Poverty Awareness in York Region

Make Poverty History YR and PACC will be holding a stand-up station on Fri Sept 17 at Fairy Lake Park Pavilion in Newmarket at 7 to 7:15 pm. Join millions worldwide standing at once and pledging against poverty either at our station or ...create your own!!

This is our chance to make a difference.

Stand Up and Make Poverty History.

The countdown to Stand Up 2010 has begun! On September 17, 18 and 19 join with millions of people around the world and help us make 2010 the year our leaders can no longer ignore our calls to end poverty at home and abroad.


Stand Up events and actions can be as big or as small as you would like them to be. They can be quick and easy to plan or they can be bigger events that require more planning. The choice is yours!

Whether big or small, Stand Up events and actions are meant to raise awareness of poverty, show support for ending poverty and bring as many voices together so that we make the biggest noise possible.

Where to Stand Up? You can Stand Up anywhere! You could Stand Up: at the office; on campus; at your school; with your faith group; at home with your family and friends; online (Facebook, Twitter); at a local event or concert.

Check out our new Organizers toolkit for more ideas on how you can participate in Stand Up 2010. Register your event by August 31st and receive a free resource kit!

Leaders will no longer be able to ignore our voices when millions of voices have come together and the noise, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously said, “will be deafening. Politicians will have to listen.”

Stand Up is our chance to do that. But we need your help.

Stand Up. Take Action. Make Poverty History. September 17, 18 or 19.

Last meeting was great! We had it outdoors at Fairy Lake Park and were able to envision how Oct 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will could look. We discussed the idea of moving the stage to be more open and welcoming to walkers-by and participants and had some good suggestions. We discussed more signage for this year and received donations to help put things together. We also heard from several organizations interested in having an info booth at the event. On a further update Glen Marais has agreed to play Oct 17 as well! Glen will be performing in Africa assisting efforts to make changes and is a welcome addition with an original song n that encompasses our theme. The performing/arts portion will also host some art pieces this year and likely a photo-display so looking to be a unique event and a short doc on poverty as well!


Also mentioned was the fact that the official stand-up count is slated for Sept 17,18,19 this year to coincide with the UN heads meeting in order to put pressure on world leaders to attend to poverty. We agreed that we would have a stand-up event on location at Fairy Lake Park on Sept 17 at 7PM . We can also have a short meeting at the same time for anyone wishing to help organize.Those that cannot make it can still be counted towards a new worlds record for those standing against poverty by pledging online and vowing to stand while pledging.The link is on our website should you need.

We also named a new program that PACC has rolled out in cooperation with YRDSB which we named - PACC to School - what we did was distribute about 100 backpacks stuffed with supplies, calculators etc through PACC going into the communities and delivering them via a neighbourhood BBQ! Hey how can you beat that! As well Operation Sparrow's Spotlight Theatre school also performed in one of the communities and we hope to expand this next year!

We will be looking to call a meeting for organizers - anyone from all organizations attached to poverty- interested in collaborating as well on the Oct 17 committee - likely next week so watch for announcements.

We are meeting with MP Wilfred from R Hill (East Beaver creek) on Wed morning at 10:00 am if anyone is interested to attend with me. We are asking for federal support on several key fronts (campaign 2000)

Sept 14 - YR transit - info session re: mobility transit - we plan to attend this the more the merrier! Let's put an end to "stupid rules" especially when it affects the lives of those with no choice!..to give you an example someone wishing to attend with me WEd cannot because there are no vehivcles available at that time..good thing(and no wonder) she's not going to work!

All 4 now..
tom Out

www.povertyacc.com/getinvolved

For all you "summer workers" who are using the season's slower pace to make plans for the coming year, we are happy to offer a range of great learning opportunities to expand and deepen your thinking.

At 12:00 ET on Thursday August 26th, the next installment of our Vibrant Communities Provincial Poverty Reduction Strategies Series continues with a closer look at All Aboard: Manitoba's Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Strategy. In May 2009, Manitoba became the sixth province in Canada to unveil a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy. On this call, Eric Leviten-Reid will interview Jan Forster, Executive Director of the Policy and Planning Branch of Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs who co-chairs the province's cross-departmental working group responsible for this strategy. Jan will speak about Manitoba's approach to poverty reduction and the progress they have made to date.

Our final call in the Vibrant Communities Provincial Poverty Reduction Strategies Series will be held on Thursday September 23rd at 12:00 ET when Mark Cabaj speaks with Sherri Torjman, Vice President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. Sherri will summarize the substantive elements and process highlights of the various provincial poverty reduction strategies and discuss the important role that communities can continue to play in advancing and monitoring them.

Only a handful of spots remain for the 2010 Communities Collaborating Institute - Tamarack's signature, week-long learning event. You can learn more about the event's thought leaders and workshops on the CCI webpage. Please contact Leisa Nichol by email or by phone at 519-885-5155 to inquire about registering for any remaining spaces.

Please don't forget to visit our updated Friends & Partner Events for a listing of more learning opportunities. And, be sure to subscribe to Engage! Tamarack's monthly e-magazine for the latest on collaboration and community engagement.

We look forward to continuing to learn with you,

The Tamarack Team
Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement
5 Father David Bauer Drive, Suite 106
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6M2
Tel: (519) 885-5155
Fax: (519) 885-4454
E-mail: tamarack@tamarackcommunity.ca
Web: http://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/