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MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TERRI GRAY
Spring ~ A Season of Renewal, Growth, and Gratitude
Dear CLOC Friends,
Spring is a time of renewal—a season that brings fresh energy, new beginnings, and the opportunity to grow. As the world around us awakens, we too embrace this spirit of transformation within our organization.
First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our dedicated employees, volunteers, and community partners. Your commitment and passion continue to uplift the people we support, fostering inclusion, independence, and belonging. Your contributions make a profound impact, and for that, we thank you.
This season, we celebrate growth in many forms:
🌱 Renewed Commitment: We continue to enhance our programs to empower people with developmental disabilities, ensuring they have opportunities to thrive in their communities.
🏡 Growing Opportunities: Our focus is on evolving and expanding our fee for service options, and exploring the opportunity to provide more inclusive, accessible living spaces for those we serve and others impacted by the housing crisis.
🤝 Strengthening Connections: We remain dedicated to advocacy, awareness, and community partnerships that help create a more inclusive society.
As we welcome this season of change and renewal, let’s embrace the possibilities ahead. With gratitude for your continued support, we look forward to all that we can achieve together.
Wishing you a spring filled with hope, growth, and joy.
Sincerely,
Terri Gray
Executive Director
| | Employee Appreciation Event | | CLOC's Leadership Team is cooking up some fun to show our employees how much we appreciated them! The team is serving up Breakfast and Breakfast for Dinner for our employees, so all employees have an opportunity to attend. If you are a CLOC employee and would like to attend either the 8:30am - 10:30am, OR the 4pm - 6pm appreciation event, please RSVP to Evelyn at ehensman@communitylivingoc.ca by Thursday April 3rd. Be sure to identify any dietary restrictions when you RSVP. | | |
By becoming a member of CLOC you are showing your support of the agency, and it's Mission, Vision and Values.
Membership with Community Living Oshawa/Clarington keeps you updated on current developments and news affecting people living with developmental disabilities in Durham Region and Ontario. Membership is also vital to the work of CLOC, our ability to provide high quality services, to fundraise and to maintain connection with our stakeholders. With a strong and active membership, the future of Community Living’s services is guaranteed for years to come.
Membership is FREE
| | The Phoenix Group of Advocates Is On Fire! | | |
In May of 2024, members of CLOC's Phoenix Group of Advocates, along with the Group's facilitator Jen Mann, made a delegation to speak with Oshawa's Accessibility Committee about their personal experiences with accessibility in the City. During their passionate presentation, the Group's representative shared stories about difficulties experienced by members when businesses and buildings are not physically accessible or welcoming to people who have developmental disabilities. The Phoenix Group concluded their presentaton with an offer to assist the City with broadening their work on accessibility, suggesting that the City develop a system that would identify businesses that are fully accessible via a self-identification process that would result in a simple window sticker being issued for people to easily identify.
Fast forward a few months, and CLOC was approached by the City of Oshawa to partner on National AccessAbility Week (May 25 - 31) projects. Currently, CLOC is gathering videos, quotes and photos that illustate how people with developmental disabilities feel when they are included (or not included) in their community. These can come from people with lived experience, family members, support workers, or anyone else who has witnessed the impact of inclusion (or lack of inclusion) in the community. Videos, quotes and photos will be used in a joint social media campaign for NAAW, and on posters around the city. See below for more details on how to get involved!
| | National AccessAbility Week Partnership | | |
SHARE YOUR VOICE! TIMELINE EXTENDED
Get involved in the joint CLOC/City of Oshawa Media Campaign for National AccessAbility Week!
Are you a person supported by CLOC, a family member/caregiver or CLOC employee? We want YOU to submit a quote or brief statement about how you (or the person you care about) feels when accepted and included in the community. You can also tell us what you would like to happen in the community that would make you (or the person you care about) feel more accepted and included. Your quote/statement may be used in the upcoming joint media campaign partnership between CLOC and the City of Oshawa for National Accessibility Week 2025.
You can submit as many quotes/statements as you would like by no later than April 8, 2025. Send to Marnie at: msalonius@communitylivingoc.ca
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Here's how YOU can get involved:
- Make a video independently or at CLOC's main office
- Submit a quote or statement
Submissions are due April 8, 2025.
We're here to help! If you have questions, or need assistance with your submission, please contact Marnie at msalonius@communitylivingoc.ca
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Intentional Community Consortium
& Housing Feasibility Study
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CLOC recently became a member of the Intentional Community Consortium, a not-for-profit, representing organizations working to solve the housing crisis for those with developmental disabilities across Canada by:
- Using scale and shared learning from our member organizations
- Expanding affordable housing projects for mixed use with a preference to build multi-units projects of 20-units or more
- Combining the strength of our member organizations resulting in creating hundreds of housing units throughout Canada
- Creating a consortium advocacy approach to all levels of Government
Members of the ICC are dedicated to helping meet the growing demand for accessible supportive housing in Ontario.
As a result of this new affiliation, the Consortium is supporting CLOC to explore possible development of our main office property, to include affordable and accessible housing options for people with developmental disabilities and those with low to modest incomes.
This project is in very early days. CLOC is in the process of applying for a grant to fund environmental scans, to determine if the property is suitable to move into the next stage of exploration. Stakeholders will be updated as new information is received.
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Closure of Employment Services -
Meeting with MPP Lorne Coe
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At the end of February, CLOC, along with many other Developmental Service providers, was forced to close it's Employment Services department. This issue was highlighted in a February article for The Trillium, which including a quote from CLOC's Executive Director, Terri Gray. Click HERE to read The Trillium article.
Subsequently, CLOC sent a letter to local MPPs to advise them of the closure and the gaps that it will create in the employment experiences of people with developmental disabilities. MPP Lorne Coe has responded to this letter and met with Executive Director, Terri Gray, on April 2nd to discuss the issue.
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VANDERMEER NURSERY SPRING FLOWERS SALE TO BENEFIT CLOC
Anyone who purchased last year can tell you – these planters are spectacular (and HUGE)!!! Ready for pick up right before Easter Weekend. These flowers would make a great Easter or hostess gift! Orders due April 4, 2025.
Questions and order forms can be submitted to Marnie at msalonius@communitylivingoc.ca.
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COMING SOON - VIRTUAL AUCTION
CLOC is busy preparing for its 2nd Virtual Auction, taking place from May 17 to 31, 2025. Currently we are seeking items for the auction. Do you or someone you know have something to donate? Contact Marnie at msalonius@communitylivingoc.ca.
| | Privacy Risk Assessment Project | | For the past 4 months, CLOC has hosted a Trent University Masters of Management student, who has been completing a Privacy Risk Assessment - an analysis of how personally identifiable information is handled to ensure compliance with appropriate regulations, determine the privacy risks associated with information systems or activities, and evaluate ways to reduce the privacy risks for the organization. This analysis, and the framework developed to complete it, will ensure that CLOC has a scale against which we can assess ourselves on a regular basis in the future, to ensure that we remain in compliance with privacy regulations. | | | | |
Do you have an interest in empowering people with developmental disabilities to have inclusive lives in their communities?
Working for CLOC might be the right fit for you!
CLOC has many job opportunities available.
| | CLOC is seeking applicants for it's Board of Directors, Board Committees and Fundraising Cabinet. | | Congratulations to Dana, who is supported through CLOC's Children's Services, on her 2025 OSSTF Student Achievement Award in Visual Arts! Dana illustrated the storybook “The Moon Story” by Alicia Belvedere and Leanne Milech, about a young boy who has trouble fitting in on earth and ends up becoming friends with aliens on the moon. His new friendships give him confidence and self-esteem for when he returns to earth. Check out the article at Durham Radio News. Dana's video interview can be found at the same link, and begins at 6:08. Photo courtesy of the Durham Radio News website. | | |
Did you know that you can donate to CLOC at any time of year?
CLOC needs your support now, more than ever, to continue our mission to provide opportunities for meaningful citizenship for people with developmental disabilities in the community.
Your donations help to fund:
Quality of Life: focuses on community involvement, health, safety, respite care, augmented communication, experiences, and providing further personalized opportunities for inclusion within the community.
Bricks & Mortar: focuses on ensuring that people live in safe homes that are adapted to their needs, including repairs and maintenance, accessibility features such as lifts and ramps, retrofitting and fire & safety.
Did You Know? You can designate your donation to be used at a particular CLOC location or program, or to be used toward specific items (such as art supplies, music therapy, animal therapy, etc). Leave us a note when you donate, and we will do the rest!
HOW TO DONATE
Donating is easy!
By Phone: 905-576-3011 - ask to speak with the Finance Department
By Mail: Sent your donation to: Community Living Oshawa/Clarington
39 Wellington Avenue East Oshawa, Ontario L1H3Y1
By eTransfer: Send via Craig Nighbor (cnighbor@communitylivingoc.ca). In the notes, please indicate 'General Donation'. If you would like a receipt, or to designate your donation to a particular location or program, you will need to email Craig with your full name, address and phone number, along with the designation.
CanadaHelps: Visit CLOC's CanadaHelps page by clicking HERE . Your receipt will be issued immediately via email.
Monthly Giving: Monthly Giving can be set up through contacting CLOC's Finance Department at the number above, or through the CanadaHelps website.
Donate In Tribute: Mark a special occasion, holiday or simply to say thanks. Tributes are also a meaningful way to commemorate the life of a loved one. When you make a gift in honour of a friend or loved one we will send an acknowledgement card to the recipient. Tribute donations can also be arranged when making funeral arrangements.
Legacy Gifts: Leaving a gift to Community Living Oshawa/Clarington in your will is a simple, thoughtful way of providing a secure future for people with a developmental disability. You will want to discuss the considerations of a planned gift with your lawyer or financial planner.
Thank you for your generous support!
| | CLOC's New Strategic Plan 2024 - 2028 | | Did you miss CLOC's new Strategic Plan in our Decemeber Newsletter? You can find the document on our website! | | |
April is Sikh Heritage Month & Autism Awareness Month.
April 2nd - Autism Awareness Day
April 7th - World Health Day
April 9th - Vimy Ridge Day
April 22nd - Earth Day
April 23rd - Administrative Professionals Day
April 27th to May 3rd - National Volunteer Week
| | This Newsletter is for Sharing! | | If you, or someone you know, would like to receive CLOC's Quarterly Newsletter Around the CLOC, directly to your inbox, please send your name and email address to Marnie Salonius at msalonius@communitylivingoc.ca, with the subject 'Newsletter List'. | | Connect and get the latest in news from CLOC by checking out our Social Media pages. Click below to transport to CLOC's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube profiles, along with CLOC's website. | |
STAY CONNECTED with SOCIAL MEDIA | | | | |
