Our Work in the Community
“Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves, as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.”
Dorothy Height
CFUW Ajax-Pickering in the Community
Our club feels strongly about giving back to the community. Each club year we get involved in a number of charitable activities that enrich the community including Terry Fox runs, the Christmas Hamper program for the St-Pauls-on-the-Hill Community Food Bank, and Earth Day clean-ups. These activities are not only great for the community, but they also provide club members with an opportunity to have fun and socialize while making a difference.
Advocacy
ad·vo·ca·cy – noun
public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
CFUW Ajax-Pickering is committed to advocacy of women’s issues as reflected in our guest speakers and our support of community events related to specific issues. Generally our advocacy issues include violence against women, early learning and child care, education, economic issues, the environment, climate change and the empowerment of women as leaders and decision-makers. Each year we attend regional and provincial meetings with our CFUW clubs to learn about specific issues and to continue our advocacy as related to a specific topic. You can find out more about CFUW’s current advocacy initiatives here.
Each year, clubs across Canada, including ours, identify, research and debate specific resolutions brought forth by other clubs across the country. Each individual club votes on the specific resolution and the results are presented at the national CFUW meeting held once a year. CFUW advocacy is at the local, provincial, national and international levels. Our club has an issues/advocacy group, with issues of interest chosen by members.
“I am not free while any woman is un-free, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lordel
CFUW Resolutions
Resolutions are proposed and used to create organizational policies. These policies then direct the advocacy we undertake at the local, provincial, national and international level. Each year, clubs are encouraged to identify, research and present a resolution if a particular issue is not covered by current policy. Resolutions can be proposed by CFUW Clubs, Provincial or National Boards and/or National Federations. National issues are presented at the National CFUW Annual General Meeting (AGM) and those specific to Ontario are presented at the CFUW Ontario Council AGM. They are studied by the Clubs, voted on at Club level, amended where necessary, and subsequently approved through a democratic process, at either the Ontario AGM in May or the CFUW AGM.
Scholarships
CFUW Ajax-Pickering awarded its first scholarship to a local high school in 1988. Since then we have increased the number of scholarships we provide and today we provide a scholarship annually to a female student at every high school in Ajax and Pickering. CFUW Ajax-Pickering organizes a variety of fundraising activities to fund these scholarships annually.
Criteria for Scholarship Selection
1. A female student with an average of 80% or greater.
2. Registered in an undergraduate degree program at a Canadian University or Community College.
3. Has contributed to at least one school or community activity.
4. Has not received more than 2 other major awards (over $100).
5. Is a Canadian citizen or has held landed immigrant status for at least one year.
6. A student who the selection committee feels is deserving of the award.