"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world.
Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves.
All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people."
-George Bernard Shaw
Welcome
Starting with this
issue, the e-mailer is moving to a bi-monthly format. We will
also be looking to get articles contributed by diverse number
of different sources.
This month, we look
at volunteerism, wrap-up the Ontario's Promise Regional Workshop,
feature an new project from Investing in Children, and pull
some interesting numbers from the 2001 Census.
In future issues,
we are striving to feature more articles written by different
members of the community. If there's a subject you are passionate
about and would like to write about for Come Together,
we are seeking submissions between 300-750 words and you can
include links to other resources. Please contact Greg Picken
at info@investinginchildren.on.ca
if you would like to contribute to the e-mailer.
We're always interested
in your feedback. If you have any ideas, concerns or suggestions,
please e-mail them to info@investinginchildren.on.ca
Volunteerism
in the New Millennium
“There is no greater
personal reward than to give freely of one’s time and
effort towards a cause you truly believe in. Volunteers are
an integral part of the success of so many worthy charitable
endeavors, and serve as the tireless engines that help these
organizations continue to run. Giving back to our communities
through the spirit of volunteerism is among the greatest reward
a person can achieve.”
R. Jeffrey Orr
Investors Group Inc.
 As
people search for ways to enrich their lives, many are giving
their personal time and skills to the community. Others are
looking for new routes to personal and professional development.
Individuals with special needs are becoming empowered to take
charge of their lives and want a chance to contribute their
energies to helping others. In short, more and more people
are considering volunteering. Londoners are among the best
in volunteering; more than one in three people living in the
London CMA volunteered for a charitable or nonprofit organization.
For new Canadians, volunteering is one way
to practice new language skills, build social networks, gain
Canadian experience, and develop a sense of attachment and
integration to the new community.
More than one in four Canadians (27% or 6.5
million) volunteered through a charitable or nonprofit organization,
according to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering
and Participating (NSGVP). This is a decline from 31% of Canadians
in 1997. (The last survey)
Volunteers contributed an average of 162 hours
each during the year, up from 149 hours in 1997. Over one-third
(34%) of all volunteer hours were contributed by the 5% of
volunteers who gave 596 hours or more of their time. Volunteers
undertake a wide range of activities. The most common was
organizing or supervising events, which accounted for 57%
of all volunteer events.
Discover more about
volunteering. Click
here.
Ontario's Promise
Workshop Wrap-up
 On
March 18, more than 65 business and community leaders, representing
the private and public sectors, gathered at the Best Western
Lamplighter Inn in London for the first Ontario’s Promise
regional workshop.
The theme for the day was Building Corporate
Partnerships, focusing on the “how to’s”
of planning and maintaining partnerships, and Investing in
Children was proud to host the day.
A question on many people’s minds was
how to build successful, lasting partnerships. Almost everyone
realizes that a business’ resources and a non-profit
organization’s experience are ideally suited to produce
great results together. However, getting from the idea to
a result is a stumbling block that everyone has encountered
on the road to successful partnerships. The goal of the conference
was to help the numerous partners in Ontario’s Promise
understand each other’s needs and expectations, to create
new partnerships and to keep all partners satisfied with the
outcomes of collaboration.
What happened
at the workshop? Click
here to find out.
EY Learning
Zone Workshops and Workbooks
Are you getting the most from
your data? Are you having trouble keeping your partnerships
working smoothly? Wouldn’t it be great if there were
helpful tools written exactly for your situation?
Guess what? There are!
The Early Years Challenge Fund project Working
on the Edge: Balancing Risk, Change and the Comfort Zone has
moved into its second phase. Following the successful launch
of www.eylearningzone.ca, Investing in Children has begun
to produce a series of workshops and workbooks covering a
number of themes that can help Ontario Early Years Centres
and other early years professionals deliver exemplary services.
While these are directed towards Early Years organizations,
the topics are equally important to other non-profit organizations,
and these workshops and workbooks can be of great value to
those involved across all sectors.
What are the workbooks
all about? Click here.
The
Changing Face of London
The 2001 census shows that the
face of London has changed dramatically. Here are some interesting
facts and figures:
• London is growing more slowly than
the rest of the province. London’s population increased
by 3.8% between 1996 and 2001 compared to 6.1% for the entire
province.
• More people walked or bicycled to
work that took public transit, though combined they are less
than 20% of the number of people who drive to work.
• There are 108,785 owned dwellings
in London, compared to 64,340 rented.
Learn more. Click
here.
What's with the frog? Stay tuned for details!
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