Festive Fair Update

Festive Fair update - November 17th
Only five weeks until our annual Festive Fair! There are still plenty of opportunities for you to participate.

Bakery:
Gertrud and Ed still need volunteers to help package and sell on the day of the fair. Please let Gertrud or Candice know if you can help.  Beryl is looking for help packaging Ted’s creations the week before the fair at UCM. Please tell Beryl if you are available.

Festive Fair Silent Auction:
Again this year, the festive fair will feature a Silent Auction of items from local retailers, services, entertainment groups and donations from members.  Any ideas or suggestions regarding expanding our list of retailers are most welcome, especially if you have an ongoing relationship and make an inquiry at your hairdresser, local favourite restaurant, etc.  If you have a new or nearly new item that you would like to donate, please contact Sheila Bjarnason at sbjarn@gmail.com or see me after service at the Festive Fair table starting Sunday October 14^th. 

Treasure Trove
The Treasure Trove will also be returning to the Sunflower room for 2018.  Judy Benger is looking for donations of gently used home decor and jewelry from our members.  If you have an item you would like to donate to the Treasure Trove, contact Judy at judy.benscheu@sympatico.ca.  Judy will also be at the Festive Fair table after service.

New Refugee Sponsorship by UCM

Call for More Volunteers
A new committee has been formed to sponsor a refugee family, after we heard about a fully-funded subsidy program called Refugee Hub in Ottawa. We are able to sponsor a refugee family without the need for fundraising, and eight committee members have joined so far, ready to use the experience we gained from sponsoring the Khusruf family in 2016. Five of the committee members are UCM members, and Sally Rylett, daughter of Cathy Tafler and Doug Rylett, has volunteered to chair the committee. We had sixteen members of the refugee committee in 2016, so we would love to have more volunteers to help in 2018.

Duties could include helping with the following:
- setting up bank accounts and bus passes
- finding an Arabic-speaking doctor and dentist
- finding an apartment or townhouse
- shopping for winter clothes, new and used
- setting up the Ontario driver's licence test
- enrolling the family in ESL courses and PDSB school registration
- creating resume(s) and searching for a job
- getting used or new furniture, etc.

The family we have applied for (not yet confirmed) is a relatively older Syrian family with three adult children (19, 25 and 29 years old, two females and a male), and an 8 year old daughter in grade two, and mom and dad. They have been stationed in Amman since fleeing their Syrian homeland, with no chance of settling in Jordan.

The committee includes two Toronto-based friends of UCM committee members, so we are calling the new committee "West-end Unitarians and Friends".  All families in this fully-funded BVOR (Blended Visa-Office Referred) program are pre-approved by the federal government, so our family may arrive in 6-8 weeks, before year-end. If you are interested in helping this new family to settle in Mississauga, please contact Sally Rylett at sally.rylett@gmail.com or call at 647-233-7177.

There is no better feeling than supporting a newly arrived refugee family to thrive here in Canada!

Please join us.

Communications Committee

New members and volunteers are welcome!  We are responsible for UCM's website, social media and publicity for events such as Festive Fair and Seedy Saturday. We promise snacks and cudos for all volunteers!  if interested email communications@uucm.ca. 

Social Responsibility Committee

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity at UCM? The Social Responsibility Committee needs someone to take on the organization of our food bank collections. Duties would involve promoting our Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter campaigns in The Shining Chalice and overseeing the collections. You would also liaise with the Mississauga Food Bank and deliver the donations. Guidance will be provided!

If interested please speak to Judy Benger.