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TRANSCRIPT
Tourette Canada Newsletter November 2018
NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Final Message From Ramona Jennex - President of the Board of Directors -
This will be my last message as the President of the Board. I conclude my term at the AGM this month. (November 20th). At that time we will be welcoming the 2018-2019 Board (I will serve on the Board in the Past President position.)
I conclude my term with gratitude. I have been privileged to work with a dedicated Board, amazing staff and awesome volunteers to strength and grow Tourette Canada. I have been enriched by the many people who have shared their lives with me. I am truly honoured.
I am looking forward to working with the 2018-2019 Board and continuing to do what I can to be of service to Tourette Canada. I am also really looking forward to the Conference in 2019 and I hope to meet many of you in person.
With gratitude,
Ramona
“Employable Me” season 2 is finally here! Employable Me Canada season 2 began on September 14th. On October 5th, the second season's fourth episode featured a member of Tourette
Canada, Lucia Marchinatto. We are very proud of our member, Lucia, for agreeing to being featured on this episode, and being one of the many voices of
Tourette Canada that have been featured in the series thus far. Watch Lucia’s episode on AMI-tv or online here: https://www.ami.ca/category/employable-me/media/gavin-
and-lucia
Securities and mutual fund donations are a strategic way to help your favourite charity make a bigger impact! Did you know that when you donate securities or mutual funds, there are benefits for BOTH you and your favourite charities? By donating securities you can:
• Eliminate the capital gains tax; • Get a larger tax receipt; and • Donate more to your favourite charity!
At CanadaHelps we guide you through the process and make it easy. Plus, you can donate to ANY registered Canadian charity and give to one or many charities in a single transaction. Don’t Miss Out: The deadline for a 2018 securities tax receipt is December 17th, 2018.*
Announcements
Notice of Annual General Meeting of TOURETTE SYNDROME FOUNDATION OF CANADA
Operating as Tourette Canada
According to Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada (TFSC) By-laws Section 10, to vote at the Annual General Meeting, individuals must be members in good standing for a minimum of 45 days
prior to the AGM (November 20, 2018).
Dear Member of Tourette Canada:
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the members of Tourette Canada. This meeting will be held VIA TELECONFERENCE on Tuesday, November 20th 2018 and is scheduled to commence at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
In order to attend the meeting, kindly RSVP to [email protected] will be emailed instructions on how to join the teleconference call and documents for the meeting
The purpose of the meeting is to:1.Approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held Saturday, November 21st 20172.Receive the Annual Report;3.Approve the Audited Financial Statements for Fiscal 2017-2018; 4.Appoint the Auditors for the 2018--2019 fiscal year;5.Elect such Directors as are to be elected; 6.Ratify the Acts of the Board of Directors for fiscal year 2017-2018;7.Attend to the transaction of such other business which may be properly brought before the meeting.
*For you to be eligible to vote, you must be a member in good standing and you must have purchased your membership prior to October 7th, 2018.
For additional information or assistance, kindly contact the Executive Director at [email protected] or 1-800-361-3120.
By Order of the Board of Directors
AGM 2018 Announcement The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on the 20th of
November, 2018
We are excited to announce that Tourette Canada will be partnering with Camp Maple Leaf to once again offer a traditional summer camp experience to our children and youth. Camp sTiC Together will be offered the last week of August 2019 (Sunday August 25th-Friday August 30th). To meet our financial commitment for 2019, we will need to step up our fund-raising efforts.
We are grateful to those affiliates who have made a financial commitment to Camp 2019:
Montreal * Peterborough * Muskoka Hamilton-Halton Niagara * Greater-Toronto Area * Ottawa
Camp is not possible without affiliate support.
We would also like to thank Cindy McLean our Peterborough Contact Rep. Cindy is the camp sTiC Together chair and it is because of Cindy’s persistence and fundraising efforts that we are once again able to offer this amazing opportunity. It truly takes a village.
Thank you to the Winnipeg Chapter and all of it’s volunteers. Winnipeg has taken on the task of planning, organizing and implementing all facets of our 2019 National Conference. We are grateful that you are willing and able to make this happen for the TS community.
Responding to tics An excerpt from Chapter 5 in Understanding Tourette syndrome: A Handbook for Families. Purchase the handbook on our website to read more!
The best possible response you can make to most of your child tics is to ignore them. Ideally, tics should become part of the atmosphere in the household, and as such, they should go unnoticed.
This atmosphere is not always easy to achieve. It helps if you can understand the tics from your child's perspective.
Think of the last time you had a cold. Your nose was probably so stuffed up that you were sniffing and snuffing in an effort to breathe. You may have had a tickle in your throat as well, and kept coughing or clearing your throat to make the tickle go away. Now imagine every time you sniffed, clear your throat, or coughed, someone told you to “stop it”. How annoying would that be? You didn't get the cold on purpose, and you were not trying to bother the peoples around you with your symptoms. In fact it is hard to even imagine that someone would expect you to stop. Even if you could control the symptoms for a while, you would not be able to keep the symptoms completely at bay.
That is what it can be like to have TS. Simply telling your child to stop will not make the symptoms go away, anymore than someone telling you to stop having a cold will make a cold go away.
Many parents feel compelled to try to stop tics that they think are going to draw attention to their child, stop her from making friends or otherwise be a detriment in her social situations. Though well-meaning, this type of emphasis on stopping tics can result in damage to your child's self-esteem.
Rather than try to hide or minimize your child's tics, you will have better success if you put your focus on helping your child and leaving most tics alone. A child with high self-esteem who experiences acceptance from her family and those around her will be able to cope with her symptoms.
Here are some strategies for helping you and your child cope with tics:
‣ Try not to comment on a tic, or even grimace in response to it. Siblings should also learn to ignore the tics.
‣ Have open discussions about tics and other symptoms. You want your child to be able to let you know about her new tics, about whether they are causing her a problem, and about her feelings concerning the changes in her symptoms.
‣‣ Use tic redirection or other
techniques only for tics that are a health or safety concern or that are self injurious. Older children and teenagers can decide for themselves whether to put effort into redirecting tics that are a social problem.
‣‣ Do not punish your child for a tic.
You are punishing something that your child can't help doing.
‣‣ If your child tics are imposing on
others in the family, problem solve collaboratively so she can learn to be considerate of others.
‣‣ Model acceptance. If others see
you are making faces, being distracted, or asking your child to stop, they will react in a similar manner.
Thank you to Shawn Forth from Muskoka, Ontario. Please follow Muskoka Resource Unit's Facebook page to learn more about how you can get involved!
Thank you to Jennie Agnew from Waterloo-Wellington , Ontario. Please follow Please follow Waterloo-Wellington Resource Unit's Facebook page to learn more about how you can get involved!
Thank you to Melissa C. Water from Montreal, Quebec Resource Unit. Please email Melissa to stay updated on what's happening in the resource unit!
It is with great sadness that we announce that those involved in the Calgary Resource Unit had to step back to regroup. As a result, they are temporarily disbanding the Resource Unit. However, Tourette Canada still wants to
provide resources and information to whoever needs us in the Calgary area. If you are interested in becoming a Contact Rep please contact Jaslen Noorpuri at [email protected].
We would like to give a huge shoutout to Steve Colle and Adrien Hill from Calgary, Alberta and everyone else involved in the Calgary Resource Unit for all of their hard work. You can still follow Calgary Resource Unit's Facebook Group here!
We would like to recognize the following Resource Units for their hard work in running their region for Tourette Canada and putting on the programs and events that will help raise awareness for Tourette syndrome in the regions of:
Hamilton-Halton NiagaraThe Hamilton Halton Niagara (HHN) Chapter is desperately searching for volunteers as they cannot run without the support of dedicated individuals pitching in together. HHN Chapter President Sophia Dix with the help of Support Group Facilitator Jessie V has been solely managing all Chapter duties. The HHN Chapter needs more hands on deck in organizing and implanting support groups and community events. If you want to give back to the TS Community, the HHN Chapter is recruiting volunteers in the following areas: *Advertisement of Community of Events, Support Groups, Meetings and more *Community Outreach *Fundraising *Assisting with Social Media Accounts (ie Facebook etc) *Trek for Tourette Coordinators (support and guidance will be offered) *Camp sTiC together Committee members *Assist with Special Projects such as, but not limited to, resource fairs, liasoning with medical professionals, helping with our newest endeavor: a joint project with the McMaster University DeGroote School of Business which could secure us with a $5000 donation If you are able to even take on a small portion of the listed tasks, we welcome your help. Reach out to Home Office ([email protected]) and/or Sophia Dix ([email protected] ) on Facebook (Tourette Canada-Hamilton Halton Niagara Chapter), if you are interested and wanting to join the team. We would appreciate your time! Please contact Jaslen Noorpuri at Home Office at 1 (800) 361-3120, or check Hamilton Halton Niagara out on Facebook here.
Calgary
We are looking for an individual or individuals who are interested in being a Contact Rep for the Calgary area. Contact Jaslen at [email protected].
LondonWe are looking for volunteers to help support London Chapter bingo nights. Please contact Linda Johnson for more details at [email protected].
VancouverWe are looking for volunteers to assist in servicing the Vancouver region. Please contact Jaslen’s email at [email protected] or Kayla Lay at [email protected] or by calling the Home Office at 1-800-361-3120
Call For Volunteers!! All of our Affiliates could use your help! If you are interested and
able to dedicate your time, please reach out to your closest affiliate and/or Home Office ([email protected]) or
Announcement Regarding Trek Coordinators
We are looking for Trek coordinators. We want to be able to support the people who work so hard to run our successful Treks. To do this, we need your support. We are looking to find people who can help our current coordinators. As the saying goes, “many hands make light work.” Some of our coordinators have been running whole treks on their own. We would like to find people who would be willing to help out. We also have locations that need a volunteer to take on the running of a trek. Take some time to think about the way you might be able to contribute. Trek is our only national fundraiser and we want it to be successful, but we don't want this to happen at the expense of our treasured volunteers. We want to make sure that locations that need support, have it. Please contact Simon Spencer, Communications Coordinator at [email protected] for more details.
Head office contact information Tourette Canada’s office hours are on Monday to Thursday, from 9 am to 4:30 pm, eastern standard time.
5955 Airport Rd – Suite #245 Mississauga, Ontario
Canada L4V 1R9
Telephone: 905-673-2255 Toll Free: 1-800-361-312 Email: [email protected]
Find us @TouretteCanada
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