Fire dispatch and paging services

 

The Dundas County District Council of Easter Seals Ontario met on June 14th at the J.W. McIntosh Seniors’ Centre in Williamsburg for their annual general meeting.

In 2011, Dundas County raised $19,467.85 through its many fundraising events, which include Paper Eggs, Ball Hockey, Bowling, Snowarama, Curling, and Blooperball.

Council chair Ian McLaughlin attended the provincial annual general meeting  weeks ago and reported that only four per cent of every dollar goes to administration and seven per cent to fundraising costs, leaving a whopping 89 per cent for Easter Seals children.

Currently, there are approximately 11 families in Dundas County registered with Easter Seals Ontario.

Children, youth and young adults up to age 19 are eligible for services through Easter Seals Ontario. At age 20, services are then available through the March of Dimes. 

According to McLaughlin, the main difference between the two groups is that March of Dimes receives financial support from the government whereas Easter Seals relies solely on donations and fundraising efforts.

“We’re very proud of the fact that 2012 is the 90th anniversary of Easter Seals in Ontario,” he continued. “It was started by eight rotary clubs in 1922 in Windsor, Ontario.”

“One of the major funding projects that Easter Seals supports is camping.” The two camps are Camp Merrywood and Camp Woodeden.

“Most Easter Seals kids will tell you that their favourite memory is camping.”

For those who don’t want to go to camp, McLaughlin explained that there is a summer recreational choices program as well where families are eligible to receive financial assistance for alternatives like a family vacation or day camps.

In addition to providing information about Easter Seals Ontario and the many fundraisers, the Dundas County District Council of Easter Seals Ontario recognized and awarded some of the many community volunteers who helped raise money for the cause in 2011. 

There were four awards to give out this year beginning with two for the Snowarama fundraiser and two for the Paper Eggs fundraiser.

The first Snowarama Award, in remembrance of Debbie McHaffie Strader, is awarded to the club that raised the most funds for the event. This year, like several before, the award went to the South Dundas Snowmobile Club. Jean McDougal was on hand to receive the award.

The second Snowarama Award is awarded to the first time participant who raised the most money for the event. Chris MacMillan, a grade 8 student at St. Mary’s-St. Cecilia’s School in Morrisburg won the award.

The first Paper Eggs Award is awarded to the company with under five employees who raised the most money for the event. For the fifth year in a row, Cook’s Corner of Morrisburg won the award. Debbie Denis was on hand to receive the award.

The second Paper Eggs Award is awarded to the company with more than six employees who raised the most money. For the first time ever, Mike Dean’s of Winchester won the award.

The Dundas County District Council of Easter Seals Ontario members include Harriet Clarke, Ron Gillard, Deanna MacKillican, Ian McLaughlin, Margaret Reynolds, Bob Ruddock and Marja Smellink.

McLaughlin pointed out that the council is on its 12th year and that they’re “always looking for volunteers. We meet once a month on the second Thursday night” at the J.W. McIntosh Seniors’ Centre in Williamsburg. There are no meetings in July or August.

“We certainly are always looking for new and interesting volunteers to help us out with one project or more,” he concluded.

[…]

“Last night was amazing,” said Iroquois Public School (IPS) Principal Kelty Grant.

She was referring to the February 8th Digital Literacy event sponsored by IPS Parent Council. 

The event, the first of its kind at IPS, offered parents a chance to learn how they can use technology and the Internet to help their children’s learning.

Grant, who was on hand to greet parents and usher children to the free on-site childcare, said “we had a really good turnout – about 40 parents and about 12 children.”

Interested parents were given the opportunity to attend any two of the four offered presentations, all of which were free, while their children were safe and having fun with some local high school volunteers.

According to Grant, the high school students “set up tables with games and activities in the gym.” 

Among the seminar presenters were Mike Singh, teacher with Soft-Where to Learn; Laura Oliver and Candy Campbell, Regional Student Engagement teachers; Elaine Gribbin, Regional Speech Language Pathologist; and, Alison Sutherland, Learning Resource Coach and teacher at IPS.

Grant reported that all four seminars were “well attended.”

“Parents who didn’t have a chance to get to the iPad/iPod technology seminar have been asking if that one will be offered again,” she said.  

“We had borrowed enough iPads for all parents to get a chance to try out some apps, and then at the end of the session they had an opportunity to show what they had discovered on the SmartBoard, which was plugged into an iPad.”

“Parents also seemed to love testing out the educational websites that are available,” said Grant, adding that “the evening was a result of our Pro Grant. We are using the Pro Grant money to purchase a membership to an educational website that parents and students will be able to access at home.”  

Iroquois Public School’s Digital Literacy event was such a success that they’re planning to do it again. Grant indicated that while a date had not yet been set, late March looked like a definite possibility.

“It is well worth the time and effort when you see our school community coming together like this,” said Grant. “We have some pretty amazing parents at IPS!”

[…]

  It’s been a busy year for the Dundas County Hospice at Williamsburg as they settled into and completed the renovations at the home purchased last spring.  And they couldn’t have gotten it all done […]