Anishnabeg Outreach

Anishnabeg Outreach is a provider of  holistic employment and training services for Aboriginal people in Kitchener, Waterloo Guelph and Cambridge, and Wellington region, they are also representatives of the Aboriginal community in the areas they serve.

The organization: Anishnabeg Outreach offers numerous programs for those looking for employment, training and education opportunities. They range from family literacy programs, to career counselling. They also have a number of initiatives to connect with the community, such as their weekly Thursday Community Nights, which are open to the public. They often have smudging ceremonies, at their building as well as at various traditional aboriginal ceremonies at local events (like when the Olympic torch came to town).

How they build peace: The Aboriginal people have a peaceful culture, and the Anishnabeg Outreach shares those traditions with the greater community. Through their community outreach activities, they also attempt to break misconceptions and misunderstanding about the Aboriginal culture.

How you can help:

• Anishnabeg Outreach has reading circles (for their family literacy program) and requires people to read.

Website: http://www.anishnabegoutreach.org/

House of Friendship

The House of Friendship is an organization that has been helping people in the KW area since 1939. While visiting them, it was really clear how they have truly built a  community. People from all walks of life, religions, nationalities have found a place within this organization.

The organization: They have 18 programs offered through four services: Addiction Services (addiction treatment programs), Community Services (distribution of food hampers), Family Services (includes community centres and educational programs), and Residential Services (provides shelter and supportive housing). House of Frienship is such a large organization with so many programs, that last year they served 42,000 people in one way or another. The services they provide range from taking care of the most basic necessities of life, like food and shelter, to providing support for other aspects of life that so many people require assistance with, such as English Conversation Circles.

How they build peace: Helping to provide some of the basic necessities creates hope in situations of adversity.  House of friendship provides a place where people can feel safe and secure and start to build a stable life. The community Centres and housing programs is a place where people from different cultures and relgions must learn to live together in a peaceful way. Children who may be from a place where violent conflict was a normal part of life, learn to become peacemakers.

How you can help:

• The House of Friendship has a quarterly newsletter which outlines current volunteer needs and other ways you can help.
• Currently, House of Friendship is looking for child care volunteers for parents who are attending the English Conversation Circles on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-3p.m.
• You can also donate items like bus tickets, personal care items, bedding and dishes to the various programs at House of Friendship.

Website: http://www.houseoffriendship.org/

House of Friendship Blogs: Trek 4 Kids Blog and Emergency Food Assistance Blog

Ten Thousand Villages

Entering a Ten Thousand Villages store is like being transported to another country. Or, more accurately, 35 other countries. It’s hard to believe it all started with one person selling handcrafted products of disadvantaged artisans from the trunk of her car. This year, the organization has more than 400 stores all over the United States and Canada (with 50 stores in Canada) and is celebrating its 65th anniversary.

The organization: Ten Thousand Villages is rooted in the principles of fair trade. They source artisan goods from over 38 countries all over the world and strive to improve the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged people who would lack the opportunities for a stable income otherwise. Ten Thousand Villages was a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization. They provide unique goods from villages all over the world, each rich with culture and traditions.

How they build peace: Through fair trade, Ten Thousand Villages helps create a more equitable and livable situation for their artisans. Bringing in a source of income for healthcare, education, food and housing, means creating more stability for people, many of whom live in places in the world where violent conflict is common place.

How you can help:

• The easiest and most enjoyable way to help this organization is to simply visit one of their stores or their website and support fair trade with your purchases. You can learn about each of the products, and the people who made it.
• Ten Thousand Villages Stores (like the one in Uptown Waterloo) need volunteers in the stores on a regular basis.

Website: http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca/

Community Justice Initiatives

The Elmira Story: One night in May of 1974, two drunk teenagers decide to wreak havoc on whatever cars, buildings and property that they happened upon. Mark Yantzi, the probation officer who was handed this case,  thought a therapeutic  and constructive way to handle the case would be for the offenders to meet their victims, be accountable for their actions and repair the damage they caused. Despite no legal basis for this approach, the judge included this idea as part of the probation order. This unusual case lead to the birth of restorative justice in Canada.

The organization: The Elmira Story is also the story of the birth of Community Justice Initiatives, a local organization which runs numerous restorative justice programs. CJI has four programs which support its goal of creating strong community through the principles of restorative justice. The Resolve program provides mediation and conflict resolution for individuals, families, friends, organizations, and the justice system. Revive is a support for people who are healing from sexual trauma, and a support for people who have offended sexually to make safe, healthy choices. They also have support for families and groups in which sexual abuse has occurred.  Stride assists women serving a federal prison sentence to make the transition from prison into the community by engaging and involving community volunteers.  Family Group Decision Making is process that gives the extended family and friends of children at-risk an opportunity to collaboratively develop a plan of care focused on the best interest and safety of the children.

How they build peace: CJI facilitates a community that is more engaged, involved, and tolerant. The programs they run create a place for victims, offender and members of the community to come together and build understanding. If the community is engaged as part of the solution, conflicts can lead to healing and longer term solutions. A community that can come together and go through the healing process together is empowered and more understanding. As members of our communities, we all bear some responsibility of the situations in which conflict and crime occur.

How you can help:

• We are also secondary witnesses and victims. That is why it is integral for the community to become informed, active and part of the solution. CJI has numerous links, articles and even a lending library people can use to become more aware.
• CJI volunteers are range from facilitators of support groups to mediators.

Website: http://www.cjiwr.com

For More Information: peggyl [at] cjiwr [dot] com

Opportunities Waterloo Region

Opportunities Waterloo Region is an incubator for ideas and facilitator of projects. During my conversation with Mary MacKeigan, the Executive Director of Opportunities Waterloo Region, it was clear how impassioned she is to find solutions to poverty in Waterloo Region.

The organization:  Rather than running programs or services, the role of Opportunities Waterloo Region is to ignite community action and leadership to focus on addressing the root causes of poverty.

How they build peace: They connect different community organizations, including the governments, businesses,  non-profits, and people. One group which was spawned from Opportunities Waterloo Region, is Awareness for Low-Income Voices (ALIV(e)), which is a group bringing an active and positive voice to low-income people in Waterloo Region. Another example of the work done by Opportunities Waterloo Region is the Youth Education for Success (YES)  which led to Pathways to Education in Kitchener.

How you can help:

• Start engaging in conversations about prevention and reduction of poverty.
• Opportunities Waterloo runs a Community Conversation Series on a bi-monthly basis.
• The ALIV(e) program is also looking to grow its membership

Website: http://www.owr.ca/
For More Information: mary [at] owr [dot] ca

Caring Partners Global

I met with Elena Christy, the sole part-time employee of Caring Partners
Global, and we spoke about the numerous different programs the organization
offered to the people living in remote areas of Western Kenya.

The organization: Caring Partners Global is an organization founded in 2001 by Sylvia and Stephen Scott, a couple based in Waterloo, but who were originally from Kenya. They founded the organization with the creation of a health clinic in Matangwe, Kenya.  From there the organization grew, and they currently have numerous projects in the four area of: Health, Education, Life Skills and Agriculture.

How they build peace: Caring Partners Global creates peace and justice in the communities they serve by empowering the people they work with. One of CPGs programs supports older women caregivers in the community. These older women are often HIV/AIDS widows who care for HIV/AIDS orphans. The program helps bring these women together to create emotional, informational and financial support systems.  The goal is to mobilize these women so that they are better equipped to meet the changing needs of their community.  Specific
programs include a water delivery service that seeks to provide the OWCs with access to safe uncontaminated drinking water at a subsidized fee, adult literacy classes as well as skills training at the Matangwe Community Centre.

How you can help:

• Caring Partners Global has numerous volunteer opportunities both in Kitchener-Waterloo and in Kenya. Currently CPG is looking for local help on their Funds Development and Public Relations Committee (Community Connections Coordinator, Sponsorship Coordinator and Accounting Coordinator), a Webmaster to maintain their website and a Graphic Designer/Page Layout Artist for their quarterly newsletter. They are currently redesigning the overseas volunteer program, which will be posted on their website in the new year.  Financial contributions are always welcome.
• For the Holiday Season CPG has launched its ‘Empower a Community One Gift at a Time’ campaign providing unique gift giving opportunities.
• You can find out more about Caring Partners Global by visiting their website, joining their facebook group, or by joining their mailing list at www.caringpartners.ca

Website: www.caringpartners.ca

Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support

I met with Steven, the MCRS Volunteer Coordinator, in the small but packed offices of MCRS on the second floor of The Working Center in downtown Kitchener, where I got a crash course on the refugee claimant process in Canada.

The organization: MCRS originated in 1987 when four Mennonite Churches came together to support refugee claimants more effectively. It is the only organization in the region that supports refugee claimants that come to the area.  Claimants enter Canada and then declare themselves to be refugees. In order to remain in Canada, they must make their claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board at a hearing. The MCRS helps refugee claimants referred to them through this overwhelming processes by assisting with various aspects of the process: helping to fill out all paper work properly, helping claimants prepare for their hearing, connecting refugee claimants with community resources, finding interpreters for the refugee claimants, and providing emotional support.

How they build peace: The MCRS supports all refugee claimants, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Most of the people they help have no friends or family in Canada and MCRS provides connections as well as a community that provides them with mutual support. MCRS also advocates for refugee claimants, in order to change the current polarized views on refugee claimants.

How you can help:

• Be an informed Canadian. The MCRS has a newsletter for those who want to stay informed in its activities, as well as a list of resources for those who want to learn about the refugee claimant process in Canada. The MCRS publishes some of the stories of the refugee claimants they work with, so people can begin to understand the experience of being a refugee claimant in Canada.
• Volunteer. The MCRS is currently looking for Community Outreach Volunteers who are paired with refugee claimants for a three month period, where they help them acclimatize to life in Canada and access community resources. The MCRS is also launching its Volunteer Legal Support Program, and is looking for people with a legal background who can help refugee claimants who often have limited or no Legal Aid.

Website: http://www.mcrs.ca/
Contact:  refugee [at] mcrs [dot] ca