Medavie Foundation Grants IWSO $80,000
Medavie Foundation supports Children Who Witness Violence with a Grant of $80,000
Medavie Foundation supports Children Who Witness Violence with a Grant of $80,000
Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health Directs $80,000 to Immigrant Women Services Ottawa
TD Bank offers a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help you save for your children's future education in a tax-efficient way.
I was considering volunteer work after retirement I wanted to “help”, but I also wanted to step outside the academic environment and learn something new as well as to feel part of a team working together towards a common goal.
Due to concerns about fake letters of acceptance, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) now requires Designated Learning Institutions to verify the letters of acceptance submitted by study permit applicants. The biggest change is the cap on the number of study permit applications that IRCC will approve this year and in coming years.
Irma Bailey, Administrative Assistant at IWSO, shared her perspective of change at IWSO at the July 9, 2024, staff meeting
The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September 10, 2024 - at 6:00 pm
Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO) is proud to announce the successful completion of its Leadership for Systemic Change project funded by Women And Gender Equality (WAGE).
It’s been over a year now since I began volunteering as a French teacher for IWSO. My virtual class provides students of all levels of French with a place to practice their French grammar and conversation skills once a week.
Saving money is a crucial habit that can help preserve and grow wealth. As we work and earn a living, it is important to try and set a portion of our earnings aside to help meet our financial goals, like buying a car or home, having an emergency fund for unexpected expenses and changing life stages.
Melissa Elizabeth Eberly, immigration and family lawyer with Gibson Piazza Anders, discusses upcoming changes to the Citizenship Act concerning Lost Canadians.
Take your first step into your future career in the sewing sector
March 31, 2024, marks the end of this very important two year project between IWSO and Women and Gender Equity (WAGE).
“In every religion there is a saying, good deeds bring goodness and happiness, and that was my belief too.” Maryam Habib shares her experience volunteering with IWSO
Heather shares her story of why she & her friends support IWSO
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation supports Children Who Witness Violence with a donation of $20,000
"I Am Resilience: Rewriting My Journey from Sorrow to Triumph"
The Leadership for Systemic Change- Let your voice count, project is progressing well and we are in the process of now recruiting Cohort #3 that will begin in early 2024
An Article Contributed by Ada Tony-Ilebor, Branch Manager, TD Canada Trust
Melissa Elizabeth Eberly, immigration lawyer with Paolucci Law, answers your question, “how long will it take for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to Process my Application?”
Now recruiting for cohort 3!
Annual General Meeting October 24, 2023 Tuesday at 6:00 pm
In the last newsletter, we reported that we were back on track with the Leadership for systemic change project, after a few months of hiatus.
Marieann Thottungal, is a part-time administrative assistant with IWSO. She also devotes her time as a volunteer helping newcomer women study and prepare for their citizenship exams. Marieann shares her story about why she was drawn to IWSO and the satisfaction she receives helping the immigrant and racialized women we serve.
I have been volunteering with Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO) as a yoga instructor since January 2023. I provide weekly, online yoga classes that include a combination of hatha and vinyasa flows, as well as restorative yin sessions.
Every time my family brought up leaving Syria to come to Canada, I was the only one in my family who refused to even thinking about it. Every time I thought about leaving my university, friends, and the youth students I was teaching, I felt anxious about the new journey and starting from scratch. I also felt very sad about leaving my neighbourhood and the house I had lived in for 21 years. However, living in a place without hope for better living standards, good employment opportunities and freedom was quite hard and unrealistic.
Colombian Empanadas are a popular snack or appetizer in Colombia and are served by most Colombian restaurants in the United States with ají sauce
If you have recently applied to sponsor your family members through a family class sponsorship, or if you are planning on doing so, new IRCC measures may apply to you and your family.
Hosted By Immigrant Women Services Ottawa In Partnership with Integrated Legal Services Ottawa
Leadership for Systemic Change Project Update The Leadership for Systemic Change Project is recruiting for cohort #2!
I am a student at a designated learning institution in Canada and want to apply for a post-graduation work permit. What do I need to know?
Financial fraud and scams have serious consequences that can affect friends, families, individuals, and our community. Victims often experience financial losses and stress, alongside impacts to their credit scores, confidence and economic stability.
Due to a change in leadership, some activities were put on hold until a replacement was found. We are happy to report our new project manager is Bella Nceke
GAIN KNOWLEDGE AROUND LOSSAND GRIEF SURROUNDINGINTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE 6 WEEK INFORMATION SESSION EVERY TUESDAY FROM 10 AM-12 PM SESSIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED ONSITE LED BY JOSEPHINE & EMILY CONTACT: JOSEPHINE@IWSO.CA OR 613-618-4101 FREE CHILDCARE & INTERPRETERS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
The right to food is a fundamental human right. It constitutes a right to survival. Yet, as we continue to hear about the high inflation rates, our ability to access nutritious meals, and meeting that human right, is becoming impossible.
Ottawa, ON – 2023. Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO) recognized a significant donation of $10,000 from Unifor’s Social Justice Fund.
Leadership Building Activities Flier: Training - Networking - Mentorship - Placement
My name is Odette Laurin and I started volunteering at Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO) in July 2019. I had been retired for a couple of years and I wanted to get involved with an organisation that was helping women. I have always been sensitive about the condition of women and how they are so often unfairly treated.
JOIN US FOR OUR ENGLISH CONVERSATION CIRCLES
You are welcome to drop in for free milk for your children on Thursdays 9:00 am to 5:00 pm starting March 16, 2023
Kayou-Marie, an International Student who came to Canada in August 2019, shares her settlement story with IWSO.
Celina Bernal from Mexico make Canada her home. Celina shares her settlement story of arriving to Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Ada Tony-Ilebor; In late 2022, the Canadian Government announced the introduction of the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA). When I heard this news, it immediately brought back memories of how I began saving for a down payment to buy my first home, and how I used monies that I had saved in my Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to make my purchase.
Pathways to Permanent Residence for Spouses or Common-Law Partners of Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents living in Canada
Building Resilience Workshop Via Zoom 6 Week workshop via zoom beginning February 22nd
Subscribe to our Newsletter First Name * Last Name * Email (Primary) * Submit Immigrant Women Services Ottawa219 Argyle Avenue,…
Ottawa, ON – January 4, 2023… Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO), today announced that the Harry P. Ward Foundation has graciously donated $2500 to strengthen and expand IWSO’s support group for Immigrant and Racialized women to help them break the cycle of violence.
Each year, many people immigrate to Canada to start a new life. Immigrating to Canada is a big step and if you have funds available to bring with you from your home country, it can be very helpful for necessities like food, accommodations, and clothing. The question is, how do you transfer these funds to Canada in a safe manner?
Josephine Nakato Basudde is the Manager of Crisis Intervention and Counseling Services at IWSO
In July of this year, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (the IRB) came out with its new and improved guidelines for gender-based considerations. This new guide greatly improves on its predecessor by broadening what qualifies as gender-based discrimination to encompass sexual orientation and all gender identities; addresses how other grounds for discrimination and persecution intersect with gender; and finally provides guidance to decision makers on assessing credibility and conducting hearings with individuals who have suffered gender-based trauma.
Ruth MacKenzie - Board Member
Ruth’s career in the charitable sector spans 30+ years and the local, national and global levels. She is currently the President & CEO of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), and Executive Director of the CAGP Foundation, national organizations that inspire and strengthen philanthropy in Canada. Prior to CAGP, Ruth was the president & CEO of Volunteer Canada.
Ruth is also a committed volunteer, and has served on many boards and committees at the national and international level. She served on the Governor General’s Volunteer and Philanthropy Advisory Committee from 2012-2015, and currently is the Chair of the Board of CanadaHelps. In 2015 Ruth was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in acknowledgement of her impact on
volunteerism, and received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award in 2020.
Mechthild Meyer - Past Board Chair
Mechthild's work with other immigrant women in Ottawa dates back 31 years, when she became the coordinator of OCISO's Immigrant Women's Centre. The lack of services for abused immigrant women at that time led her (together with Lucya Spencer and Alma Estable) to spearhead an advocacy initiative that led to the creation of what is now known as IWSO.
Her commitment to women's equality, anti-racism, and social justice issues inspired many community-based research and training projects, as the co-principal in a social science consulting firm (Gentium Consulting, since 1989). She has implemented numerous public health, social research and evaluation studies for the non-profit sector and for all levels of government.
For 15 years she also was a member of the qualitative research team at the Community Health Research Unit (CHRU), University of Ottawa, co-authoring many publications and conference presentations. Currently, she is Gentium's lead researcher in two developmental evaluation projects for Canadian national women's organizations focusing on the prevention of violence against young women (cyberviolence; sexual exploitation).
Mechthild is the proud mother of three grown-up children, a son and two daughters, who as young children were dragged to many immigrant women's community meetings. She plays in two community music groups (an orchestra and a big band), and loves to ski and canoe in the Canadian wilderness.
Mechthild has a Masters degree in Counselling from the University of Western Ontario and holds a teaching degree (Political Science, Physical Education) from the University of Hamburg, Germany. She also completed training in peer-counselling. She recently finished a Certificate in E-Learning at the University of Toronto.
Juliet Woodfield, CPA, CA
Board Member, Vice-President, Finance & Human Resources and Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Woodfield joined DCC's Executive Management Team in September 2016. She brings more than 20 years of public and private sector experience, and was most recently the Vice-President, Corporate Services and CFO at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
She has worked with a variety of government organizations and has also served as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program in Brussels, Belgium.
She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary.
She has two daughters at university. She volunteers at the Ottawa Catholic Immigration Services of Ottawa as a career mentor for new Canadians and at the Immigrant Women Services Ottawa as a Board member (Treasurer).
Lori-Ann McDonald - Member
Lori-Ann McDonald is a Registered Social Worker, currently working as a Counsellor for Sexual Assault survivors and as a Women's Advocate at a local Domestic Violence shelter. Lori-Ann is an immigrant from Jamaica, now citizen of Canada who moved here with her family. Over the years, Lori-Ann has been gaining experience in the non-profit world with various agencies serving different populations.
She is a hard worker and even more caring person who seeks to see women living their best lives without fear of violence or anything unsafe.