President's March Message

(posted: March 3, 2019)

Dear Brother and Sisters,

I ask Conference Presidents to please share this monthly news with your members to keep everyone connected with what is happening at the Ontario Regional, National and International levels. Particular and Central Council Presidents, please share this monthly news with your Vincentian members who may not belong to a Conference, and feel free to email questions or comments to linda@ssvp.on.ca.

SPIRITUAL MATTERS
The March spiritual reflection refers to the President General’s Circular Letter referenced below where we are asked to return to our origins…as taught by our seven founders and the Social Teachings of the Church.

ONRC SPRING MEETING
We look forward to seeing you on April 12/13, 2019 for the ONRC spring meeting and AGA taking place in Peterborough. This meeting is open to all Vincentians and Store Managers. Be sure to register and email your registration to sarah@ssvp.on.ca by March 25th You will want to book your hotel accommodation before March 12th at Super 8 Peterborough, 1257 Lansdowne Street West, Tel: 705-876-8898, by referring to the block held for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. The room rate is $116.00 or $126.00 depending on the room booked.

We have an exciting agenda and excellent workshops to choose from. Please note we switched the timing of 2 workshops from what was shared a couple of weeks ago where the “Charity vs. Justice” workshop will now be in the first time slot and the “I’m a Social Justice rep, so what do I do now?” is now in the second time slot. Friday will include a tour of the Vinnies Feel Good Shopping Store and the Food Pantry starting at 1:00 pm, as well as a President and Executive Roundtable at 3:30 pm where everyone is welcome to attend – this is an opportunity for you to ask your questions of the ONRC President and Executive team. Friday evening will consist of Vincentian family time where you can meet and network with Vincentians from across the province, with no formal agenda.

Feel free to contact linda@ssvp.on.ca or sarah@ssvp.on.ca should you have any questions.

ANNUAL REPORTS
Please note Conference and Particular Council reports are now past due. Thank you to all Conferences and Particular Councils who have submitted your annual report to the next higher level.

Central Council reports are due to annualreports@ssvp.on.ca by March 10, 2019.

The annual reports are available at https://www.ssvp.ca/annual-reports.

We rely on the information provided in the annual reports to have accurate information when reporting statistics to government agencies and Foundations for advocacy and fundraising purposes. Thank you for your help in ensuring we have accurate information for Ontario.

YOUTH
The youth have been involved in various activities across the province.
http://ssvp.on.ca/youth/conference.php?site=Burlington
http://ssvp.on.ca/youth/articles.php?event=socks
Should you have questions about engaging and recruiting youth, please reach out to one of our ONRC youth representatives, sophia@on.ca or lillian@ssvp.on.ca.

NATIONAL
The National Council of Canada 48th National Annual General Assembly is taking place June 19 to 23, 2019 in Windsor, ON. More details will be shared as they become available. We look forward to having a great representation of Vincentians attend from Ontario.

INTERNATIONAL
President General Renato Lima de Oliveira shares his Circular Letter during the 180th anniversary of the International Council General and the International Year dedicated to Paul Lamache, one of the seven founders of our Society.

BEST PRACTICES
Please remember to share your best practices with linda@ssvp.on.ca so we can post on our website and share the information with Vincentians.

Thank you for all the amazing work you do across Ontario reaching out and helping our many friends in need.

Linda Dollard
President

President's Message