The CFUW Brantford General Meeting Program on November 23, 2022 featured Hannah Blackburn, Police Officer with Brantford Police Service, and Shelly Prendergast, a Victim Support Worker with Victim Services of Brant. Their topic was Human Trafficking, a serious and disturbing fact of life in Canada today, including Brantford and Brant County. The target is mostly girls, many of whom are very young, and women. The audience was very attentive to the PowerPoint presentation and had several questions afterwards. The dedication and commitment of the presenters to this grisly topic is to be admired as they work to gain the trust of affected persons and their families, to refer them to community agencies that can help and to educate the public.
We were pleased to have Mary Jane Waszynski, Regional Director, CFUW Ontario, attend our AGM on May 22nd at the Brantford Golf and Country Club. Mary Jane gave a brief presentation and also assisted in handing out certificates to long standing members.
On May 22nd at the CFUW Brantford AGM at the Brantford Golf & Country Club, Avery Kadish was awarded a special 100th Anniversary Scholarship to assist her with her advanced studies. The award was presented by Elizabeth Cavanagh, longest standing member of CFUW Brantford: 59yrs and Denver Hilland, youngest member of CFUW Brantford.
Centenary Award Winner Announcement
Six outstanding young women were nominated by local high schools for the 100th anniversary scholarship. After much deliberation, the Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce that the winner is: Avery Kadish of Brantford Collegiate Institute.
Well-known as a talented musician and performer, Avery is also an honour roll student who was accepted at several universities, and will be attending Humber College this September for a Bachelor of Music. She participates in BCI’s Laurier program for exceptional students, and is in a Specialist High School Major program with an Arts and Culture focus. She is active in the LINC mentorship program which supports grade 8 students as well as an anti-bullying program in local elementary schools. Avery created an original song from the personal stories of students, and performs it as part of the program. Avery uses her musical ability to support the many activities at BCI. She has taken roles in BCI’s musical productions, sung at Remembrance Day services, and is helping to offer arts workshops to local grade two classes through the Laurier program.
Avery has completed hundreds of hours of volunteer work all while developing her professional career – recording albums, performing at venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, Koerner Hall, Birdland Jazz Club in New York City, and several major jazz festivals. You may have heard Avery sing the National Anthem at a Toronto Blue Jays game, or perform in the Young Artists’ recital at the Sanderson Centre.
Members of CFUW Brantford will have the opportunity to congratulate our scholarship winner, Avery Kadish, when she is presented with a cheque for $2500 at the AGM on May 22.
At the CFUW AGM on May 22, Richard Brennan, retired journalist, gave an uplifting presentation on the world of journalism and politics to the 60 persons in attendance at the Brantford Golf and Country Club.
An excellent attendance for our April General Meeting when Professor Emeritus, Paul Eagles, from University of Waterloo presented “Healthy Parks,Healthy People”. It was an interesting and informative presentation!
An interesting and informative presentation on “How preplanning a funeral can help with difficult questions and available options for a meaningful legacy for the family” was given by staff at Thorpe Brothers Funeral Home at our March General Meeting.