From pnijjar at sdf.lonestar.org Sat Aug 11 02:56:55 2007 From: pnijjar at sdf.lonestar.org (Paul Nijjar) Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 02:56:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Info Night Schedule Changes! Oct 9 cancellation! Message-ID: Howdy folks, Because of the referendum blackout, we have had to CANCEL the referendum information session we had planned for October 9. However, we have added quite a few new dates as well. Here's the updated list: - August 14 (that's this Tuesday!) - September 11, 18 and 25 - October 2 All of these presentations begin at 7:00pm. They are held at the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, at 120 Duke St. W in Kitchener (directly behind City Hall). These are great opportunities to become more comfortable with the MMP system proposed for Ontario and to learn more about the two systems under consideration. In addition to presentation there are lots of opportunities for discussion. In addition to these information nights, we would love to speak for your group or organization. Don't be shy! We can speak for as little as five minutes, and can address groups big and small. Respond to this e-mail and we will set something up. Meetings -------- There are a number of groups holding organization meetings to work on the referendum campaign. There's a lot of ground to cover and a lot of ignorance to eradicate -- even a few hours of time can be a big help. 0. We are having our next Waterloo Region volunteer meeting at 7:00pm on Tuesday, September 21 at the Faculty of Social Work building. 1. A group at Wilfrid Laurier University is having its next meeting on August 28 at 7:00pm. To get involved, contact the group by e-mailing fvclaurier at gmail.com . 2. A group in Cambridge has sprung up and is working hard. They are having their next meeting August 13th (next Monday!) Zehrs Community Room upstairs at the South Cambridge Mall from 7:00. To get involved contact Donna at donna-reid at sympatico.ca 3. For those of you who live in Guelph, there's a new group that is getting organized there. Contact Bill at bill.hulet at sympatico.ca to get involved with them. 4. The group at the University of Waterloo has not scheduled its next meeting, but it is planning several events for September. To get involved contact Alex at alex.mccausland at gmail.com . There are lots of opportunity to get involved, and every one of these groups could really use some additional volunteers. Everybody is organizing September events now, and there is a lot of work to be done. Upcoming Events --------------- As always, we are working to attend as many festivals and public events as we can. Coming up in the near future are the Rock the Mill festival on August 18 (http://www.rockthemill.com) at Dickson Park in Cambridge, and the LINK Newsmagazine Picnic (http://www.linknewsmagazine.ca) on August 19 at Waterloo Park. Also as always, we could use some help in staffing these booths. Give us a shout if you can help for an hour or two. Literature Distribution ----------------------- Some folks have been dropping off literature in doctor's offices, waiting rooms and lounges. Can you think of a good home for a stack of some booklets or brochures? If so, contact us and we will get you a stash ASAP. Other News ---------- In addition to the Vote for MMP campaign, the official Referendum Ontario public education campaign has begun. They have launched their website at http://yourbigdecision.ca , and are planning a number of activities to raise public awareness. (You may have heard their radio advertisements already.) Also active are our opponents, who have been getting quite a bit of press already. If you were thinking that winning this referendum was going to be easy, think again. - Paul -- Paul Nijjar - http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next electoral reform info night: Tuesday August 14, 7pm From pnijjar at sdf.lonestar.org Thu Aug 16 16:50:07 2007 From: pnijjar at sdf.lonestar.org (Paul Nijjar) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 16:50:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Volunteers Needed/Meeting Correction Message-ID: First of all, I made a boo-boo in my last announcement. The next Waterloo Region chapter meeting is on AUGUST 21 (i.e. next Tuesday), not in September. It will be held at 7pm at the Faculty of Social Work building, 120 Duke St. W. Now the big news: we have an amazing opportunity to have a booth at the Waterloo Farmer's Market (across the street from the St. Jacobs one) from late August until October. However, we really need some volunteers to make this happen! The hours are Saturdays from 7am-2pm and Sundays from 10am-4pm. We need some people to cover 3-4 hour shifts throughout the day. You can volunteer for as many or as few shifts as you would like. Respond to this e-mail and let me know the following information: - What days/dates/times you could cover (tentative plans are okay) - Whether you have transportation to the market - Whether you would be willing to help a less-experienced booth partner in staffing the booth (or whether you would like a more experienced partner to help you out) This is an excellent way to help contribute to the referendum effort: in addition to reaching out to the hundreds of people who go to the Farmer's Market, you will get valuable practice in explaining the referendum to others. Please consider doing this! Without additional help we won't be able to make this happen, and this excellent outreach opportunity will slip through our fingers. In addition to the Farmer's Market we can also use some help this weekend. We are particularly understaffed this Saturday for the Rock the Mill Festival in Dickson Park, Cambridge. Contributing a few hours would be a big help. We could especially use a hand in taking down and transporting our display at the end of the event. The festival runs from 12pm to 11pm. We also should be attending the LINK Picnic this Sunday in Waterloo Park (noon til dusk). We don't need people as badly for this event, but a few extra hands would still be welcome. Again, please respond to this e-mail to volunteer. -- Paul Nijjar - http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next electoral reform info night: Tuesday Sept 11, 7pm