The New Westminster Library and MOSAIC are offering this series of workshops:
Lifeskills for New Immigrants: January 16th to February 13th
Resume Writing
Cover letters
Assertiveness and Confidence Building
Taxation System
Citizenship Classes— February – April
Housing Workshop — February 10th–Details: Housing Workshop
Income Tax Workshop— February 13th– More Details: Taxes Workshop
Tax Clinics— Fridays, March through April–Details: Tax Clinic Poster
BCIT’s Evolution 1079 radio station aired an excellent documentary on child poverty in December. It features interviews with First Call’s Adrienne Montani, Trish Garner from the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, Sharon Gregson from the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, and other anti-poverty advocates. The documentary was created by BCIT students Shane Moore, Mark Collins, Stephanie Stewart and Liam Stevenson. The mp3 file can be downloaded here.
First Call’s Provincial Coordinator, Adrienne Montani, is appearing on the “David Berner” show on Shaw TV, discussing child poverty in BC. You can watch the clip online here. It will air on cable 4 on Thursday, Jan 19th at 8:00 AM and Friday, Jan 20th at 2:30 PM.
(Source: www.firstcallbc.org)
First Call is sponsoring a film at the upcoming CoDevelopment Canada and World Community Development Education Society film festival. The festival runs from February 10-12 at Langara College. The film, Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood, throws light on the practices of a relentless multi-billion dollar marketing machine that now sells kids and their parents everything from junk food and violent video games to bogus educational products and the family car. Drawing on the insights of health care professionals, children’s advocates, and industry insiders, the film focuses on the explosive growth of child marketing in the wake of deregulation, showing how marketers have used the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform children into one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world. Consuming Kids pushes back against the wholesale commercialization of childhood, raising urgent questions about the ethics of children’s marketing and its impact on the health and well-being of our children.
The film will show on February 11 at 2:30 PM. Find out more about the film festival here.
(Source: www.firstcallbc.org)
The KIDS Child Care staff team is renewing their child safe first aid through Vital Link on March 6th and 13th from 6:00-10:00 pm. If anyone would like to join us there are 4 spaces available. Cost is $90.00. For more information contact: JoAnne at kidschildcare@telus.net.
Academics and Physical Activity Go Hand in Hand
Want to improve your child’s grades? Turns out the solution may be as simple as giving them more time for physical activity. We know that keeping kids active is good for their health — it just might be good for their math marks too.A systematic literature review recently published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine indicates that there is a positive relationship between children’s levels of physical activity and their performance in school. That is, the more exercise a child gets, the better their grades are.The researchers point to several reasons behind the findings: exercise increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain, and regular exercise can help to reduce stress and improve mood, making children more receptive to learning. Read More…
(Source: http://www.bccf.ca/)
May 6 – 8, 2012
Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver BC
This conference brings together an interdisciplinary group of professionals working in the field of mental health with young people and parents and other stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences related to child and youth mental health. There are three themes woven through the conferences: Family Mental Health, Children of Parents with Mental Illness and Young Carers. More information here.
(Source: www.eycdi.ca)
May 10-11, 2012
Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops BC
The 3rd Annual Cities Fit for Children Provincial Summit is dedicated to the sustainable development of our cites and urban and rural areas. The event will bring together local, municipal and regional leaders involved in policy decisions and designing and building healthy safe communities for children and families. Summit goals:
More information here.
(Source: www.eycdi.ca)
A Status Report on Canadian Public Policy and Child and Youth Health
To encourage policy-makers to examine their progress on child and youth issues and to foster discussion among Canadians, the Canadian Paediatric Society produces a biennial status report on public policy affecting children and youth. This report examines how well provincial/territorial and federal governments use their legislative powers to promote the health and safety of children and youth. The fourth edition, released January 10, 2012, continues to assess key indicators of child and youth health and rates progress on these indicators since 2009. The report includes recommendations to improve public policy affecting children and youth, actions based both on need and evidence. Download report here.
(Source: www.eycdi.ca)
The False Choice Between Play and Learning
Podcast – Among early learning advocates, the fate of play continues to be hotly debated. To learn more about the relationship between play and learning, the New America Foundation invited Annie Murphy Paul–journalist, author and mother of young children–to talk about what she has uncovered in the reporting of her forthcoming book, Brilliant: The New Science of Smart. The podcast also explores recent research on play-oriented learning by Alison Gopnik, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, and her colleagues, how play-based activities can help teachers meet early learning guidelines and standards, and different kinds of play, including the importance of unstructured play in the afternoons and weekends when young children are out of school. Listen to podcast.
(Source: http://www.eycdi.ca/)
It’s that time again! January 16th 2012, marks the start of National Non Smoking Week and Quitnow is launching a new “Commit to Quit Contest” for 2012.
When: starting Jan 13 and ending at 11:59 PST on Jan 21st 2012
Who: Any BC resident 19 years (as of Jan 23, 2012) or older
What: Participants must commit to a QUIT DATE no later than Feb 21, 2012
How: Participants must register at www.quitnow.ca by deadline to be eligible for prizes
Why: A healthier year and Prizes including $100 gift certificates and the GRAND PRIZE an iPad2
This is a great opportunity to promote healthier lifestyles which includes quitting smoking. Please post the details (in attached pdf) for your employees and your communities. QuitNow Contest 2012 Thank you for your assistance in helping people to commit to quit.