New Award Recognizes Leaders in Accessibility in Ontario

| Filed under:
Sep 24 2014

The Ontario Government recently annouced the creation of a new award, The David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility. This award will recognize leaders in four categories including employers, youth, employee engagement and role models who have gone above and beyond in improving accessibility for persons wtih disabilities and supporting awareness of accessibility and disability issues. Do you kow an indvidual or organization that you would like to nominate? Click here to download the nomination form and learn  more about the award. The deadline to submit nominations is December 3rd of each year. 

Poverty Reduction Strategy: Being Heard and Involved

| Filed under:
Sep 23 2014

Poverty Free Kitchener-Waterloo Action Group is keen to find out how local groups who are already active in poverty reduction work can be recognized and supported through the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy to continue their work that brings those with lived poverty experience into the process as experts in their own right. Read below our comments on the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy and get in touch to share yours.

Civic Declaration on Decent Work and Basic Income

Sep 22 2014

We have a common stake in creating communities of shared opportunity for all. Investing in work that protects and enhances our environment, supports civic and community well-being, and grows local economies will produce social and economic benefits for all. Pursuing this path will demand the activation of a collective stewardship that engages all parts of the community in a discussion of how to work together for the common good. What work needs to be done to create and sustain the kinds of communities that we want to live in? Read the Poverty Free Ontario Bulletin: Crating Communities of Shared Opportunity across Ontario.

September E-Neighbour

| Filed under:
Sep 15 2014

Walk with the Mayor 2013

The 2013-2014 Festival of Neighbourhoods season is coming to an end. Our summer outreach blitzes brought great joy to Millwood, Moorgate and Westchester neighbourhoods (read our outreach team's blogs). We have received 102 registrations and we expect more to come before the time runs out on October 5th!

Income Security for Refugees

| Filed under:
Aug 28 2014

Relying on local Members of the Parliament as strong advocates on refugee concerns in Kitchener-Waterloo, the Poverty Free KW Group has joined organizations across Ontario in asking them to reject the Bill C-585 that would have serious implications for the health and welfare of refugee claimants and many others awaiting permanent status in Canada. See more from the Income Security Advocacy Centre on the province-wide actions before the Bill goes to vote on September 16th. 

SPC KW takes on the former Alliance for Children and Youth Mid Month Connection Newsletter!

| Filed under:
Aug 7 2014

As you may know from the annoucements made by the Alliance for Children and Youth (here and here), the Social Planning Council of K-W is taking over the Mid-Month Connection newsletter formerly put out by the Alliance. The newsletter has been renamed and rebranded as the Waterloo Region Child and Youth Connection, but will still feature the same great content that you're used to, such as events, announcements, tweets and research about children, youth and families in the Waterloo Region. 

WR Child and Youth Connection Banner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Page on the Website & Twitter Handle

We've created a new Child and Youth page on our website to house the sign-up page and archives for the newsletter, past Alliance documents and information about our other streams of activity related to children and youth, such as our involvement in the Children's Planning Table and Child-Well-Being Dashboard. Visit the Child and Youth page to  read our first newsletter or to sign up to have the newsletter delivered to your inbox each month.  We've also taken over the Twitter account used by the Alliance, which has also been renamed; you can follow us over at @WRChildYouth. 

Submitting Content to the Newsletter

If you would like to submit articles or events for inclusion in the newsletter, please contact Gillian Veitch at gillian@waterlooregion.org. or on Twitter at @WRChildYouth. Please note that the deadline for submission of articles or events is the 13th of each month. 

Income Security Fund Shuffle

| Filed under:
Aug 2 2014

It has been reported that the basic needs allowance of single parents on social assistance will be reduced by $8 dollars starting August 1, due to the increase in Ontario Child Benefit bound to happen on October 1 (Carol Goar, The Star, July 31, 2014). In a context where the cost of living raises much faster than the social assistance rates, which are already ​gravely inadequate, reducing basic needs allowance when raising the Ontario Child Benefit is simply wrong policy.

July E-Neighbour

| Filed under:
Jul 30 2014

Take a look at our Festival of Neighbourhoods Billboard with the announcements of the July Early Bird Prize Winner, the new city of Kitchener neigbhourhood grants, and more tips on how to make your neighbourhood activities simple, manageable and year round fun. You will see as well which Wards are in the lead with most activities registered and you can check our updated 2014 map! Keep ever-fresh with updates by following us on the FoN Facebook and Twitter!

2014 InformOntario Symposium Highlights

| Filed under:
Jul 29 2014

Keynote Speaker IO 2014This June, the Community Information Centre of the Waterloo Region, Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo, was the host of a dynamic professional development symposium for the members of the Association of Community Information Centres in Ontario - InformOntario. Read the highlights from the symposium in the IO Connector, the E-newsletter published by the Association. You can see the presentations on this webpage and read about the "Hihg-Tech & High-Touch" balance from the keynote speaker Douglas Bartholomew Saunders, Comissioner of Social Services of the Waterloo Region.

Summer Activities in the Townships- Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich & North Dumfries- 2014

| Filed under:
Jul 22 2014


Check out what events are happening this summer in the Waterloo Region townships (Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich and North Dumfries). This list was compiled through online scanning. It is not comprehensive, and will be updated if new events are found. If you would like to include an event/activity, please contact the Community Information Centre at 519-579-3800 or email info@waterlooregion.org