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Once again, we are at the end of another extraordinary year!
Going into 2021, there was excitement and hope that the year would see our community move back to a more normal way of living. And what we all know now is that there have been a few bumps on the road. However, ABLE2 proved once again that it was a resilient and adaptable organisation.
Throughout 2021, staff continued to work from their homes and delivered services and programs virtually to individuals and their families. ABLE2 applied for and received funds to assist us to support individuals with disabilities throughout the pandemic. We are proud that we were able to meet the unique needs that presented themselves due to the COVID-19 outbreak and to continue to support people to build lives of meaning and joy.
As we come to the end of this year, and as the vaccines and boosters are being rolled out, ABLE2 has plans in place to bring staff back into the office and to meet people in the community. As always, these plans can change and will be based on all the current public health guidelines.
I would like to thank all our donors, volunteers, staff and board members for their support and commitment to ABLE2. With their help ABLE2 has moved forward on the path to realising our vision of an inclusive community where all people are seen as able, important, and valued.
On behalf of the staff and board of ABLE2, we wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, filled with love and joy!
Heather Lacey
Executive Director
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Monthly Dances - Good News
We are thrilled to advise you that the monthly dances will be back in 2022! Our valued community partner, Dovercourt Recreation Association, will be hosting monthly dances.
Your contact at Dovercourt is Caitlin Booth, Inclusion & Accessibility Manager.
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"I admire the work being done by ABLE2."
Jane Caskey is a familiar, smiling face around ABLE2. Whether bringing in donations for our annual Holiday Party, attending events, or as someone the staff can call upon to contribute to their work, Jane can be counted on to support ABLE2’s mission to empower people with disabilities to build lives of meaning and joy.
She is a long-time supporter of ABLE2, as a former board member, volunteer Ally, event attendee and regular donor.
Jane’s core values of community involvement and support mean that she is dedicated to causes she believes in and can be counted on to be a leader in the community. Over the years, she has lived her values by recruiting individuals with disabilities to her work team, sitting on the boards of small local charities, encouraging her friends to donate to the non-profits she supports, helping her neighbours, and by raising funds.
ABLE2 is fortunate to be one of the charities she supports. She believes that ABLE2 does “excellent work; work that is even more important during this pandemic.” She lives this by volunteering with the Friendly Caller Program and as a regular donor.
Jane knows from personal experience the feelings of isolation individuals feel, especially when they have a disability that affects their ability to get out in the community. She knows the impact that an individual can have when they freely choose to befriend someone who lives with a disability. The impacts range from reducing loneliness and isolation, to helping to develop personal networks and relations, to increasing self-confidence, to improved mental and physical health. Jane regularly donates to ABLE2 because she admires the work being done and understands the impacts at an individual and community level.
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Last Chance to sign up for Sibling Groups [Jan-May] | |
Having a brother or sister who is living with a disability can be both fun and challenging for children and teens.
Groups offer the chance to meet other children/teens who understand, to share experiences, get information, do some fun activities and learn about different disabilities.
Age Appropriate Virtual Group Meetings held once per month.
Wednesdays | January - May: 7:00pm-8:00pm
Cost: $150.00 Limited subsidies available
Registration required. For more information please contact Lenka Stevanovic or 613-761-9522 ext.223.
To hear more about this program join us virtually on January 17 at 6:00 pm for the Sibling Groups' Information Session. This will be an opporutnity to sk questions and learn about the impacts of the support groups.
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An exciting challenge is coming to Ottawa in 2022
Do you like running? Are you keen to try a new physical challenge? In partnership with Run Ottawa ABLE2 will participate in a unique virtual event. The Goggins Challenge - a 4X4X48 challenge. The whole challenge involves running for four miles every four hours for 48 hours. We will be offering the complete challenge, a team challenge and a light challenge. Stay tuned for an announcement in early January.
The challenge can be done anywhere but starts on March 5, 2022, at 8:00 pm. so, join our board chair, Rob Meredith, and raise some critical funds for ABLE2!
Registrations opens in January 2022.
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Friendly Caller Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers are needed for Connect Friendly Callers, a pilot project aiming to reduce social isolation for seniors living with disabilities during the pandemic. The Connect project matches a senior with a volunteer, for a virtual social visit using the senior’s preferred platform (phone, FaceTime, Zoom WhatsApp etc.).
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Looking for EiTM Silent Auction Committee Member
The EiTM Committee works with ABLE2 staff to organise ABLE2's premier fundraising event. Curating the many unique items offered in the silent auction is crucial to the success of this event. We are looking for a dynamic and motivated individual to lead this important initiative.
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We are so close to achieving our winter campaign goal! Can you help us reach our goal of $10,000? During this season, you can double your impact as all gifts will be matched up to $10,000.
Your gift will help support ABLE2's Matching Program and reduce isolation and loneliness and foster relationships that help build lives of meaning and joy for both our volunteer Allies and Friends.
Looking for another way to donate? Did you know that simply through volunteering your time with us, you may be qualified to take your volunteer hours to your company and convert them to a charitable gift donation for ABLE2? Many employers will match any charitable contributions made by their employees.
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Jackie McKenna
With sadness, we announce that Jacqueline (Jackie) McKenna passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.
Jackie was a long-time social work team member in our Matching Program and was responsible for matching many people with disabilities to volunteer Allies in our community. Many of these matches are still active today!
In addition, Jackie was a volunteer Ally for 12 years and a strong supporter of all that we do, including attending Evening in the Maritimes every year since its inception.
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Consumer Action Committee
My name is Stacey Bielaski. I am the Chair of the Consumer Action Committee (CAC) where we discuss issues that concern us - people with disabilities.
The CAC has eight committee members. Our meetings are on Zoom right now. We want to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. We want to help, encourage and support people with disabilities.
The CAC also helps out with ABLE2's fundraisers such as Race Weekend, and learns about budgeting or other topics that interest us.
As the Christmas Season approaches, we hope you have an amazing time with your family and friends. We are excited to see what the new year will have in store for the CAC. We are looking for more members for our committee, if you are interested in this committee, please contact us.We can’t wait for you to join us!
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Words and phrases you may want to think twice about using
Our CAC Co-Chair, Julie Cashman, and ABLE2 staff member Hélène Courchesne were both interviewed for an article on CBC Ottawa that discussed the historical, cultural context of important phrases.
The article touched on the use of the words dumb and lame, amongst many others that we unconciously use everday. Below is an abstract from the article.
Dumb is modernly used to describe lack of intelligence, but it was once used to describe someone who lacked the ability to speak. Similarly, lame is now used to describe someone or something that's boring or unexciting, but was also a term used against those who have limitations of movement in their limbs.
Both are highly offensive when describing people in the disability community, but also when used casually, says Cashman.
"People now are using lame as a slang, so they go around saying that's lame," she said. "I don't think they really understand what that means .. they just think it's a cool term, but for me, when I hear that, I definitely know what that term means ... it's something I wouldn't say."
Full article
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Did you know that ABLE2 has a new monthly newsletter containing information and updates about our premier fundraising event – Evening in the Maritimes which will take place on May 19th at the Westin Ottawa Hotel in 2022?
We invite YOU to subscribe to the EiTM Event Newsletter to be in the know about:
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· Special offers on event tickets and corporate tables
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· The list of auction items that will be up for grabs
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· Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities
And more …
Evening in the Maritimes is always a WHALE of a good time, but most importantly, the event raises money to allow ABLE2 to support people with disabilities in our community.
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FASD Symposium Registration Deadline - 5:00 pm on January 17, 2022
The 2022 FASD Symposium (Virtual Edition) is taking place online on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
The FASD Symposium is Eastern Canada’s largest annual gathering of everyone connected to the FASD community. This one-day interactive, educational event, with content available in English and French, attracts 400+ people each year. Our theme for 2022 is ‘A new look at addressing mental health including stigma faced by people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)’.
Registered participants have access to the content from January 25 to February 1, 2022.
We invite you to visit our website for all the conference details including the speaker line-up.
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