You are invited to this month’s Home Away From Home – a support group that offers a safe, caring and supportive atmosphere to newcomers of different cultures. It provides necessary services to meet immigrant and newcomer’s needs, whether they are social, economic, linguistic or community-linking. This month, October 25 at 1:30pm in our classroom, the topic will be Brain Fitness with Chris Rafuse, Rehabilitation Therapist. Chris will demonstrate some activities that stimulate the left, right and whole brain in challenging, fun and enriching ways.

For more information on Home Away From Home, visit the program’s webpage which includes information about upcoming sessions.

Thank you for your interest in the Cowichan Intercultural Society and in our Third Party Fundraising Toolkit and program.  Our organization strives to build welcoming and inclusive communities across the Cowichan Valley, and we rely on a diversified fundraising plan which you can be an integral part of.   Below is some information about this new fundraising opportunity, and further information including the complete toolkit can be found on our new Third Party Fundraising webpage.

One of the many ways to support CIS is by planning and/or sponsoring an event to raise funds for CIS. This kind of activity is called a “Third Party” Fundraiser. In raising money for CIS, or designating that money to a more focused fund within CIS, you or your group can help support the many great non-profit initiatives & activities which CIS undertakes annually.

Types of Third Party Fundraisers:

1. A group or individual can host an event or sponsor an activity and make the Cowichan Intercultural Society the beneficiary. (Example: An organization hosts a golf outing and sends CIS a cheque for the net profits.)
2. The Cowichan Intercultural Society can “piggy back” on an existing event, adding a third-party fundraising element, and receive the income produced from that element. (Example: A company has an annual fundraising week and asks their employees to bring donations for CIS, or a municipality has an annual marathon and the sponsor offers registrants the opportunity to get pledges for CIS.)
3. Invite the Cowichan Intercultural Society to cooperatively produce an event and share in the profits. (Example: A local business invites CIS to participate in an art auction or grand opening. CIS sends out press releases and provides volunteers to work at the event. In return CIS receives a percentage of the proceeds from the event.)

This purpose of this toolkit is to give you an introduction to our organization, the guidelines of our Third Party Fundraising program, ideas for planning your own third party fundraiser, tools to help you plan & execute your event, and this toolkit contains the Third Party Event Contract which must be signed and submitted before your fundraiser.

To access this toolkit in PDF format, downloadable and printable, please click here.  For more information or to speak about fundraising opportunities, please contact Brian.  Thank you for your interest and support!

The Cowichan Intercultural Society would like to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving weekend.  Thanksgiving celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year. We hope you are able to celebrate the day with good friends & family, tasty food, and much joy and laughter.

Our office will be closed on Monday, October 9th, so our staff can enjoy the holiday with their loved ones, and we look forward to re-opening tomorrow, October 10 at 9am.

“Thanksgiving has been officially celebrated as an annual holiday in Canada since November 6, 1879, when parliament passed a law designating a national day of thanksgiving. While the actual Thanksgiving holiday is on a Monday, Canadians may gather for their Thanksgiving feast on any day during the long weekend. Foods traditionally served at Thanksgiving include roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, various autumn vegetables (mainly various kinds of squashes but also Brussels sprouts), and pumpkin pie. Baked ham and apple pie are also fairly common, and various regional dishes and desserts may also be served, including salmon, wild game, butter tarts, and Nanaimo bars.” (wikipedia)

CULTURALLY WELCOMING VOLUNTEERS 2.0

Volunteer Cowichan proudly presents Culturally Welcoming Volunteers 2.0 Training Workshop for volunteer coordinators, managers, executive directors, community members and anyone who engages volunteers in their programs. Culturally Welcoming Volunteers 2.0 is a continuing professional and community development opportunity to build more diverse and culturally welcoming volunteer programs in the Cowichan Region. Last year, Culturally Welcoming Volunteers focused on four goals:

• Feel more comfortable, curious and relaxed about diversity.
• Build awareness about and skills for being culturally welcoming
• Collaboratively create a set of guidelines for recruiting, retaining and recognizing volunteers from diverse cultures (especially volunteers who are newcomers to Canada)
• For all of us to stay connected with Cowichan Intercultural Society for resources and other supports regarding intercultural fluency and being culturally welcoming of newcomers and other volunteers.

With funding again from the Province of BC – Gaming Branch for Multiculturalism – Volunteer Cowichan, Cowichan Intercultural Society and Inclusive Leadership Co-operative will host a one day training session. Building on the six guidelines developed in 2016 for recruiting, retaining and recognizing volunteers from diverse backgrounds, Culturally Welcoming Volunteers 2.0 aims to:

• Practice the art of being welcoming and inclusive.
• Explore your own conscious and unconscious biases.
• Mindfully open your heart and mind to being culturally welcoming.
• Develop Intercultural Competency
• Cultivate Culturally Appreciative Inquiry
• Continuing Education

Whether you are a past participant or new to a Culturally Welcoming Volunteer Program, please join us on Tuesday, 7th November, 2017, at Providence Farm for a deeper understanding of the changing landscape of volunteerism in Cowichan and how to be a leader in respect for diversity and building a more culturally welcoming volunteer program.

Culturally Welcoming Volunteers 2.0
Providence Farm Chapel
1843 Tzouhalem Rd, Duncan
Tuesday, 7th November, 2017
9:00 am to 3:00 pm (Welcoming 8:30 am)
Reserve your seat at vc@volunteercowichan.bc.ca or call 250.748.2133
$20 per participant (includes lunch) or $30 for two

It’s an exciting time of year as our LINC classes and Youth Outreach programming begin this week! The Multicultural Leadership Group will begin its 11th season this Wednesday, at St. John’s Anglican Church (doors at 3:15). Find out more about MLG here, and read below for this week’s agenda.

When: Wednesday, doors open at 3:15, opening circle 4:00, wrap up 5:45
Where: St Johns Anglican Church Hall, 163 first Street Who: all ages, all cultures, all faiths, all identities, everyone is welcome!
Why: To have fun while creating inclusive and caring communities

In Project Coordinator Linda’s words: “This week is going to be all about the ripples! Yes, ripples! But first, Welcome to the beginning of MLG’s 11th season! We will begin as we do every year, welcoming each other, ourselves, and new MLGer’s too, back from the many summer adventures we’ve been on. Whether they be good or bad, great or sad, wonderful or ordinary, or some combination of that, we will take time to share a few stand out moments, as we find the differences and the common ground. This will begin to prepare us for hosting ‘Expanding Our Common Ground’, details will be shared about this amazing opportunity! In addition to warm welcomes, fun gathering activities with a purpose, and project info, we will also be visited by a few past MLG participants, who will demonstrate for us how the ripple effect works! I hope you can join us! And bring a friend, family member, elder…all are welcome!! “