President's March 2021 Report(posted: March 1, 2021)
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
Conference Presidents, please share this monthly news with your members to keep everyone connected with what is happening at all levels of the Society. Particular and Central Council Presidents, please share this monthly news with your Vincentian members who may not belong to a Conference. When forwarding the communication, remove the “Unsubscribe” button at the end; if someone you forward the message to hits “Unsubscribe” your name will be removed from our database and you will not receive future communications. SPIRITUAL MATTERS The March spiritual reflection asks us to reflect on ‘Doing a little’ during Lent. Feel free to reach out to denise@ssvp.on.ca for resources or questions on spirituality. A beautiful inspiring video on “Seven Wonders”. Selection of a Patron Saint for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada – From the National Council Spirituality Committee Voting for a Patron Saint of the Society in Canada will close on March 31, 2021. The nominees are Saint André of Montreal, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Saint Marguerite d’Youville and Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. Voting will be open until March 31, 2021. The results will be reviewed by the National Council Spirituality Committee and announced by April 15, 2021. Follow this link to the voting page: Spirituality Resources - English Ressources Spiritualité - Français 
This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about some of our Canadian Saints. Each of them is a model of a devout Catholic committed to furthering God’s work through actively living their faith in the world – just as we strive to do as Vincentians. Their example of selfless devotion to God is an inspiration to us all in our Vincentian works. In these times when many are quick to point out the undoubted historic and current failings of the Catholic Church in our society, we may not spend enough time studying and considering the positive effects of these holy men and women of God in our own history. Let us take some time to consider and appreciate their examples.
NOMINATIONS FOR BOARD MEMBERS Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations. We are blessed to have received more than 9 nominations so we will have an election for 9 Board members at the Annual General Meeting. A reminder that we now have a new governance model. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Corry Wink, has worked diligently to recruit candidates who reflect the diversity of the communities that we serve. Members will elect 9 directors from the potential candidates. It is very important that Central Councils and Particular Councils participate in this election of the new board at the Annual General Meeting taking place on April 10. The link to register is included under the Webinars/Meetings section. The Committee annual reports and candidates for election will be shared the first week of March. ANNUAL REPORTS Central Council Annual reports are due to Ontario Regional Council by March 10 and should be submitted to annualreports@ssvp.on.ca. WEBINARS / MEETINGS Please join ONRC's first webinar on Saturday March 13 from 10 – 11:30 am. Pat Lenz and Kristine Paul from Brant Particular Council will present "Sharing what has worked - with Vincentian Presidents and their colleagues". They will share information and tips of what Vincentian practices worked well within their Particular Council. There will be an opportunity for you to share what has worked well for you within the chat function. Register in advance for this meeting: Register here After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The ONRC Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday, April 10 from 10 am to 12 noon when an election will take place to elect the new Board members. All members are invited, and it is very important that all Central Councils and Particulars Councils are represented to vote. Register in advance for this meeting: Register here After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. And join us on Saturday, April 24 from 10 – 11:30 am when we will hear from guest speaker, Leroy Hibbert, who will speak about diversity, inclusion and respecting human differences. Register in advance for this meeting: Register here After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 
SEEDS OF HOPEThis National project can improve the outcome for many children served by SSVP across Canada. Linda Alexander continues to promote this education pillar to ensure that no child is left behind and receives the Canada Learning Bond of $2,000 of free government funds in order to create much needed hope for a brighter educational future. Contact Lmja@bell.net for more information. 
SOCIAL JUSTICEAs our National Housing Campaign “Safe, Secure and Affordable Housing is a human right” launched in February, we encourage our ONRC membership to review the resources available on: English - National Council website Housing Français - Site web National - Logement The printable pamphlet and bookmark are excellent ways your conference can learn more about the campaign and get involved. Any success we hope to achieve will be dependant on the support we receive from our grass roots conference level. Please consider taking on the role of the housing champion for your council or conference. If you want to learn more about how you can help, please contact Jim Paddon at jpssvp@hotmail.ca. 
Diversity-InclusionPlease read about the Diversity and Inclusion pilot project on the website. Our Catholic faith calls upon us to realize that systemic racism does exist in Canada. We encourage every Vincentian to join us and consider starting by having an open dialogue with racialized persons and within your conference meetings. Let’s look at ways we can all grow in our knowledge and support of diversity and inclusion both within our Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and our communities. Below are survey links for presidents and members to complete regarding our ONRC Diversity & Inclusion pilot project. The Systemic Racism Working Group (SRWG) would appreciate all presidents and members taking a few minutes to complete and submit the survey by March 31, 2021. The survey results will provide the working group with information regarding the interest our membership has in this important issue and help with planning future actions. There is little doubt about the effect systemic racism has on those living in poverty who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Colour). President survey Member survey NATIONAL COUNCIL February Vincenpaul newsletter dedicated to Social Justice can be found at: English French BEST PRACTICES Halton Particular Council hosted a Lunch ‘N’ Learn webinar on Serving in Hope – Living our Values. 
Thank you to the many Vincentians across Ontario for your passion, dedication and commitment to fulfilling our mission of serving people in need.Feel free to contact linda@ssvp.on.ca at any time should you have questions. Linda Dollard, President |
