What are you doing to increase your “eco-awareness”? Earth Day Hamilton kicked off their events in Westdale on Saturday April 18 (full details in the Spec article from Apr 20 »):

More than 250 Hamiltonians attended the Tim Hortons Earth Day 5 km Walk and Fun Run, which started at Bayfront park and headed to Churchill Park, where they were joined by almost 550 more people for the Sunoco Earth Day Tree Planting. All 1,300 trees provided were planted by event participants. Earth Day Hamilton will also be planting trees at one or two Hamilton schools over the next 10-14 days, as part of the Go Green Challenge.

About $6,000 was raised at the walk and tree planting, with all funds going to support the Tim Hortons Earth Day Hamilton Eco-Festival – a free event offered to children grades 4-6 in the Hamilton/Halton region. About 5,000 kids will be attending this year’s event on April 20-24 at the RBG.

Here are some ideas that you can do with your fellow SI-members:

• Plant a tree to commemorate your friendship — the ECR Fall conference ’08 in Burlington gave each SI attendee a reusable shopping bag and evergreen seedling to plant.
• Make a coffee cup wrap together — Instead of always grabbing a cardboard wrap for your coffee, get together and make one for yourself. Use a cardboard wrap as a pattern and cut a couple out of felt fabric. Sew the layers together and decorate it to make a personalized coffee cup wrap.
• Grow your own vegetables — Go buy the plants/seeds together then spend the morning at her house and the afternoon at yours. Share gardening tips and enjoy the “fruits and vegetables” of your labour! And, while you’re at it, start a compost pile. See who can create the most compost, remembering that you can include paper coffee cups!
• Have a craft day and use all recycled materials — Collage a box with magazine cut outs for a gift box. Make greeting cards using junk mail. Decorate a can or bottle for an herb flowerpot. Create unique and fun home décor, wearables or gifts made from “vintage” items. Get crafty on your own or get the kids involved. (There are lots of websites featuring recycled crafts for inspiration.)
• Recycle some clothes — Trade outfits, swap accessories or just share some scarves. Better yet, make a donation to the YWCA of Hamilton’s Friends for Success program!
• Get ‘eco-educated’ together — It’s much more fun to learn together. Do some research together on global warming and carbon footprints. Explore which manufacturers/retailers are eco-friendly. Check out sites on reducing waste, research Hamilton’s recycling guidelines to make sure you’re both aware. And sign up for e-subscriptions of those catalogs, magazines and bills that come in the mail!
• Go green grocery shopping together — Go to the local farmers market and get fresh, healthy food – from nearby! For other items, buy products from earth friendly manufacturers and retailers and don’t forget your reusable shopping bags!
• Volunteer together — SI-DAF is making our city (and world!) better. Volunteer with your girlfriend on Earth Day and, if possible, on an on-going basis.

The IPV Action Group & Anti-Violence Network present “Enough of Intimate Partner Violence” on Wednesday March 25 from 6-9pm in MDCL Room 3020 at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

A panel discussion will cover Social Work, Research, Crime Prevention with special guest Ms Gurjeet Dhahan. Refreshments will be available by donation. All proceeds to go to Interval House.

For more information about the UN’s position on Violence Against Women, read the SI Programme Blog »

About Ms Gurjeet Dhahan:

This survivor of domestic abuse is blind after being shot twice point-blank in the head by her estranged husband, who then turned the gun on himself. This tragedy occured on October 19, 2006 in the town of Port Coquitlam, BC. Read her story on Canada.com »

About the Anti-Violence Network at McMaster University:

The AVN is a group of students, staff and faculty who, since March 1997, have met to share concerns, offer support and coordinate efforts against violence on campus. Their goal is to actively engage students, staff and faculty in working together to create a more peaceful campus.

About Interval House of Hamilton:

Their mission is “to provide a safe place, support for abused women with or without children, community outreach services and practice-based research in our shared quest for freedom from violence.”

What is a blog? The simple answer is: it’s a website. The long answer is long.

There are personal blogs (that can be more like a diary) and corporate or business blogs (to promote events and boost PR). Within these are genres: political blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs, question blogs, and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs). Sadly, there are also spam blogs that steal content from other websites; these are known as a Splogs.

SI-DAF has created this blog so you can get to know our club – who we are and what we do. As I’m sure you’ll figure out, we have have fun and impact the lives of women and girls along the way! Our name, Soroptimist, means Best for Women (from Latin: Soror and Optimist) and our mission is to improve the lives of women and girls in our local communities of Ancaster, Dundas and Flamborough, and throughout the world.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!