THE MAY COURT CLUB OF ST. CATHARINES Newsletter April 2017 maycourtstcatharines.ca President's Message APRIL IS THE BEST OF MONTHS! This month puts great demands on May Courters. With our major annual fundraiser and the decision on how to disburse last year's income both taking place in the next few weeks, the words "It must be done by April" can send a chill through the most dedicated member's heart! But April is also one our most hopeful months because, within the space of a few weeks, we have the satisfaction of raising thousands of dollars at our fundraiser, and also voting on how our resources will support women and children, mental health and nutrition in Niagara during the coming year. We can look back on challenges overcome, efforts well rewarded, and a central part of May Court mission once again achieved - for 82 years in succession! I'm looking forward more than ever to Ladies Who Lunch...And Shop!on Sunday April 9, because our team - led by Leslie and Mary - has brought so much enthusiasm to this new concept, and has generated a real buzz about the event. I'm also excited by the 'sneak preview' the Board received of this year's funding recommendations, amounting to more than $40,000 - that members will vote on at the April 18 meeting. I hope you'll attend the meeting to share in the pleasure of helping make life good for women and children in our communities. Thank you to Joyce and the Finance Committee for developing the recommendations, and you can read more about them below . But wait!...There's more! For Vice-President Joyce and me, April brings with it yet another major event. At the end of the month we'll be travelling to Ottawa to represent MCCSC at the meeting of the Association of May Court Clubs of Canada, which is appropriately being held in the nation's capital in Canada's sesquicentennial year. We're looking forward to hearing this year's news from other Clubs, and to relating our own St. Catharines story. We'll have much to report and be proud of, including the implementation of our strategic vision and plan - From Strong Roots to Fruitful Blossoms -our new fundraiser - Ladies Who Lunch...And Shop!) our new Board leadership structure to be implemented later this year, and our new website! I'm exhausted just thinking about it all, and the Club's thanks are due to everyone who's making this year such a success. Peggy President Project Updates converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
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THE MAY COURT CLUB OF
ST. CATHARINES
Newsletter April 2017
maycourtstcatharines.ca
President's Message
APRIL IS THE BEST OF MONTHS!
This month puts great demands on May Courters. With our major annual fundraiser and the decision on how to disburse last year's incomeboth taking place in the next few weeks, the words "It must be done by April" can send a chill through the most dedicated member's heart!
But April is also one our most hopeful months because, within the space of a few weeks, we have the satisfaction of raising thousands of dollarsat our fundraiser, and also voting on how our resources will support women and children, mental health and nutrition in Niagara during thecoming year. We can look back on challenges overcome, efforts well rewarded, and a central part of May Court mission once again achieved -for 82 years in succession!
I'm looking forward more than ever to Ladies Who Lunch...And Shop!on Sunday April 9, because our team - led by Leslie and Mary - hasbrought so much enthusiasm to this new concept, and has generated a real buzz about the event. I'm also excited by the 'sneak preview' theBoard received of this year's funding recommendations, amounting to more than $40,000 - that members will vote on at the April 18 meeting. Ihope you'll attend the meeting to share in the pleasure of helping make life good for women and children in our communities. Thank you toJoyce and the Finance Committee for developing the recommendations, and you can read more about them below.
But wait!...There's more!
For Vice-President Joyce and me, April brings with it yet another major event. At the end of the month we'll be travelling to Ottawa to representMCCSC at the meeting of the Association of May Court Clubs of Canada, which is appropriately being held in the nation's capital in Canada'ssesquicentennial year.
We're looking forward to hearing this year's news from other Clubs, and to relating our own St. Catharines story. We'll have much to report andbe proud of, including the implementation of our strategic vision and plan - From Strong Roots to Fruitful Blossoms -our new fundraiser - LadiesWho Lunch...And Shop!) our new Board leadership structure to be implemented later this year, and our new website! I'm exhausted just thinkingabout it all, and the Club's thanks are due to everyone who's making this year such a success.
Report from MCC VP and Chair of the Finance Committee (shown left with the list of this year's recommended grant recipients).
The Finance Committee has completed its review of MCCSC funds disbursement during the current year and, having received Boardapproval, will present the proposal to the General Membership Meeting on Tuesday April 18.
February was a very busy month for the Finance Committee because over twenty Donation Recipient Questionnaires were returned requestingfunding for projects supporting women and children, health and nutrition in Niagara. With over $40,000 to allocate, it was a challenging buthighly-rewarding responsibility!
The Committee met twice during the month to review and discuss the requests in order to arrive at the best recommendation for funding fromamong the many very compelling submissions. For example, the Canadian Mental Health Association's Women and Wellness program needsfunds to help run their new counselling program for women, while Hospice Niagara has requested funds to assist with its AdolescentBereavement Program. The full list of applicants and recommended grants is attached here.
The MCCSC Board reviewed and approved the committee's recommendations at its March meeting, and the proposals will now be presented tothe MCCSC membership at the General Meeting on Tuesday, April 18. I strongly encourage you to take a look at the recommendations, and toattend the meeting to ask questions and vote on them. Please bring your copy of the recommendations with you.
My thanks are offered to the Finance Committee members for their hard work in assessing each submission and finalizing the recommendationsin a timely manner.
I look forward to seeing you on April 18, and to presenting our recommendations to the membership.
Past President Sandi has been busy receiving nominations for next year's Board and Committee positions. She reports that there's still time tonominate yourself or someone else for Board positions, including President and Vice-President. As we move forward with our neworganizational structure, its a great time to be part of the Club's leadership, so please take a look at the position descriptions and seriouslyconsider which role you can offer to undertake.
You can download the nomination form, and return it to Sandi.
LADIES WHO LUNCH...AND SHOP!
'LWL' is just seven days away - Sunday April 9 - but there's still time to promote the event and sell tickets for LWL and raffle tickets for theShine Like A Diamond Draw.
If friends aren't certain they can make the event, give them a 'sample' ticket - attached - to help remind them when and where Ladies WhoLunch...And Shop! takes place.
HAVE YOU VISITED THE NEW WEBSITE?
In early March the membership was informed that the new website has now gone live, and we hope you've had a chance to visit it. The websiteaddress is the same as before - www.maycourtstcatharines.ca - and the link (in green) should take you to the new site. The banner of eachpage shows a collage of May Court events and St. Catharines landmarks (see below), but if you find you've been taken to the old site, followthese instructions to access the new one.
TWEET, TWEET!
MCCSC now has a Twitter page! You can view our page without signing up to Twitter, and our user identifier is @MCCStCaths, so pleaseclick here to view our page.
You'll see that there are a lot of very short messages (in between the ads!) from various non-profit organizations and news outlets in ourregion and beyond. We add messages to this page when they think they may be of interest to our Club or our network, but you won't see thehundreds of other messages that come into our page. We check the page regularly to see what's being posted by the organizations wefollow, and just choose the most relevant to our Club or our network for 'retweeting'.
Every now and then, when the Club wants to tell our network and broader community about something, we'll be tweeting our own news. Thisis a great way to spread the word, and organizations that 'follow' @MCCStCaths may 'retweet' any of our messages to their followers,spreading the word even further.
You can visit our page at any time, without signing into Twitter, and see what new items we've added. The easiest way to go to the@MCCStCaths page is, of course, to make our Twitter page a 'favorite'. Alternatively, you can Google "@MCCStCaths Twitter".
Sunday April 9, 2017. 11:00 - 3:00 p.m. Club Roma, 125 Vansickle Road, St. Catharines. Map. Cost: $40, including lunch Contacts:
It isn't too late to attend our new-look Spring fundraiser - Ladies Who Lunch...And Shop! Because tickets will be available on the door,there's still time to invite friends and family to join you for lunch and a enjoyable day's browsing and shopping.
There's also plenty of time to sell Shine Bright Like A Diamond Draw tickets, for a $5 chance to win a beautiful solitaire diamond on an 18"white gold chain. Tickets for the Draw will continue to sell at the event, and there will also be our traditional raffle tables and silent auction tobrowse and enter.
Leslie and Mary (details above) can provide tickets for the event and the draw, so please continue to sell both, in the knowledge that everysale increases the funds we can distribute to the community in 2018.
MAY COURT APRIL GENERAL MEETING - FUNDS DISBURSEMENT Tuesday April 18, 2017. 7:00 p.m. Linhaven, 403 Ontario St, St. Catharines. Map.
The April meeting is always one of the most rewarding events in the MCCSC calendar because the Finance Committee presents itsrecommendations for distributing the funds we worked so hard to raise in 2016. Committee Chair Joyce describes how the recommendationswere compiled above.
At the meeting, you'll have a unique opportunity to ask questions about the recommendations and to vote on them. This vote is a significantpart of May Court life because it is the culmination of our fundraising efforts and embodies how the Club impacts the lives of women andchildren in our communities.
In February, MCCSC was proud to attend the Women & Wellness 7th Annual Fundraiser and educational event. Seven hundred women(and a few men) attended the evening, including a dozen or so May Courters (some representing other organizations).
The first half of the evening was given over to explaining how people with a mental illness can be helped. During the second half, SusanStewart (left) - a stand-up comedian and self-confessed Ellen DeGeneres lookalike - presented a hilarious routine, even though for much ofthe time she spoke about coping with the serious mental health challenges she herself has experienced
During the evening, Women & Wellness raised $57,000 for the Walk-In Counselling Program of Niagara. MCCSC is proud to have donatedfunds to W&W during the last several years, and is honored to have received this ' Thank You' from the evening's organizers.
MCCSC GENERAL MEETING FEBRUARY 2017
Our February meeting took place at Pathstone, a previous recipient of MCCSC funding. Our speaker was Anne Kirkpatrick, ProgramManager of Niagara Nutrition Partners. Anne thanked May Court for our generous donations over the past years ($6,000 last year), andexplained how the money has been put to good use in well-organized breakfast programs at St. Catharines elementary schools. Manyvolunteers are involved, and all food provided must meet nutritional guidelines. Anne showed a brief video to illustrate what a typicalbreakfast program looks like and how important breakfast programs are in local schools.
If it wasn’t for the breakfast and snack programs which are provided by Niagara Nutrition Partners, many students would have difficulty learningdue to hunger.
Our thanks to Darla and Pathstone for arranging the use of Pathstone premises.
PUB NIGHT 2017
Pub night on Wednesday March 8 was well-attended, with over forty May Courters, friends and family enjoying good food, good companyand great games.
Susan and Erin (pictured left with JoAnne) did a great job planning and running a happy and relaxed social event, and Cat's Caboose put ona delicious spread of pizza, salads and other food. Throughout the evening the mini-putt and Crown & Anchor attracted players, as did the50/50 draw.
There are still a few outstanding account items to be entered before we can announce a figure for funds raised, but everyone who attendedgenerously opened their wallets throughout the evening, and the final result will be announced shortly.
The picture right shows May Court Friend Louise who supervised the games and didn't even take a break for pizza. Thank you, Louise!
LADY ABERDEEN ROSE If you missed the email from Sandi Mackenzie inviting you to purchase a beautiful Lady Aberdeen Rose bush for your garden, you may stillbe able to order one. Sandi ordered a couple of extra bushes for just this eventuality, so if you'd like to reserve one, please email Sandi.Each bush costs $20.
MCC CAP At the February meeting, Peggy modelled this fine May Court Club cap which is available to all members. Contact Peggy if you'd like to buy one.
