Ride For Refuge at the Social Development Centre at 10am on Saturday 23 September 2023

What moves you? The Ride for Refuge, a family-friendly fundraising bike + walk in support of local charities serving people seeking hope, safety, and freedom. Join us!

What: Ride For Refuge: A Fundraising Bike and Walk
When: 10:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday 23 September 2023
Where: Meet at the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
Location: 23 Water Street North, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Website: Kitchener Central sponsorship page
Register: https://rideforrefuge.org/register

kitchener central | sept. 23, 2023 | Social Development Centre WR | Ride for Refuge | what moves you? The Ride for Refuge is a family-friendly fundraising bike + walk in support of local charities serving people seeking hope, safety, and freedom. | register to fundraise | team up + bike or walk | donate / volunteer / #ride23

I Am Not Invisible – Panel Discussion by The Disabilities and Human Rights Group

(three concentric flames, outermost green, middle blue, innermost yellow)
Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
Kitchener Public Library logo (graphic of three folded rectangles, coloured green, blue, purple, arranged orthogonally to form a six-pointed object)

The Disabilities and Human Rights group, in partnership with Kitchener Public Library and the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, is proud to present I Am Not Invisible, a panel discussion to shine the light on the living experience of young people with invisible disabilities, their challenges, successes, and accomplishments.

What: I am not Invisible: See Me, Hear Me

Where: Kitchener Public Library, Central Branch, Auditorium

When: Saturday, 3 December 2022 at from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

About one in four Ontarians live with a disability and face various types of accessibility challenges in their every day life (Government of Ontario, 2019)

Globally 1 in 7 of us live with a disability. And of those, 80% are invisible. That is 1 billion people who are living with a non-visible disability. (Hidden Disabilities)

Join this important discussion!

About the Disability and Human Rights Group

The Disability and Human Rights (DHR) Group is a forum for educating, raising awareness and advocating for meaningful change.

Do you have an invisible disability? Are you an ally? Join our voices for greater accessibility.

Find more information about the DHR at http://www.waterlooregion.org/disabilities-and-human-rights or email admin@waterlooregion.org.

Media contact: Charles Nichols <nicholscharlesedwin@gmail.com>

December 3rd, 2022 United Nations International Day for Persons with Disabilities:

Not all Disabilities are Visible (theme 2022)

In 1992 the United Nations proclaimed December 3 as the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.

The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. Celebrated on December 3 around the world, IDPD mobilizes support for critical issues relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities, promotes awareness-raising about disability issues and draws attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for all. UN agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector are encouraged to support IDPD by collaborating with organizations for people with disabilities to arrange events and activities.

2020 Low Income Tax clinics at @SDCWR

Illustration of a man writing furiously while peeking out from behind a desk lamp Good Morning! Wanted to share that The Civic Hub will be running Low Income Tax Returns again this year starting 2 March 2019. Clinics are by appointment only. Our hours will be:

  • Monday and Wednesday – 10:00am to 8:00pm
  • Tuesday and Thursday – 9:00am to 5:00pm

We are also allowing drop-offs which can be completed at other times.

Please share with your contacts that the Climate Action Incentive, which all residents of Ontario are eligible to receive regardless of income, has increased this year. Amounts are as follows:

  • First Adult – $224
  • Spouse – $112
  • Child – $56
  • Family of 4 – $448

Canada Revenue Agency is helping provide volunteers to prepare the returns. I am looking for volunteers that would be interested in a receptionist type capacity, which would include booking appointments, greeting tax payers and collecting drop-off. Please share in case any of your contacts might be interested. I am looking for volunteers to cover three to four hour blocks, twice a week ideally.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Lesley Crompton
lesley@waterlooregion.org
+1‑519‑579‑3800 #5

Accountant by Charly W. Karl is used under a CC BY-NDCreative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Civic Hub – 2nd Small Groups Summit hosted by @SPCofKW

Dear All,

It has been a year since our initial mobilization around the idea of a Civic Hub. A number of us continued meeting throughout the 2018 and worked on grants, connections and the first vision statement: A home, a landmark, accessible to everyone interested in civic and grassroots groups to showcase what is being done in the community, to allow groups to support each other, recruit, communicate and build credibility and capacity for advocacy and delivery of services to the community.

The number of small groups and organizations interested in the initiative is growing. A number of projects bringing together ethnocultural groups in Waterloo Region in 2018 testified that common, affordable space is a foundation for communication, collaboration and growth for many groups who feel isolated, under-resourced and in constant competition for supports.

However, there is little understanding of the core work that civic groups and small non-profits do in Waterloo Region.

We can learn together with other non-profit networks who want to create hubs for their sectors, such as WR Environmental Network and WR Arts Council.

Our strength is in our diversity and our common vision.

On January 21st 2019, we will gather again to share updates and brainstorm ideas about the next steps in creation of a Civic Hub.


6pm at SDC Office Map
in St John Church,
23 Water St North in Kitchener
Entrance and doorbell on Duke St.

RSVP by January 15th. Please get in touch if you need more information or have ideas/comments to share before the 21st.

Wishing you only the best to come in 2019.
Warmest Holiday Regards,
Aleksandra Petrovic

Executive Director
Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
23 Water St. North, Kitchener ON, N2H 5A4
(entrance and doorbell on Duke Street)
Phone: 519-579-3800

Your Voice and Your Donation Count!
Give for A Better Common Future

We will gather again in the New Year! | Social Development Centre Waterloo Region office reopens on January 2nd 2018 (people sitting in a discussion group with notetakers in the background)

PETITION: Ontario nonprofits and fair wages

From the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region:

A much needed minimum wage boost has come to Ontario. The nonprofit sector requires similar consideration to make the transition to higher labour costs as small businesses do. One step is to adjust Transfer Payment Agreements (TPAs) to accommodate higher labour costs in the next fiscal period as discussion begins on the 2018-19 Ontario Budget, as requested by the Ontario Non-profit Network’s pre-budget submission (PDF, 333 kBytes), supported by the Social Planning Network of Ontario. Many smaller non-profits without TPAs also require consideration for increased funding support to adjust to new employment standards and fair wage practices take effect.

http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/helpontario
A needed minimum wage boost is coming to Ontario. Nonprofits will need a little extra help so we can continue to make a difference in our communities. | The province has offered a 22% reduction in the Corporate Income Tax Rate for small businesses. | Help us help Ontario. | Nonprofits need increased support to keep providing important services.
Help Us Help Ontario

Trudy Beaulne, Executive Director of the Social Development Centre, has passed away

Trudy Beaulne
Trudy Beaulne in January 2016
I am very sorry to hear that Trudy Beaulne has passed away.

Trudy was the Executive Director of the Social Development Centre, a community leader, and a dear friend.

I first met Trudy at Connect with TransitionsKW, SPCKW and Leadnow where she spoke passionately about community involvement. We met again during the election of 2015, when she invited me to the New Hamburg debate and several educational opportunities for candidates hosted by the Social Planning Council of KW. Our paths crossed again and again at social justice events, when Trudy was speaking at the Basic Income consultation, and when I was invited to speak on election reform at a meeting of ALIVe.

Most recently Trudy joined KWPeace at our potluck in the spring. As a result of that meeting, Trudy started to work with some KWPeace groups on setting up a community hub, intended to provide meeting space and to provide guidance in getting funding for community groups.

Trudy was an inspiration to me, and taught me much about social justice. I will miss her.

–Bob Jonkman

In The News

Trudy Beaulne’s Funeral

Visitation: 10:00am to 2:00pm, Friday 12 January 2018
Sharing Memories: 2:00pm, Friday 12 January 2018
Where: Henry Walser Funeral Home
Location: 507 Frederick Street, Kitchener Map
Phone: +1-519-749-8467

Cropped from Aleksandra Petrovic Graonic & Trudy Beaulne (Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region), © 2017 copyright by Laurel L. Russwurm and used under permission of a CC BYCreative Commons — Attribution 2.0 Generic license.