Advocacy
CFUW has a long and celebrated history of bringing about constructive change at the national, provincial and local levels.
As members of CFUW we are encouraged to use our expertise to better our local community particularly with reference to issues such as violence against women, early learning and childcare, the environment and climate change. The CFUW PQ Advocacy Committee has been proactive in each of these areas.
Here is a selection of the things we’ve participated in or organised recently:
- Hanging Red Dresses annually throughout the community aligned with the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women & Girls campaign (MMIWG), and the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. When possible we’ve coordinated opening day ceremonies at both the Parksville Civic Centre and the Qualicum Beach Town Hall.
- Hosting an expert panel discussion “Silent No More” on Gender-Based Violence
- Actively supporting $10 a Day Childcare and other affordable childcare initiatives
- Collaborating with local environmental groups to host expert panel discussions and film showings (Beyond Climate, Artifishal are examples)
- Supporting our local high school students and teachers in “Zero-Waste” (Ballenas Secondary School) and “Fridays for Future” (Kwalicum Secondary School)
- Supporting the launch of “Climate Hugs” – a program that acknowledges individuals who demonstrate environmental leadership in our community
- Sponsoring a student to attend the Encounters Canada Program in Ottawa
- Sponsoring the local Back-Pack Program to bring food to students in need and their families
- Participating in letter writing campaigns to political and civic officials that address pressing issues such as the drug overdose crisis and access to free prescription contraception
- Arranging for Dr. Laura Cranmer (Namgis First Nation, Professor, Vancouver Island University) to speak on the Reconciliation theme at the Club’s September 2022 general meeting
- supporting CFUW National and Provincial campaigns such as Elder Rights & Long Term Care, Poverty and the Gender Pay Gap
- Walking to raise funds Homelessness in the OceanSide area in The Coldest Night of the Year
- Raising funds for Parksville Haven House (Haven Society) which provides emergency shelter for women and children in crisis experiencing domestic violence and abuse
Upcoming Events
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Stay Informed
Launch for Water Confidential: Witnessing Justice Denied
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you may have seen these posters starting to appear around town...it's the time of year to start applying for scholarships and bursaries for the school year 2024-25.
CFUW PQ has a number of valuable scholarships and bursaries available for qualified candidates.
Please share this information with any local girls (or their families) graduating from our SD69 high school programmes this year who are planning to go on to further education; with those from the area already in University or further education; or with local women planning to return to higher education.
Please check our website for details, and application forms. cfuwpq.ca/what-we-do/scholarships/
The deadline for all applications is COB May 31 2024.
Did you know...CFUW PQ raises funds through a HUGE booksale annually? Books are donated by members of our local community; and are collected, sorted and sold by our club volunteers at A Gigantic Book Sale in late September-early October.
The funds go towards scholarships and bursaries for local girls and women; to help with education for women and girls overseas; and to carry out outreach and education in our local community.
We Need Your Books!
This year the sale will once again be at the Arrowsmith Hall at the Coombs Fairground site. For information on specific dates and times, or what kind of books we are looking for, please contact our booksale team at booksale@cfuwpq.ca , or visit our website
cfuwpq.ca/whats-happening/book-sale/ cfuwpq.ca/donate/book-donations/
Please check out our book-box, and drop off your gently used books with us - we really appreciate it. The book-box is located near the entrance to Save-On-Foods at Wembley Mall - you can't miss it
looking for inspiration for an Easter gift for a youngster in your life - look no more - April 02 is International Children's Book Day 📖
very impactful memoir written by one of our own members - please share widely
**March is Women’s History Month - let's honour some more impactful Canadian Women**
Justice Bertha Wilson (1923–2007)
First woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Born into a working-class family in Scotland, Bertha Wilson trained in law in Canada. When appointed to the high court in 1982, she already had a track record as a justice with the Ontario Court of Appeal, where she was known for her humane decisions in areas such as human rights and the division of matrimonial property. During her nine years on the Supreme Court, she helped her male colleagues to understand that seemingly neutral laws often operated to the disadvantage of women and minorities - thank you Justice Wilson!
**March is Women’s History Month**
Ga’axstal’as, Jane Constance Cook (1870–1951)
Kwakwaka’wakw leader, cultural mediator, and activist. Born on Vancouver Island, Ga’axstal’as, Jane Constance Cook was the daughter of a Kwakwaka'wakw noblewoman and a white fur trader. Raised by a missionary couple, she had strong literacy skills and developed a good understanding of both cultures and legal systems. As the grip of colonialism tightened around West Coast nations, Cook lobbied for First Nations to retain rights of access to land and resources. She testified at the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission of 1914 and was the only woman on the executive of the Allied Indian Tribes of British Columbia in 1922. A fierce advocate for women and children, she was also a midwife and healer and raised sixteen children.