Welcome to 2025! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday season.

This month we are kicking off the promotions for our International Women’s Day Breakfast to be held on Saturday March 8^th at the Arden Park Hotel. This will be third time we have hosted this event and this year it is even bigger, with a wonderful keynote speaker and a truly excellent panel of distinguished guests.

The link to online tickets is in the article below, and tickets will also be available for sale at our January meeting. Take advantage of our Early Bird offer for members – a table of eight tickets purchased at the meeting will save the online service fees and provide reserved seating at that table. A great way to guarantee sitting with friends.

This Breakfast serves as not only a fund-raiser for our Scholarship fund, but is also a vital outreach to the Stratford community. We have been here for 70 years and we need to remind people of all of the good we have done, and continue to do, through our Advocacy and Scholarship programs.
🌸

Given the challenges Canada faces going into this year, our January speaker’s topic could not be more on point! Please join us to learn from Mike Masse how we can look after ourselves in troubled times and assist our loved ones as well. Mike travels across North America teaching mindfulness techniques to first-responders, medical personnel and students. I look forward to a learning how to improve my resilience in the face of stress and loss.

Stay well, stay warm, and I will see you all on January 28^th!

Speaker Program 2024 - 2025

Past, Present, Furure - Living Your Best Life

Our December Celebration

Buffet Brunch at the Straford Golf and Country Club
Saturday, Dec 14th, 2024 from 10 - 1pm

A huge success as we gathered to enjoy food and friends! We donated a record amount to the Emily Murphy Centre through gift certificates and groceries as well as raising hundreds of dollars from our pay-what-you-wish book sale.

Huge thanks to our organizers and volunteers on the Program Committee.

Next General Meeting
Tuesday January 28, 2025 at 7pm
Stratford Secondary School

Join us for a great start to the new year with Mindfulness Coach Mike Masse! Be kind to your mind.

Take Care Of You Too

This workshop is an introduction into exploring practical strategies of mindfulness and how to execute these techniques in everyday life. We will explore proven methods that create the ability to respond to stress in a healthier way. These practical tools help us cultivate a sense of wellbeing that supports self care and help us be more present with the people we love.

New Announcements and Updates for 2025 will follow our interval of delicious treats.

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

Venue: the Arden Park ballroom

Doors open at 8:30 AM for coffee, followed by a buffet breakfast at 9:00 AM. The program begins at 9:45 AM.

Program:

After a wonderful buffet breakfast, three highly accomplished women will share their challenges and inspirations. Our guests:

• • • Halyna Padalko:  Multidisciplinary researcher with over 10 years of experience in media communications in Ukraine. She specializes in strategic communication, propaganda, disinformation, and the application of AI tools in these domains. Halyna holds a Master’s degree in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at the National Aerospace University Kharkiv Aviation Institute (Ukraine).
    • Mary Hofstetter: Canadian arts administrator and educator, former president of Sheridan College, general manager of the Stratford Festival, and president of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Member of the Order of Canada.
    • Pamela Jeffery: Founder of The Prosperity Project, the Women’s Executive Network, and Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, she also established the Canadian Board Diversity Council.

The morning will include a panel discussion on the theme of “Breaking Barriers – Stories of Progress", moderated by our own Deanna Horton, Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

The program will last approximately one hour, with a chance for your questions and continued conversation until around 11:30 AM.

Where to get Early Bird tickets:
1)    Printed tickets    (& no service charge!)

Available in person at the January 28 meeting

Or – by emailing Verna Dennis, CFUW Stratford treasurer

$45 pp  cfuwstratfordtreasurer@gmail.com

2)   Online at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/50797/ 

           $45 pp + service charge of approx. $3.90 per ticket

3)    CFUW members (& their friends) who wish to sit together: 

       Reserve a table of 8 by purchasing all 8 seats at one time for $360. 
 

TEAM: There is room for you on the planning committee! We meet on Mondays at 3 pm at Zion Lutheran Church, and you are welcome to drop in.  Just RSVP the coordinator, Wendy McNaughton so we expect you.

Advocacy

Climate Change Action Committee

Our Climate Conversations continue in 2025!  We're challenging the world in our next Climate Conversation- It seems critical that we find ways to live without oil and gas- That's a tall order!! Join us on Thursday January 23, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium for "Alternative Energy Options".

Our guest on the 23rd will be Derek Satnik from West5 & S2E Technologies, speaking on the future of sustainable energy in housing.  West5 in London Ontario is the largest smart community development in North America.  It was designed with ambitious goals in mind – achieving net zero energy, reducing water consumption, creating electric vehicle-readiness, and using smart grid infrastructure – and it's part of a cross-Canada research study involving 11 Canadian universities to study the feasibility of net-zero development – which technologies to use, how to invest in them, and how to get innovative projects approved through municipal processes.

You can register at Eventbrite Stratford or off the Climate Conversations Webpage

See you on the 23rd!

Interest Groups

DNA Group 

Our focus for January was to understand the Leeds Method of sorting DNA matches. Lots of shared laughter and DNA experiences were served along with Shared Matches. (Molly is content to genetically be a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel :-)

Indigenous Learning Group

Please join us for:

Reconciliation in Canada: Building Understanding and Action Toward Equity and Justice for Indigenous People.
Dedicated to the Memory of Dariel Bateman as she spear-headed the CFUW Stratford TRC Resolution.

Tuesday February 4 th , 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.,
Drama Room, Stratford District Secondary School, 428 Forman Avenue. Enter from Short St. on the north side of the building.

Our speaker is Vanessa Allen (she/her), an Indigenous woman of Cree descent. She holds a Master of Professional Education (MPEd) in Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice from Western University and is the current Supervisor of Housing Equity; Community Partnerships for the
Region of Waterloo. 

All members of CFUW Stratford are invited to attend. We'd love to have your interest and support!

We have also invited Students of both Stratford District Secondary School and St. Michael’s Catholic Secondary School and interested family and friends.
 

Mystery Book Clubs

Check out our Tuesday and Thursday Mystery Book Clubs. 

Here is the Thursday group with honourary member Marg Crawford. Next month we are reading author Susan Hill.

Meanwhile, our Tuesday Mystery Book Club 2nd ed. was hot on the trail of clues found in Agaha Christie books. With the answers cleverly disguised in a photo of a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle, we needed our magnifying glasses and a range of favourite books. (Next month the author is Henning Mankell.)

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

Interest Groups

CFUW National

Graduate Women International

Here's a look at the massive work accomplished by GWI in 2024:

Graduate Women International Year-at-a-Glance

In Memoriam

Current member and past Advocacy Chair, Dariel Batemen died peacefully at home on Friday, Jnauary 10th. A memorial service will be planned for a later date. 💐

Extra! Extra!

Music and Mirth!

Saturday March 8, 2025               

A celebratory evening for International Women’s Day featuring the hilarious improv comedy of Rebecca Northan & Kevin Kruchkywich, and the upbeat vocal/guitar duo of Evangelia Kambites & Eric Lundgren.

A decision was made at the January CFUW executive meeting to clearly separate this evening event from CFUW Stratford’s International Women’s Day Breakfast. Please note that  Music & Mirth! will pay half of the daily rent for the Arden Park ballroom and help CFUW with the costs of the Breakfast event.

All marketing, organizing and financing will be done by a separate group: the Friends of Emily Murphy.  

All proceeds will go to help the Emily Murphy Centre with their important and necessary work.