The Montérégie West Community Network began our year 2019-20 with a successful Youth Gala partnering up with the Lester B. Pearson school Board and recognizing 56 students throughout the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area for their leadership, excellence, and perseverance. Parents, teachers, community organizations and leaders in the community gathered together with the students and celebrated their successes. 450 were in attendance. This was all made possible through our partnership with Lester B. Pearson School Board, Desjardins Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de L’Île-Perrot and our funding through the Secretariat for relations with the English-speaking Quebecers.
Clément Bergeron, Lorie Marcotte, Christopher Skeete, Marilyne Picard, Pauline Wiedow, Marie-Claude Nichols, Carlos Letâo and Peter Schiefke. ( Photo library)
Throughout the year we were able to form new partnerships sharing the vision of the MWCN.
The McGill funding helped us to encourage and support 3 students with bursaries totalling $15,000. We were also able to give tutorials to CISSMO employees to support them in communicating with their English-speaking clients.
The Mental Health funding provided to MWCN from the Community Health and Social Services (CHSSN) came in perfect timing just prior to our shut down March 13th. We were able to provide support to 6 schools in the NFSB as well as a first ever Women’s International Day with 172 people attending.
Thanks to our CHSSN funders we have been able to open an office in Chateauguay, Pincourt and a 3rd Wellness center in Huntingdon which opened March 13th and was closed down immediately as our world changed in unprecedented ways ever seen before.
CHSSN also provides the funding to hire coordinators in each of our locations as well as support staff.
Canadian Heritage is our funder helping us to reach out into the community and provide intergenerational activities throughout the region. The way this is done will be changing as we move forward and look for ways to enhance the quality of life of all, youth, and elders.
I would like to thank our staff during the year, Gayle Holdaway, Clément Bergeron, Kim Wilson, Lorie Marcotte, Nancy Landrigan and Ashton Wilson for without their dedication to people in the community we would never have accomplished all of what we have done in such a short time.
A special thank you to our Board of Directors who meet once a month and have been ever present as we moved forward and expanded at such a quick pace. Thank you especially for the support you lend to me on a continual basis. Thank you to your hands-on valuable assistance in many of our projects. Thank you, Lise Brunette, our President who is also available to step in when needed.
Together we have worked to further the visibility of the Montérégie West Community Network and provide assistance to the English-speaking community that number close to 85,000 and also support to our funders by letting them know what the needs of the community are.
As we look to the future and the challenges presenting themselves, we see new opportunities, new visibility, and many new partnerships we will develop to support our communities.
For further information please follow us on Facebook, monteregie west community network and also check out our website at mwcn.ca.
At the MWCN Partners’ Forum held in February, regional leaders highlighted Pauline Wiedow’s extraordinary accomplishments over the past
20 years in mobilizing organizations, institutions and individuals to improve the living conditions of English-speaking people in the region.
