Danny Cassidy opened the meeting in a best supporting role for President Gordon, who is travelling.
Land Acknowledgement: V.P. Danny
Anthem: Dave Hardy led the anthem with a rousing “O”
Toast to King, Canada, and Rotary: V.P. Danny
Attendance: 13 members
Introduction of Speaker: Saifoo provided a comprehensive introduction of our guest speaker, Anna Wong, Executive Director (ED), Community Family Services of Ontario (CFSO)
Speaker: Anna Wong, ED, CFSO
CFSO’s Executive Director, Dr. Anna Victoria Wong
CFSO’s Executive Director, Dr. Anna Victoria Wong, is a Certified Health Leader with over 20 years of experience in health and social service leadership. She is a community advocate, a consulting stakeholder in the Canada-Hong Kong Pathway, and an advisor at the Toronto Vaccination Table and Violence against Women Table in Toronto. She also serves as a Newcomer Advisor for the Health Equity Table in the Central East LHIN. A registered speech-language pathologist and doctor in speech-language pathology, she has served and published research on the vulnerabilities of populations with invisible disabilities. Anna's research focuses on access equity for those with invisible disabilities and the impact of communication and messaging on society.
Anna provided an update on CFSO’s mission, current challenges, and progress.
The mission of Community Family Services of Ontario (CFSO) is to make vulnerable people successful.
CFSO provides services to individuals experiencing gender-based violence, disabilities, inclusive of mental, mobility, and learning challenges, special needs, as well as newcomer and refugee services.
CFSO also advocates for clients who experience stolen wages and abuse by employers.
Some of the current challenges faced by CFSO include securing reliable funding from the Canadian government and managing the consequential effects of diminished service provision.
Two of CFSO’s responses to the funding challenge are the creation of a social enterprise and an upcoming Tree-Planting fundraising initiative.
Finally, over the longer term, CFSO hopes to develop an Employee Assistance program.
Announcements:
Courtney: Rising Sun Food Drive Foundation will commence The Original Door-to-Door Food Drive (Spring, 2025) on April 19.
Rotarians and their guests are invited to bring non-perishable food items to the luncheon meeting on Wednesday, April 23.
Monetary donations can be made at risingsunfd.com or at the luncheon on April 23.
Rocco: Club Service meeting on Monday, April 14, 6 pm, venue to be determined.
Danny: Danny will be the club president in July of this year. He will need volunteers to help with the bulletin, the website, and social media. Anyone interested should contact Danny.
It was noted that Saira , who has been with the club for some time now, has not yet had her information entered into ClubRunner, meaning she isn't getting the bulletin or emails. Danny is working on this. Saira's induction is on April 30th. All members are encouraged to attend to officially welcome Saira into the club.
Sergeant at Arms: Frank did an excellent job despite having to manage the surprising loss of Liverpool FC to Fulham FC (Premier League Football/Soccer, England)
With nothing else for the good of Rotary, Danny closed the meeting.
Sergeant at Arms: Frank did an excellent job despite having to manage the surprising loss of Liverpool FC to Fulham FC (Premier League Football/Soccer, England)
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