United Way issues formal invitation

Bingo and goodies and an auction and all the other promotions that come at United Way season are under way across campus — and there’s something new this year, in the form of a Formal Day.

But for all the fun that the special events bring, the bulk of the urgently needed money comes from payroll deductions and one-time contributions by faculty, staff members and retirees. In last year’s campaign, individual givings were more than $173,000 of the total $190,000 raised to support local agencies.

“Your gift,” writes UW president David Johnston, “will ensure that people in our community have somewhere to turn in their time of need. With your help, we can build a stronger, more compassionate community.”

The money raised by the United Way — the goal across Kitchener-Waterloo this year is $5.3 million — goes to four dozen agencies that work with families, children and neighbourhoods. Among them are the Working Centre, the Canadian Mental Health Association, K-W Counselling Services, the Canadian Red Cross, the Food Bank and Focus for Ethnic Women.

Pledge forms were sent to UW employees and retirees at the beginning of this month, though if anybody was missed, or can’t find the paperwork, the United Way office at ext. 33840 could certainly send a new form. In past years the campaign has also received a few student gifts, and students are more than welcome to get involved in most of the special-event promotions that are happening as the month goes on.

Among them is a perennial, Engineering Bingo, which got going on Monday with the drawing of G-51, I-30 and B-4. Then a week from today, the university secretariat will hold its noontime silent and live auction in Needles Hall, with items up for bids including Maple Leafs tickets and “lunch with the President”. (I’m guessing that’s not Bush but the other guy — UW's top executive, who’s pictured speaking at the launch of the community-wide United Way campaign last month at the north campus Accelerator Centre.)

There’s also the Psych Buzz 1000 Challenge, and Joanna Niezen in the United Way passes along an explanation: “Would you like to see Ori Friedman, James Danckert, and Carlos Mendes have their heads buzzed? The 1000 Challenge is on. If we raise $1,000 by October 30 these guys will have their heads buzzed at the Psychology Halloween Pizza Lunch. Contributions can be made to Louise in PAS 4030.”

It’s a tradition that every Friday in October is a Dress-Down Day, for those who like that kind of thing. But there will be a variant on one of the five Fridays this year, says Niezen: “Usually, we have dress-down days. But Waterloo is a pretty casual place and it would be great fun to have a day where people dressed formally: that would be a bigger change in routine! That can mean professors can don academic gowns — and with convocation the next day, Saturday, October 25, those gowns will be at hand. Others can dress as if going to a formal event. People will pay a toonie for the privilege of dressing up, with all proceeds benefiting the United Way. Students will have the rare chance to see their professors, before graduation, in their academic regalia. Everyone else can pull out that fancy dress or suit or kilt or other traditional formal wear that they never get to wear to work.”

It gives a whole new meaning to the slogan that heads the Kitchener-Waterloo United Way campaign this year: “Be change. Make change.”

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Quality of life in Waterloo Region

by Martin Van Nierop

Waterloo Region is a pretty nice place to live and grow, but it is left wanting in a number of areas crucial to community well-being, so residents should roll up their sleeves and help to make it better. That was the general message from yesterday's launch of Waterloo Region's Vital Signs, the annual "community checkup" conducted by the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation and the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation.

Rosemary Smith, secretary and CEO of the KW Community Foundation, outlined a number of the report's findings to a room packed with interested listeners at the offices of the Waterloo Region Record newspaper. She urged people in the community to take up the challenge in the report and to "get involved" in the community.

The Vital Signs exercise is now conducted across Canada in a number of communities through their community foundations, coordinated by Community Foundations of Canada.

UW president David Johnston joined in the event by serving on a three-member panel, along with Liana Nolan, Medical Officer of Health for the region, and Roger Farwell, local architect and a leading member of the Prosperity Council.

As part of the Vital Signs exercise, the Community Foundation has also monitored for progress in the "10 goals" Knowledge Capital challenge launched by Johnston two years ago. The Record is sponsoring goal number 10, “recognizing leadership”, by creating the annual "Barn Raising" award which will be presented for the first time later this year.

Johnston noted that while Waterloo seems to be ahead of some national or provincial measures in learning, there are still too many who don't obtain a high school diploma and drop out. There are some 92,000 adults in the region who don't have a grade 12 diploma. While we are above the national average in the "Composite Learning Index", he sadly noted that in many school jurisdictions music and the arts have been "stripped" from the curriculum, dealing a blow to young people and the community.

He also noted that we should pay more attention to early childhood learning because "research shows early childhood learning and brain development is crucial" to later success, and once children start out slowly they continue to struggle throughout elementary school years. The Vital Signs report has a section outlining an "Early Development Instrument" (EDI) which measures the developmental well-being of senior kindergarten children.

Johnston summarized his remarks by urging those in the room and the community to "cherish our teachers throughout our community."

Nolan zeroed in on the health aspects of the report, which noted people in the region rank below the national average in fitness. She also noted that the obesity rate is higher than the provincial average, and on top of that we have chronically bad air quality, "some of the worst in the country." She said people should exercise much more, be taking more public transit, and do more walking to get places.

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Volunteerism awards, other notes

“Great leaders and the best volunteers” among UW’s students are invited to apply for a set of awards that will be presented this term, says a memo from Johnny Trinh of the university’s Student Life Office. He’s talking about the annual President’s Circle Awards — “recognizing outstanding students since 1997”, first for their work with volunteer organizations, and over the past couple of years also for leadership activities in general. Last year’s award winners were involved with Out of the Cold, the Grand River Accessibility Committee, UW’s own Applied Health Sciences Endowment Fund, cheerleading, the off-campus dons, and dozens of other organizations. The volunteerism awards honour “the extra–curricular contributions of students in a variety of service areas, some of which may not be highly visible but nonetheless important to the community,” and the leadership awards “recognize students who have left a lasting impression on the UW campus through encouraging student participation, acting as a role model, enabling others to become leaders, or taking initiative to lead by example to make the university community better.” The application and nomination deadline had been announced as October 3, but things are being extended for a few days, says Trinh, with the deadline now set as October 15, a week from today. Details are on the President’s Circle web site.

The main floor of the Dana Porter Library, closed for renovations since early summer, is expected to reopen on the day after Thanksgiving ("the date is firm, or so we can hope," a memo from the library says). • "Raspberries, cantaloupe, apples, pears, corn, tomatoes, herbs, zucchini, broccoli, squash, onions, peppers of many colours" will spill across the lower level of the Student Life Centre today as food services holds its last Farm Market of the season. • Those who aren't buying veggies because they don't cook for themselves might choose to eat an early Thanksgiving dinner tonight, at Brubakers in the SLC, Festival Fare in South Campus Hall, or REVelation in Ron Eydt Village.

With a federal election scheduled for next Tuesday, UW's human resources department sends along this official memo from Elections Canada about the right some employees may have to take time off for voting: "Under the Canada Elections Act, all employees who are electors — Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older as of the date of the election — are entitled to 3 consecutive hours on election day, during voting hours, to cast their votes. For Ontario employers located in the Eastern time zone, voting hours run from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Where an employee’s hours of work prevent him or her from having the 3 consecutive voting hours required by the Act, the employer 'shall allow the time for voting that is necessary to provide those three consecutive hours'. The time off is paid. Where an employee has 3 consecutive hours that fall within the voting hours, but fall outside of his or her work hours, there is no obligation to provide paid time off from work."

CAR

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