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Club Action Newsletter: June 25, 2020
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This publication contains time-sensitive information generally directed to Club Executives and pertains to CFUW activities and events. Please send relevant pieces to all Club Members.
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In this weeks newsletter we have published the following information below:
- President's Message
- Notes from the June 24 Board Meeting
- Update your Club's Executive Information for the Directory
- Reminder of Office Closure
- Indigenous Peoples Committee Workshop Follow Up
- Newsletters and Updates
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President's Message:
Kathryn Wilkinson
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First of all, I’d like to thank you for having confidence in me to be your President for the new biennial and to acknowledge the wonderful job that Grace Hollett has done for the past three and a half years to steer CFUW through an exceptionally challenging time for the organisation and for the world as a whole. We should have met in Ottawa for our AGM and the plans were well advanced when everything stopped and we switched tracks. With the exceptional leadership of our Executive Director Robin Jackson and our Parliamentarian Beth Haynes, supported by the National Office staff: Betty, Rachel, Yasmin and Brittany, we held our virtual AGM and an awards ceremony and moved workshops to webinars. We are adaptable and that’s a theme to which I’d like to return.
The AGM had some challenges, not least being that Grace was in Newfoundland, Beth in Windsor, the office staff in their homes in the Ottawa area, and I was in Mississauga. Next week, we will be holding a post-AGM debrief and will also be meeting with our meeting platform and voting platform suppliers in preparation for our special meeting on August 8.
The past few years have been a challenging time for CFUW and we have divisions within our organization and sometimes forget what brought us to the organisation in the beginning; in November 2019, the Ontario Council surveyed its members as to what was important to them. The top three priorities were friendship and support, advocacy on issues of concern and interest groups. In the past three months, Clubs and individual members have proved that we can continue to connect and enjoy one another’s company using social media platforms.
There have been impressive numbers at our virtual Town Halls, AGM workshops, and Study Group meetings. In fact, we have probably had better attendance than we would have had in-person and as someone in my Book Club pointed out, we know we never need to cancel a meeting in the winter because of the weather. The National Office is available to assist with setting up virtual meetings and perhaps this is an opportunity for members to ‘visit’ other clubs and share programming.
Finally, I’d like to say a few words about the Report of the Mediation Committee. The twelve members of the Mediation Committee were selected to be representative of members across the country and they unanimously agreed that there is great value in CFUW continuing as a unified, strong, cohesive organization into the future. The report is available here for all members and I recommend that you read it and the Committee’s recommendations.
Unfortunately, the Report was released just before the AGM and it was not presented at the Meeting because of time constraints (it is on the agenda for August 8). The majority of members on the Committee agreed on two main recommendations:
- Remove Article 4 from the CFUW Articles and Bylaws, honour the MOU with GWI through to the end of its term in 2022 and strike an ad-hoc Committee to investigate international organizations, including GWI, whose work aligns with CFUW objectives …
- Improved Communication.
The new Board held its first meeting on Wednesday, June 24 and we have already taken steps to address the second recommendation by creating a Communication Sub-Committee that will be chaired by Judy Hopps, VP Quebec. We are also working with a volunteer consultant who will be assisting us to develop a Strategic Plan to guide us through the next two years.
I encourage all of you to remain connected to your Clubs and to the friendships, interest groups and advocacy projects that we enjoy as members. You might also want to consider volunteering to join one of our National Committees and the Expression of Interest Form is included in this newsletter below. I look forward to working with the new Board, hope I will have the opportunity to meet many of you in the next couple of years (ideally in person but we know virtual works) and urge us all to work towards a strong, united CFUW because together we are stronger and can continue to be a voice for women and girls.
Thank you,
Kathryn Wilkinson
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Notes from the June 24 Board Meeting
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- As this was the first meeting of the Board, members took time to introduce themselves and to talk about their vision for the next two years.
- The Board will be working with a volunteer consultant on Governance and the development of a Strategic Plan.
- Discussed the AGM and planning for the August 8 Special Meeting.
- Appointed as Acting-President Barb DuMoulin, VP British Columbia and reviewed Committee Chairs.
- VP International Relations gave un update on the Report of the Mediation committee and the MOU.
- Established a Communications subcommittee, chaired by Judy Hopps, VP Quebec to begin to address Recommendation 2 of the Mediation Report.
- Financial update re. payment of GWI dues.
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Update Your Club's Executive Information for the
2020-2021 Directory
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This is a reminder to ensure your Club Executive Information is up-to-date by July 10, 2020 for the 2020-2021 CFUW Directory. To do so log into the cfuwmembership.org website using your Club login. Once you are in the site you can find instructions on how to update Club information by clicking on the link in the main screen "Click here for further data entry instructions". If you need any assistance in getting your login information or in completing this process please contact Rachel Deneault at cfuwgen@rogers.com or leave a message at 1-888-220-9606 ext. 101. For our records, please contact Rachel letting her know that updates have been made, or that you have no changes to report for the year. Thank you!
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Extension:
CFUW Expression of Interest Form 2020-2022
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The deadline to submit the CFUW Expression of Interest form has been extended to July 10, 2020. We encourage all CFUW members who may be interested in joining a national committee to read the job descriptions for the various committees and submit the Expression of Interest form to National Office. To view the form, click here.
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Reminder of Office Closure
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This is a reminder that the CFUW National Office continues to remain closed at the current time due to the government's recommendations during the state of emergency. During this time we are unable to perform normal office operations, such as mailing out merchandise and certificates. We will announce when we are back up and running and able to have these requests completed for you!
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Indigenous Peoples Committee Workshop Follow Up
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On June 1 2020 CFUW’s Indigenous Peoples Committee held a workshop to enhance CFUW members knowledge of Indigenous issues and peoples. The workshop included information on history, education and resources and you can access the recording. The Indigenous Peoples Committee PowerPoint has been formatted to be a toolkit for our members. Access the toolkit here. Please see the CFUW website National Initiatives page to access other resources including a land acknowledgement info sheet, speakers list, book recommendations and notes from the workshop presenters.
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