Focus for Ethnic Women to host Focus on Friends during International Women’s Week

Waterloo, ON – Focus for Ethnic Women will be holding the 11^th annual Focus on Friends celebration Thursday, March 8, 2012, during International Women’s Week. The event centres on an award ceremony recognizing local women who demonstrate the strong spirit of volunteerism for which Waterloo Region is known.

This year’s honourees are Margaret Skowronska-Binek, retired Immigration Lawyer originally from Poland, and Ann-Marie Marston, Customer Service Representative with Scotiabank, originally from Jamaica.

The event includes dinner, cultural entertainment and a popular silent auction, at Golf’s Steak House in Kitchener. Tickets are now available for $65; a $35 tax receipt will be provided.

Focus for Ethnic Women has been providing life skills and employment readiness training to immigrant and visible minority women in a warm and supportive environment since opening its doors in 1988. These services help women to develop self-esteem, a sense of community belonging, and personal empowerment as they work to build a life for themselves and their families in Canada

For more information, to make a donation, or to purchase tickets, please phone 519-746-3411 or email at ffew@golden.net. Additional information can also be found at http://few.on.ca/focusonfriends/

Contact:  Olga George-Cosh, Executive Director at 519-746-3411

Read more about Immigrant Women and Voice HERE

This year’s “Focus on Friends” fundraising event will take place at Golf’s Steakhouse on Thursday, March 8, 2012 and will include a buffet dinner, silent auction, and our popular sari silent auction! We will honour two local immigrant women who obtained considerable achievements in their professional field and demonstrate strong community volunteerism. Funds raised will be used in a number of areas including –

• enhancement and expansion of the existing programs
• development of new services
• acquisition of additional resources

Please support our fundraising event at Golf’s Steak House during International Women’s Week. Ticket price is $65 for this event for which a $35 charitable tax receipt will be issued. In addition you can help in the following ways:

• donate a silent auction item or certificate
• sponsor some participants to attend the event
• purchase a table of tickets and offer them to your staff www.few.on.ca/shoponline
• donate cash to support the organization
• donate cash for the Ari Ariaratnam Education and Training Fund

We hope we can count on your business for a donation; your support would be greatly appreciated. Donors will enjoy exposure among our 200+ guests. Tax receipts will be issued for donations and donors will be recognized in our program.

Please visit our website at www.few.on.ca/shoponline to buy a ticket or call at 519-746-3411. A staff member will phone to confirm your ticket purchase/donation. We would be happy to accept donations anytime, but would appreciate your early confirmation to facilitate our planning.

Thank you for helping us to make a difference to immigrant women and their families.

-Fundraising Committee

A Gala will be held to recognize all of the nominees on Thursday, February 16^th, 2012. This evening is a celebration of Chamber Members who have made exceptional contributions through their involvement and leadership for the betterment of our community.

 Registering now for The Colour of my Lenses. Click here for more information.

Click to download.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-If Canada were to admit no immigrants over the next two decades, the labour force would begin to shrink in 2017 and would be reduced to 17.8 million by 2031;

-About one in three Canadians in the labour force could be an immigrant within two decade;

-If Canada’s immigrants have the same participation rates as Canadian-born persons, the proportion of the foreign-born in the labour force by 2031 would reach 33.3%;

-Nearly one in three Canadians in the labour force by 2031 could be a member of a visible minority group;

-Even if there was no immigration over the 2009-2031 period, the proportion of persons in the labour force belonging to a visible minority group would increase to approximately 23,1% in 2031;

-The proportion of Canadian-born visible minorities could rise to roughly 25% in 2031;

-In Ontario in 2031, approximately 41% of the labour force could be foreign-born;

-Ontario and British Columbia would have the largest proportion of the labour force belonging to a visible minority group in 2031, at nearly two in five.

For the full report:  http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-010-x/2011008/part-partie3-eng.htm

Dear Friends, Participants, Community Partners and Neighbours,

Imagine $10,000 towards an art gala event in celebration of the artwork, photography and journeys of young immigrant women in our community. We need your help to make this possible!

We envision…The Colour of My Lenses Art Gala as a culminating celebration of the photography, journeys and accomplishments of young immigrant women who have participated in the The Colour of My Lenses program, funded through Ontario Citizenship and Immigration. 

What is The Colour of My Lenses all about?This free empowerment and skills development workshop series is dedicated and open to immigrant women agaes 16-24 who are currently not attending school.During the 22 week-long program, participants attend workshops which extend their capacity towards new skills in photojournalism, digital editing, career options, employment resouces, leadership and more.

One of the major projects within the program will be to create a portfolio of photos which reflect both their experiences and life journeys as well as the new techniques they’ve gained. The WINDthanks KW grant will provide the opportunity to host an art gala event presenting their work, stories and the program to our community. 

The Colour of My Lenses Gala hopes to be… - A place of sharing and conversation surrounding the personal artworks and photos
- Highly interactive, featuring speech bubbles ot share artists’ and the public’s stories
- Recognizing participants
- Maintaining resilience and support of such needed programs supporting immigrants in our community

 How can I support??

We need to show WINDMobile how much Focus For Ethnic Women and the community need this grant!
-  Post your support on WINDMobile’s blog here -> http://windmobileblog.com/2011/07/wind-launches-in-kw-with-a-10000-community-grant/
- Post, post, post why FEW deserves this grant on WIND’s facebook page -> http://www.facebook.com/WINDmobile
- Tweet @WINDMobile
- Spread the word!

The appreciation for your help goes beyond words!! Let’s make this happen!!!