but Rebecca and Kevin's improv provides so many!”

Opening the evening, vocalist Evangelia Kambites and guitarist Eric Lundgren celebrate musical versatility and creativity with heartfelt ballads and lively improvisation. Lundgren’s electrifying talent is familiar to all who have seen him play with The Downie Street Collective, Diamond Mine, and Retro Resonance. Kambites who is a theatre and screen actor, dancer and composer is a sublime vocalist!

“Through our music this evening we aim to celebrate the strength, creativity and unity of women worldwide; fostering joy and connection in honour of International Women’s Day,” the pair said.

Music & Mirth is a fantastic opportunity for a friends’ night out, a date night, or for parents and teens to experience comedy together. The content will be suitable for all.

Tickets are $45 with a discount price for a table of 8.

Tickets available at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/50838/

The Emily Murphy Centre is grateful to the members of CFUW-Stratford for your incredible ongoing support of the EMC mission and to the dedicated team of volunteers who laid the groundwork for this event and continue to support it to success. Thank you! It means the world to us and those we serve.

Claire Bickley, Fundraising Chair, Board of Directors, the Emily Murphy Centre