Newsletter March 2024

I apologize for taking so long to get a newsletter out to you. We are trying a new format for our newsletters. Please give us feedback on this format. We want to make our newsletter more informative, but in a style that suits the variety of devices you use to access VE. Please send comments to  admin@villageeulogia.com

The beginning of 2024 has been a busy time for Village Eulogia. We have had a number of opportunities for families, staff and volunteers to connect and engage both virtually and in person, in addition to the preparations for our year end reporting, strategizing our future goals and developing a fundraising plan for the year. Check out our Save the Dates schedule on the website to see what we have planned so far for 2024. Click Here.

Our virtual VE prayer sessions continue on the first Sunday of each month from 7:30 - 8:30 am. This is a time to enjoy a brief scripture message and music and raise prayers of praise, thanksgiving and intercession regarding our charity, our families and the world at large. Anyone who is part of VE is welcome to join us for our monthly prayer sessions. For access details, please contact admin@villageeulogia.com Thank you to our dedicated prayer hosts - Bella Siu and Cindy Kwan.

On Jan 20th, a group of 18 people (VE families, staff, volunteers and guests), gathered for an afternoon event of glow in the dark mini golf at Scarborough Putting Edge. There was much laughter and fun on the course, and an abundance of poor shots in addition to some excellent shotst ones. A great time was had by all.

On Feb 24th, 43 people gathered for worship, a pot luck lunch and games. We began with music by Natasha and the choir, followed by a moving message about family from Pastor Beatriz. There was a great variety of foods, time to connect and chat and some friendly competition at our games. Thank you to Sarah Cardenas for all the work in organizing this and thank you to our worship team guests.

We welcome input on future events. If you have a favorite activity venue or ideas for a family gathering, please share them with Sarah. scardenas@villageeulogia.com

Board Elections are coming up at our AGM (late May or early June). We are actively seeking candidates to join the Board of Directors. Prior board experience is not a prerequisite but is always helpful. Prior business experience is also an asset. Most important is a passion for our mission of engaging with and supporting families raising someone with a disability within a Christian environment. If you or someone you know may be interested, or you want a copy of our board recruitment ad to share at your church, please reach out to lleyland@villageeulgia.com

We continue to seek dedicated volunteers to join our executive team and other committees. We are grateful to Marie Hudson, who joined us last fall to assist in board recruiting and to Jenna Sanderson, who joined us last fall as the lead for our fundraising team. Jenna will also be assisting us with volunteer recruitment since Toby will be on maternity leave. To keep costs low, VE has 3 part time year round staff, whose combined paid hours represent less than a full time job. We reply on volunteers to help us maintain our current programming, including planning, fundraising and assisting at events. We have great ideas to increase our engagement with families in the future, which can only happen with an increase in year round volunteers. Please contact Lynne lleyland@villageeulogia.com if you want more information on our year round volunteer needs.

Calling all handymen or women. VE owns 2 cottages which we use for family retreats. We have a number of small renos and repairs to be made and are looking for hands to help us. For more information please email Timothy with VE cottages in the subject line at tmyland@villageeulogia.com

We need a large number of volunteers to make Camp Eulogia 2024 successful. We offer 1:1 volunteers to all campers, in addition to the extra hands needed to run activities. Applications are now being accepted via our website.

Save the Date - in addition to smaller fundraisers during the year, we are planning our yearly walk/roll fundraiser for Sat Oct 5th. Further details of the location and time and links to fundraising forms will be released in May.

CAMP EULOGIA 2024 will be two overnight camps in Pefferlaw between Aug 11th and Aug 18th. Further details and updates will be shared via email in the coming weeks. 

CAMP INTERNS - In Dec, we applied to Canada Summer Jobs for a grant to hire 4 summer interns to create and facilitate programming and activities at Camp Eulogia 2024. Job applications are now being accepted while we await word on our grant application. These positions are each 6 weeks long at 30 hours per week for applicants between the ages of 18 and 30. Details about the internship positions and how to apply are posted on our website.  https://www.villageeulogia.com/intern

CAMP FAMILIES - Registration is now open for Camp Eulogia 2024, family camp.
Camps run  Aug 11th - 14th  OR  Aug 15th - 18th. Registration is on a first come first serve basis. A deposit is required to reserve your spot. We offer two 3 day 3 night camps with a maximum of 12 families per camp. You must pick a camp when you register. We will maintain a small waitlist if/when the camps fill up. There are limited subsidies available if the costs of camp are prohibitive to you. Camp is a time of renewal, connection and enjoyment. There are group activities, family time, and separate program opportunities for parents, siblings, child campers and youth and adult campers. REGISTRATION LINK HERE. If you want more information or have questions about Camp Eulogia contact Sarah, our program coordinator  scardenas@villageeulogia.com

CAMP VOLUNTEERS - our volunteers are the lifeblood of our camp. It takes 40+ volunteers to facilitate camp because we provide 1:1 support for every camper with a disability, in addition to all the hands required to run activities. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for one camp or for both. Volunteers spend overnights in cabins at our camp and meals are provided. Volunteer application details are on our website  https://www.villageeulogia.com/volunteer

Please consider joining us as a volunteer at our summer camp. It is as rewarding to the volunteers as it is to the families according to testimonials from former volunteers. We have prepared a volunteer mission ad which is available to be posted in your local church and/or distributed to interested persons. We ask volunteers to assist in fundraising for the costs of their accommodations and food. CLICK HERE for the fundraising page. For copies of the mission ad, please contact admin@villageeulogia.com