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GREEN WOOD COALITION 

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FEBUARY 2014

WHO IS DEPENDENT UPON WELFARE? 2/19/2014 This thought-provoking, animated video clip was made in the USA which may mean some statistics vary from the Canadian experience, but the truth contained here should give pause to conversations around poverty and the government's role.





The reviews are in and Saturday's IMAGINATE: An Evening of Possibility was a great success, all around. Nearly 200 were in attendance for a celebration of engaging ideas, positive community energy, surprising art, and local delectables. Here's what audience members are saying: "Thank you for bringing IMAGINATE to life. On the way home i wondered how to share the night with more people. Let me know how i can help "take it to the street". -R.B. "Thank you so much – it was lovely and you did an amazing job!!" -M.B. "The video with Victoria was particularly moving" -M.M. "The reception was filled with conversation and goodwill -- a very fine evening all around." -B.C. "I just want to thank you for the wonderful evening full of creative people and their ideas.It was a real pleasure-filled evening." -C.S. "As with virtually everything the Green Wood community takes on, it was exceedingly successful and I believe it left everyone feeling inspired. Victoria's film was a stunning highlight among an entire night of top-notch work." -D.N. "I really enjoyed each speaker and what they contributed. Each dynamic, informative and constructive. There is no limit to being mindfully creative with any pursuit we engage in." -S.W. "Attended IMAGINATE, swung into gear by putting 10 jars of marmalade up... mmmmm." -P.G.

Many thanks are in order for what happened at IMAGINATE. From the financial support of Cameco, to Trinity College School for sharing their beautiful venue, the engaging presenters, the amazing volunteers who worked behind the scenes, and the in-kind provisions of the following local businesses, it was a great collaborative effort. Black Beans Steakhouse & Lounge The Waddell The Publican House Brewery Huff Estates Winery Holton Flowers Ganaraska Art & Framing Atomic Coffee Kingsholm Farms Queenies Bake Shop Cravingz Port Hope





Tonight promises to be a memorable night as a cast of diverse characters take their passions to the stage at Trinity College School in Port Hope. Tickets will be available at the door. Online tickets and directions to the venue at greenwoodcoalition.com/imaginate Doors open at 7:00 pm, start time is 7:30 pm. Delicious food, drink and conversation to follow.


Many thanks to our sponsor, Cameco, and to the volunteers and local businesses who make IMAGINATE possible.



A beautiful story will be told at Saturday's IMAGINATE: An Evening of Possibility, when the short film 'Victoria' is screened for the first time. It's a story of life in all it's colours, lived through the days of one woman. The darkness and the light that has brought Victoria to our community.


Equally fascinating is the story of how this little film came to be. How Rob Quartly, Juno Award-winning director of music videos for Rush, Platinum Blonde and Corey Hart, collaborated with Ron Baxter Smith, whose photographs have appeared in GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue and New York Times Magazine . How space and gear were made available to shoot this real-life epic. How Victoria overcame her fear, one step at a time.


This film and so much more will be on tap for an amazing evening at Trinity College School. Saturday, February 15, 7:30 pm.




Our weekly Creative Arts Group is in its fourth year of imaginative, collective art-making. Currently, we're helping each other through this long, cold, snowy winter by spending afternoons needle-felting with warm and fuzzy bits of wool.


Port Hope Photographer, Oliver Steins will unveil his exhibition, Tommy Talker & His Butterfly Collection, at this Saturday's IMAGINATE: An Evening of Possibility. The show is fascinating assembly of high-definition portraits created in Olver's studio at Ganaraska Art & Framing, where a Tommy Talker ventriloquist doll was the first in a parade of some 200 subjects. According to Oliver, "Tommy was very patient and could pose for hours without complaint."



IMAGINATE is pleased to host a presentation by Dr. Bridget Campion, a bioethicist and researcher who's worked for many years as a clinical ethicist in hospitals in Toronto and continues to practice as a healthcare ethics consultant, researching, writing, and lecturing about issues in bioethics. Her current interests include social justice and healthcare, particularly the interplay between the social determinants of health and the wellbeing of individuals and communities.



The voice of Ralph Torrie, a pioneer and innovator on environmental issues and climate change, has been heard by a long list of audiences, and on February 15, it will be heard in Port Hope at IMAGINATE.


Check out this list:

World Cities Summit on Climate Change,

Queen’s University Engineering faculty,

Schulich School of Business

Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Recycling Council of Ontario

Québec National Assembly

Aspen Global Change Institute

Harvard University School of Public Health

United Steelworkers of America

Grand Council of the Cree

Australian National Institute for Economic and Industry Research



We're thrilled that Shari Beaver, Indigenous Adventurer, will be presenting at IMAGINATE! Her journey has taken her around the world and back home to Alderville First Nation. Her enthusiasm for life is infectious. Be sure to order your ticket early at greenwoodcoalition.com/imaginate





Had any good food lately? How do you define 'good food'? It tastes good? It's good for you? It comes from good sources? Joel MacCharles and his partner, Dana, have fun with those questions at their blog WellPrerved.ca, as well as in the rest of their life. We're pleased to be hosting a talk by Joel at IMAGINATE; An Evening of Possibility, on Saturday, February 15. Click on the IMAGINATE button for tickets. Here's a sample of the kind of fun that WellPreserved is up to:

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JANUARY 2014

IMAGINATE PRESENTS CHARLES SPEARIN 1/29/2014 We are extremely pleased to have Charles Spearin on the bill for IMAGINATE, to present his 'The Happiness Project'. "With The Happiness Project, Spearin blurs the line between speaking and singing - life and art - and writes music based on these accidental melodies." He's known for his work as a member of Do May Say Think and this band (reunited last year on Jimmy Fallon), Broken Social Scene.






IMAGINATE: AN EVENING OF POSSIBILITY 1/17/2014 Green Wood Coalition is pleased to present IMAGINATE: An Evening of Possibility Saturday, February 15. 7:30 PM LeVan Theatre, Trinity College School Imaginate, hosted by Christine Stewart, will feature short, TED-style presentations by compelling speakers, musical performances and an art exhibition. Reception following will feature locally sourced food and drink. Tickets: $50 Available now "The possible's slow fuse is lit by the imagination.” -Emily Dickinson An evening that will stimulate positive thought and action around the various challenges we face as a society, and propose possible, people-level solutions. IMAGINATE will feature presentations by: Bridget Campion Bioethicist, University of St. Michael’s College Charles Spearin Juno Award Winning Musician, Broken Social Scene Christine Stewart Humanitarian, Former Federal Cabinet Minister Joel MacCharles WellPreserved.ca Food Blogger, Writer, Cook Ralph Torrie Environmental Innovator, Sierra Club of Canada Foundation Shari Beaver Indigenous Adventurer, Trent University


FIRST NIGHT 1/16/2014


We had a full house for our first night at our new Community Dinner location. St. John's Parish Hall has a long tradition of community fellowship, and we're pleased to make this beautiful space part of our story.


HOPE CALLS 1/10/2014 Thanks to Port Hope resident, Peter Gabany of Limelight Advertising, and Toronto Latin Jazz singer, Eliana Cuevas, a new song is being sung that celebrates hope...and was inspired by the Green Wood story. Click on the photo for the story of 'Hope Calls My Name' in Northumberland News (link broken).

THE TURN OF A YEAR 1/4/2014 The turn of the calendar year is always a good time to reflect on the days we've lived and to look ahead at possibilities. 2013 was a year of great significance for all of us in the GWC community, full of challenges, full of new people and opportunities. Here are some visual highlights from the past year's scrapbook:



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DECEMBER 2013


[From the December edition of The Fourth and One Fifth} BY DAVID SHEFFIELD Each year when December rolls around, I’m reminded of the words of Charles Dickens. No, not a line from one of his famous Christmas stories, it’s the opening paragraph of his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, that comes to mind. From my perspective as a Community Outreach Worker spending time with people who live in poverty, this season truly is “the best of times” for some of us and “the worst of times” for too many others.

Whether it’s the expectation of gifts given to children, family re-united, or celebrations around a ta-ble fi lled with plenty, if we’re ever going to hope for something better to happen in our lives, the Christmas season seems to ignite that hope. It must be some sort of universal yearning that causes even the person who’s too jaded to buy into happy ending Christmas specials, to somehow allow themselves a little hope at this time. For anyone living in poverty, the messy realities of life compete with pretty lights and piped-in carols and make for a particularly difficult time. The public excesses of the shopping and feasting season are painful reminders of what’s missing. Poverty comes in variety of packages, and while material poverty is the most immediate, loss of family, community, culture and spirit leave significant empty spaces inside of us. Christmas seems to have the ability to conjure up memories of innocent childhood delight for some, and for others, tragic reminders of abuse, violence and hunger. One December when I was, maybe, 11 or 12, I remember discovering that Richard, a likeable young man that my family had gotten to know, was living in a shed with few warm clothes. The unheated building belonged to some of his relatives, who were doing their best to help him out, but their house was already crowded and they were at the limits of their resources. Family breakdown, lack of employment opportunities and the onset of winter had forced him to take refuge where he could. Although my parents had little to spare, they were able to help out with some warm clothes and food for Richard that winter. But that face-to-face encounter with desperate poverty on my doorstep has stayed with me. I wish I could say that sad stories from my childhood were as distant as a Dickens tale, but I can’t. I’ve recently been working with a man who found himself past middle-age, out of work, without shelter, transportation or phone access. He’d already been living this way for a few months when he asked for help. After we found a single room to rent, it took us another month of navigating the system before he could move into it. Now he’s trying to fi gure out how to get on his feet again with resources of $200/month left, after he pays his rent. Hopefully, this Christmas will feel a little less like “the worst of times” for him. In the course of going out and spending time with people who are disconnected from existing services and living in poverty, not surprisingly, I encounter difficult, and sometimes tragic, stories. But very often, I am equally inspired and up-lifted by caring, sharing individuals in our community who are willing to step outside of their comfort zone to be present with a struggling person. In recent weeks, I’ve seen many people offering time and money in support of their neighbours in a variety of ways. From Coats for Kids to the Salvation Army’s Food Hampers, from The Giving Tree to the Fare Share Food Bank, this community’s generosity is evident at this time of year. If you’re feeling like you want to reach out to some-one living in poverty during this season, there are still opportunities. Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day will be offered in two locations this year, providing a delicious meal to anyone who doesn’t have a better place to be on Christmas. St. Mark’s Anglican Church will be the Port Hope venue, while The Salvation Army Church will host the Cobourg dinner. Volunteers and donations are needed to make all of this happen. Since buying a good winter coat is often a luxury for many, Green Wood Coalition, the outreach organization that I work with, is holding a One Warm Coat drive through December. One Warm Coat is dedicated to collecting and distributing clean, gently used winter coats--free of charge and without discrimination—directly to children and adults in our area. Coats may be dropped off at two locations, 93 Walton St., Port Hope and at Frank’s Pasta & Grill, 426 King St., E., Cobourg. To get further details or make a financial donation, visit greenwoodcoalition.com.Whether we are in a position to help out materially or not, we all have the ability to acknowledge the existence of another person with a smile and eye contact. A small gesture can lessen the loneliness that is as much a part of this season as twinkling lights. Let’s hope for a Christmas season that isn’t “the worst of times” for anyone.


We are saddened to announce that our beloved Jeannie Irving passed away this week after a battle with cancer. Jeannie worked tirelessly with us since the early days of Green Wood Coalition, taking on the roles of community dinner coordinator and board member. For all of us who knew Jeannie, many pictures come to mind to paint the portrait of a joyful, empathetic, generous, and always, energetic spirit.She will be remembered as a beautiful woman who did so much, and loved even more. Jeannie has left the best kind of mark on this community. Details for her funeral on Tuesday, December 17 at 2:00 pm are posted at rossfuneralchapel.com.




Board member, Kelly Ambrose, shares a moment of remembering Jeannie that touched her this week: Putting up the GWC Christmas tree with some Trinity College School students became a lovely thing today. After assembling it, we quickly realized that it was was sorely lacking, and needed some Christmas decorations. After looking for decorations in the basement we tried to be creative, found some hair clips, earrings, feathers..made a few out of some craft supplies on hand. Still it looked pretty forlorn. We considered going across the street to the Big Sisters Thrift Store to see if they had any decorations to sell, when a lady with a big smile appeared at the front door with a tentative knock. She brought in a big bag of Christmas decorations and said, "These are for Green Wood. A few weeks ago Jean Irving packed them up to bring them over for you." What a lovely experience to think about Jeannie doing this for us. And the best part of all is the beautiful angel that we placed at the top for her to look down on us with love. We are still saying thank you to Jeannie for her blessings. We miss you so, Jeannie.




NO TRUE FREEDOM 12/6/2013 With the death of Nelson Mandela earlier this week, his many words of wisdom, borne of hardship, are being remembered. He had some strong words for poverty. Mandela called freedom from poverty a “fundamental human right.” He considered poverty one of the greatest evils in the world, and spoke out against inequality everywhere. “Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times — times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation — that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils,” he said. He considered ending poverty a basic human duty: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life,” he said. “While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”


Watercolor by Paul Lovering


10 THINGS ABOUT POVERTY IN CANADA 12/3/2013 In 1993, the UN designated October 17 the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and later adopted the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as the core of its Millennium Development Goals. The theme for this year is "Working together towards a world without discrimination: Building on the experience and knowledge of people in extreme poverty." To mark the day, here are some things about poverty in Canada that you might not know: https://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-poverty-in-canada



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