SOUTH EAST COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 1 Issue 4 April 2010

The Harmonized Sales Tax

By Noelle Fletcher

Family and Individual Advocate

What will this mean for people on OW and ODSP Beginning July 1 the two taxes we pay in Ontario (GST amp PST) will be combined into one tax the HST Everyone will pay tax on some items amp services that they did not pay tax on in the past therefore some things will cost more

You will no longer be receiving a GST rebate However there are some other tax changes that will help make up for the new sales tax people will be paying There will be new sales and property tax credits that will result in a credit that will be paid 4 times a year starting in July and a onetime transitional benefit that will be paid in 3 installments The only way you will receive these benefits is if you filed a 2009 tax return

For more information on filing your tax return contact the Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre and ask for a list of the Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinics

For more information about the HST visit the Ontario governmentrsquos website at httprevgovoncaentaxchangefamilieshtml Information from the Income Security Advocacy Centre March 2010

Is Local Politics Important

Are you passionate about sharing your energy and vision for our community

Do you want to impact the community where

you live

Do you want your communityrsquos voice to be heard

Do you have ideas for how we can make our city better together Is there something in your community that you would like to speak up about Do you feel that the City of London Council represents you and your family If you are looking for answers to your questions or interested in learning how you can become more involved in local politics (maybe even become a Council Member) please join us for an information session about the up-coming city elections Meet with the candidates for London City Council for Ward 1 and Ward 14 the people who want to represent you for the next three years They will be explaining the political process answering your questions and listening to your concerns so they know whatrsquos important to you We will be serving snacks and refreshments Get involved and help make this City a place that you are proud to live

Saturday May 1st at Glen Cairn Community

Resource Centre 150 King Edward Ave

A Publication of Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

City Elections Harmonized Sales Tax Childrenrsquos Program Update Calendar of events Messages from your candidates for City Councilor

wwwgccrcca

FAMILY MATH

Join your child for some fun as they learn about math and

prepare for school Your child will learn simple math such

as patterns adding subtracting and shapes as you play

games and create together

For children ages 3 12-6

To register please contact Noelle 519-668-2745

FAMILY MATH

Join your child for some fun as they learn about math and

prepare for school Your child will learn simple math such

as patterns adding subtracting and shapes as you play

games and create together

For children ages 3 12-6

To register please contact Noelle 519-668-2745

Messages from Local Candidates for City Councilor Ward 14

Candidate Jared Zaifman - My name is Jared Zaifman and I am a proud Londoner having lived here my entire life I am a UWO graduate and have been working for my familyrsquos business ever since In that time I have witnessed the effects of the recession and the difficulties of trying to provide jobs Beginning my career when London was facing its toughest times has provided me with the tools to deal with the worst so that we can strengthen London and forge ahead to realize our cityrsquos potential Todayrsquos problems cannot be solved by yesterdayrsquos answers I will bring the energy and fresh approaches necessary to bolster our community and move London forward towards a new era of prosperity

Candidate Sandy White - As an experienced City Councilor Sandy White demonstrated the necessary qualities to make a difference in London Sandy is a social worker with her Masterrsquos Degree and has put her experience working with children and families to good use When parents in Ward 14 told her their kids needed a safe place to play and learn Sandy worked to build a splash pad at Southeast Optimist Park where today kids have a cool place to play She also worked to start the Family Networks program which has proven to help families while saving tax dollars Sandy champions all levels of business knows that a vibrant growing and engaged city needs a strong arts community and she understands the importance of preserving our cityrsquos heritage She has been a friend of labour and understands the needs of workers and made the London Cares program a priority Working to bring jobs to London and helping families is just the starting line Sandy is knowledgeable hard working dedicated and unafraid to do the right thing Sandy is a strong voice for Londoners

Jeff Preston - On May 5th 2008 Jeff Preston set off in his electric wheelchair from the steps of City Hall on a 650km marathon across the province to raise awareness about the lack of accessibility in Ontario Accomplishing his mission 42 days later Jeff stated ldquoThis may be the end of the March but it is just the beginning of the journeyrdquo Because Jeff believes London can be so much more than it currently is and believes the people of London deserve the very best Jeff decided he had to do something to give back to the city that has given him so much It is for these reasons that Jeff announced his candidacy for City Councilor in Ward 14 Together we can get people moving

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

MEET WITH THE CANDIDATES FOR LONDON CITY

COUNCIL FOR WARD 1 AND WARD

Place Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre When May 1st from 100 pm to 330 pm Join us to hear the thoughts and to ask questions of those candidates who want to represent you on City Council

COMMUNITY DINNER

Place Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre When APRIL 19TH

5 PM TO 7 PM COMMUNITY DINNER FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY COME OUT AND ENJOY A SPRING FEAST

ACORNS AND OAK TREES

PLACE GLEN CAIRN COMMUNITY RESOURCE

CENTRE

WHEN ARIL 15TH 2010 AT 1 PM

An intergenerational program that brings together

seniors and children from the community The

group gathers each month to engage in a variety

of activities that help foster the relationship

between the two generations For more

information contact Sean at 519-668-2745

Holy Trinity Anglican Church ndash Free Bread

Holy Trinity is giving away free bread on Wednesday mornings from 10 ndash 12 noon

wwwgccrcca

FAMILY MATH Join your child for some fun as they learn about math and

prepare for school Your child will learn simple math such as

patterns adding subtracting and shapes as you play games and

create together For children ages 3 12-6

To register please contact Noelle 519-668-2745

Weekly take home activities amp prizes available to win

Thursdays April 1-May

6

10-12

wwwgccrcca

Childrenrsquos Program - March Break Camp

From March 15th to March 19th Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre was host to a busy fun-filled week of March Break Camp Over 30 children ranging from 5 to 13 years of age spent the week doing crafts playing games and activities going on trips and even had an exciting visitor The week began with a MedievalDragon themed day Kids got a glimpse of medieval times by making shields and sock dragons crowns and yarn vases and then walked to C C Carrothers Public School for fun and energetic group games including Wizards Giants and Elves dragonrsquos treasure and parachute games In the days ahead children took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked over to the park They took part in fun the old fashioned way playing games of tag perfected their skipping rhymes enjoyed the playground equipment and organized their own games of soccer and football Also on the weekrsquos schedule was a trip to the movies and a day long celebration of St Patrickrsquos Day which included designing and building elaborate traps in the hopes of catching a little Leprechaun The final days of the week included making slime and a visit from The Snake Lady for reptile day and treats and treasures for pirate day Arrgh Altogether the March Break Camp provided both the children and the staff members a fun-filled week of happy memories to keep with them until next year

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month

Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre wants to

thank all of our Volunteers who have contributed

more than 7770 hours of their time to making this

community a healthy and vibrant area of our city

Please make sure you thank a volunteer during the

week of April 19th

to the 25th

or think about

becoming a volunteer yourself

Visit wwwgccrccavolunteer

Ontario Works

The Ontario Works Program provides income and employment assistance for people who are in temporary financial need Glen Cairn Community Resource Center has two Ontario Works Caseworkers that have caseloads made up of people in the Glen Cairn community

Drop In Caseworkers have daily drop in times to support any members in the community that need assistance or information with regards to their Ontario Works file Monday 9-11am and 1-3pm Tuesday 13pm Wednesday No Drop in ndash Caseworkers can be reached by phone only Thursday 9-10am Friday 9-10am

Drop Box There is an Ontario Works drop box located in the main office for all clients to use Mail is sent downtown once daily

Caseworkers F622 Kalyn Ante 519-661-4520 ext 6459 kantelondonca F625 Elizabeth Thomson 519-661-4520 ext 5901 ethomsonlondonca

55+ Trip to Kinsmen Sugar Bush

wwwgccrcca

The Great Mac and Cheese Chalange Last year we challenged 11 organizations and local schools to collect Mac amp Cheese boxes and combined they collected over 2100 boxes This year we are opening up the challenge to the whole community and will have three categories 1 Schools 2 BusinessesNon Profits 3 Community Groups How the Challenge Works

o May 3rd 2010 to May 18th 2010 we challenge you to collect boxes of Mac amp Cheese

o May 19th we will come out to your organization business or school and collect all the boxes and your final tally

o May 21st the Class from each School collected the most boxes will be treated to a pizza party lunch and then at 2pm everyone is invited to join us for the final celebration and to help put the finishing touches on a massive Mac amp Cheese Dominos display The winning groups will be awarded the Geat MacCheese award to display proudly for one year and start the domino chain reaction of Mac and Cheese Boxes

For More information please e-mail or call Sean squigleygccrcca or 519-668-2745

wwwgccrcca

Childrenrsquos Program - March Break Camp

From March 15th to March 19th Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre was host to a busy fun-filled week of March Break Camp Over 30 children ranging from 5 to 13 years of age spent the week doing crafts playing games and activities going on trips and even had an exciting visitor The week began with a MedievalDragon themed day Kids got a glimpse of medieval times by making shields and sock dragons crowns and yarn vases and then walked to C C Carrothers Public School for fun and energetic group games including Wizards Giants and Elves dragonrsquos treasure and parachute games In the days ahead children took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked over to the park They took part in fun the old fashioned way playing games of tag perfected their skipping rhymes enjoyed the playground equipment and organized their own games of soccer and football Also on the weekrsquos schedule was a trip to the movies and a day long celebration of St Patrickrsquos Day which included designing and building elaborate traps in the hopes of catching a little Leprechaun The final days of the week included making slime and a visit from The Snake Lady for reptile day and treats and treasures for pirate day Arrgh Altogether the March Break Camp provided both the children and the staff members a fun-filled week of happy memories to keep with them until next year

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month

Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre wants to

thank all of our Volunteers who have contributed

more than 7770 hours of their time to making this

community a healthy and vibrant area of our city

Please make sure you thank a volunteer during the

week of April 19th

to the 25th

or think about

becoming a volunteer yourself

Visit wwwgccrccavolunteer

Ontario Works

The Ontario Works Program provides income and employment assistance for people who are in temporary financial need Glen Cairn Community Resource Center has two Ontario Works Caseworkers that have caseloads made up of people in the Glen Cairn community

Drop In Caseworkers have daily drop in times to support any members in the community that need assistance or information with regards to their Ontario Works file Monday 9-11am and 1-3pm Tuesday 13pm Wednesday No Drop in ndash Caseworkers can be reached by phone only Thursday 9-10am Friday 9-10am

Drop Box There is an Ontario Works drop box located in the main office for all clients to use Mail is sent downtown once daily

Caseworkers F622 Kalyn Ante 519-661-4520 ext 6459 kantelondonca F625 Elizabeth Thomson 519-661-4520 ext 5901 ethomsonlondonca

55+ Trip to Kinsmen Sugar Bush

wwwgccrcca

The Great Mac and Cheese Chalange Last year we challenged 11 organizations and local schools to collect Mac amp Cheese boxes and combined they collected over 2100 boxes This year we are opening up the challenge to the whole community and will have three categories 1 Schools 2 BusinessesNon Profits 3 Community Groups How the Challenge Works

o May 3rd 2010 to May 18th 2010 we challenge you to collect boxes of Mac amp Cheese

o May 19th we will come out to your organization business or school and collect all the boxes and your final tally

o May 21st the Class from each School collected the most boxes will be treated to a pizza party lunch and then at 2pm everyone is invited to join us for the final celebration and to help put the finishing touches on a massive Mac amp Cheese Dominos display The winning groups will be awarded the Geat MacCheese award to display proudly for one year and start the domino chain reaction of Mac and Cheese Boxes

For More information please e-mail or call Sean squigleygccrcca or 519-668-2745

Ontario Works

The Ontario Works Program provides income and employment assistance for people who are in temporary financial need Glen Cairn Community Resource Center has two Ontario Works Caseworkers that have caseloads made up of people in the Glen Cairn community

Drop In Caseworkers have daily drop in times to support any members in the community that need assistance or information with regards to their Ontario Works file Monday 9-11am and 1-3pm Tuesday 13pm Wednesday No Drop in ndash Caseworkers can be reached by phone only Thursday 9-10am Friday 9-10am

Drop Box There is an Ontario Works drop box located in the main office for all clients to use Mail is sent downtown once daily

Caseworkers F622 Kalyn Ante 519-661-4520 ext 6459 kantelondonca F625 Elizabeth Thomson 519-661-4520 ext 5901 ethomsonlondonca

55+ Trip to Kinsmen Sugar Bush

wwwgccrcca

The Great Mac and Cheese Chalange Last year we challenged 11 organizations and local schools to collect Mac amp Cheese boxes and combined they collected over 2100 boxes This year we are opening up the challenge to the whole community and will have three categories 1 Schools 2 BusinessesNon Profits 3 Community Groups How the Challenge Works

o May 3rd 2010 to May 18th 2010 we challenge you to collect boxes of Mac amp Cheese

o May 19th we will come out to your organization business or school and collect all the boxes and your final tally

o May 21st the Class from each School collected the most boxes will be treated to a pizza party lunch and then at 2pm everyone is invited to join us for the final celebration and to help put the finishing touches on a massive Mac amp Cheese Dominos display The winning groups will be awarded the Geat MacCheese award to display proudly for one year and start the domino chain reaction of Mac and Cheese Boxes

For More information please e-mail or call Sean squigleygccrcca or 519-668-2745