The PARO Link
Vol. # 03 - Issue # 06 - Friday, February 10th, 2006

In this Issue:

Bits & Pieces for Busy Businesses
Power Tools - The Accelerator
PARO Circle News
PARO Presents -
Biz & Bagels
Community Biz & Events
PARO Programs
Health Minute
PARO Events Calendar

Happy Valentine's!!

We are looking for pictures for the PARO Link Send to info@paro.ca

Business Development Programs

Are you a Woman with a Disability?

Dissatisfied With Your Work?

Want to Become Self-Employed?

Are you a woman contemplating going into business but do not know where to start?

For more info, please call Lori 625.0328 or 1.800.584.0252 or

Diana in Atikokan 597.6389

Start Your Business Today!!! Let us help you!

Join the Making A Difference: A Business Development Program

Funded by:

The support of Government of Ontario through the Ontario Women's Directorate, the Ministry of

Citizenship and Immigration is acknowledged

PARO Self-Employment Benefit Program

PARO's GATEWAY: A Path to Self-Employment

On EI now or in the last 3 years, or had Maternity benefits in the last 5 years?

Register Today!!

Click here for more information

This program is funded by the Government of Canada

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Do you have a computer? Can you surf the internet easily? Why not try our new Pilot project...PARO On-line.

The Accelerator

A long time ago, in a place not too far away (Duluth Minnesota), a workshop facilitator (who was very funny!) brought me totally out of my comfort zone (yes it's true) by asking me to bend my inflexible body into a twisted new shape (that's enough to make the room roar) in front of everyone in attendance (more than 100 people). I survived (can't remember the point, but I survived). And he said: "The best learning happens at the edge of fear."

What I learned years ago, applies to this story which arrived in my email today:

"And the master stood at the edge of the cliff and said to the students, "Come to the edge".

They said no, we are afraid!

"Come to the edge".

No, we may fall!

"COME TO THE EDGE".

And they did; and he pushed them.

And they flew."

So what's my point? If you've been considering applying for The Accelerator, we promise: you won't be on the edge until you are ready - until you know how to fly. Stop by to chat about what you need to "take off" in your business! The Accelerator is an innovative program - tailored for you and your business. Applications are on-going (start when you want, finish when you're soaring).

Info? Maggie the Wiz'rd at 807 625 0328 or maggiem@paro.ca

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PARO's Accelerator project has been supported with a grant from the Canadian Women's Foundation Economic Development Collaborative Fund, a partnership of the Canadian Women's Foundation, CIBC, The George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, The Ontario Trillium Foundation and an Anonymous donor.

This project is supported by Industry Canada / Fednor

Biz and Bagel

Join us for Biz and Bagel Wednesday February 15th, 2006 featuring

**Please Note Biz and Bagel Starts 12 Noon (this week only)**

~ Anne Turcotte ~

Workshops Delivered and Other Services Available at Trendline + Scandcorp Resource Centre

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If you have a Biz and Bagel topic you would like to be presented, like to be a guest speaker or know of someone who may be interested, please contact Lori @ loriw@paro.ca or 625-0328
This program is funded by the Government of Canada

Moving Forward

If you do 15 to 20 minutes of cardio first thing every morning before you have breakfast or start any other tasks you will actually speed up your metabolism for the day. This will also improve blood pressure, circulation and lift your mood.

Planning your work the night before ( and making a list of tasks that need to be tackled) is a great way to beat procrastination. So at the end of the day, make a list, lay out those sneakers and set yourself up for a more productive start to the next day.

Submitted by: Teresa Kelly

Don't miss the premier CED learning and networking event in Canada !

Reminder... register for the Shaping Public Policy: The Women’s Agenda Forum at the 2006 National Conference on CED and the Social Economy (see information below). To learn more about the Canadian Women’s Community Economic Develop Council visit the new website; www.cwcedc-cpdecf.org offers a variety of fact sheets, articles, tools, resources and links. PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise provides administrative support for the CWCEDC and we are proud to recommend this Forum and Conference. See you there!

Shaping Public Policy – The Women’s Agenda at the annual CCEDNET conference, Vancouver , March 15-18, 2005 Shaping Public Policy: The women's Agenda March 15th 11:30am-3pm

Economist and media commentator Amine Yalnizyan will provide an overview of critical policy issues that affect women's economic self-sufficiency. Our panel of experts from the field who have learned through living and doing will tell their stories. Government Relations Experts will offer information, tools and insights to support women's participation in the policy development process. Participants will reflect individually and collectively, share strategies, insights and experiences to engage women in policy development and strengthen women-centred CED in Canada.

Act quickly, early-bird registration fees end February 13th.

Rooting Development in Community ~ 2006 National Conference on Community Economic Development and the Social Economy ~ Vancouver , BC March 15-18, 2006

Who should attend: Anyone with an interest in improving their community's social and economic conditions.

Why attend: Over 50 workshops, terrific keynote speakers, a CED and social enterprise Marketplace and Showcase, lots of networking opportunities and fun social events.

If you want to take advantage of discounted early-bird registration rates, you need to complete your registration by February 13.

1. Download the conference registration brochure from the link below for complete details on the conference program and activities. Use it to decide which sessions and events you wish to attend. http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/pages/conference.asp

2. Then submit your registration on-line through the conference registration website: https://www.signupmaster.com/ccednet-rcdec/default.htm

The room block for accommodations at the conference hotel, the Sheraton Wall Centre, will also be released to the public after February 13. Be sure to make your reservations before February 13 to get the special conference rate for this hotel.

Accommodation and travel reservations can be made by following the links from the conference page on CCEDNet's web site above.

If you have any questions, contact: Jaie Skalin jskalin@ccednet-rcdec.ca 250-386-9980 ext 109

PARO Presents

Check Out Our Yard Sale!!

New Items Arriving Weekly

Browse at PARO Presents anytime between 10am and 5pm Tuesday through Saturday

Other Services

Supreme Cleaners Dry Cleaning and Alterations Depot

PARO Presents 111 N. May St. 623-2200

Making Waves...Now Available in French

PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise is pleased to announce our participation in publishing this Special Edition of Making Waves on Women & CED in Canada. Many of you will receive this important magazine in the mail. This issue offers reports from across Canada (and south of the line) about the impact that women are having on community economic development (CED).

Included is an article called Systemic Change, One Step at A Time, co-authored by Rosalind Lockyer, Maggie Milne and Marina Robinson that tells PARO’s story. The cover spotlights women attending a training workshop at PARO, courtesy of Jean Paul Photography and PARO. Also, please note the article Towards a Livelihood , by Janet Murray & Mary Ferguson, that describes a method of evaluation called the Sustainable Livelihoods. PARO has worked since 2001 with the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), Eko Nomos, and several other practitioners working in women-centred CED to develop this method and to integrate its essence into our programs. As part of this cutting edge approach, PARO is piloting the research as part of a National project led by CWF. A Win-Win Proposition, by Debra Campbell tells more about CWF and their integrated approach to supporting women-centred CED, including PARO. We hope you enjoy your magazine and, please, send us your comments.

We extend our sincere thanks to the following organizations for the financial support they have given this special edition: FedNor, Status of Women Canada, Western Economic Diversification, the department of Canadian Heritage, and Alterna Savings. Thank you to the Canadian Women’s CED Council for their special contribution towards making this edition happen (also, see ad on back cover). Thank you to Don McNair of CCE Publications and all the women who contributed.

You can also . . . Check out the contents now in their English language version. They are fully available in PDF. (L’édition française sera disponible en décembre.)

**The French language version of the special edition is finally available in *.pdf in www.cedworks.com/mw1603_Femmes_et_le_DEC.html.

women rule!

25% of the new Federal cabinet positions (26) are held by women! More will likely be appointed to parliamentary secretary roles, which will bear more responsibility than in the past due to the lower number of ministers.

Who's Who?

One born in Thunder Bay...others with backgrounds in ambulance services and french immersion, or as farmers...years of blood, sweat and tears... Introducing the five who are at the top of the women's political scene in Cabinet:

Rona Ambrose - Minister of Environment / Edmonton- Spruce Grove: Master of arts from the University of Alberta; thesis focused on the impact of emerging policy issues on Canadian politics. Being from Alberta, she hails from a province that doesn’t support the Kyoto Accord on greenhouse gases.

Diane Finley - Minister of Human Resources and Social Development / Haldimand-Norfolk, holds a bachelor of arts in administrative studies and a master of business administration. Fluently bilingual in English and French, Finley’s professional career began as an administrator of a French immersion school. Diane launched and built Canada's largest private ambulance service company, Canadian Medical Response.

Marjory LeBreton - Leader of the Government in the Senate / Nepean. LeBreton is considered to be levelheaded, and brings a “historical perspective to bring to the table.” She worked for over thirty-one years in the service of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and four of its National Leaders - every Conservative leader since John Diefenbaker Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark - prior to being summoned to the Senate.

Bev Oda - Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women / Durham. She has more than 25 years of experience in the Canadian broadcasting industry as Senior Vice President CTV Television Network. She has served on a number of industry boards and also as the Vice-Chair of a number of national and international industry organizations. After retirement, she became a consultant on multiculturalism, diversity, and broadcasting policies and regulation. In 2003, was inducted into the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Born in Thunder Bay!

Carol Skelton - Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification / Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. In 2004, the Hill Times newspaper chose Skelton as the third hardest-working MP. In 2005, she improved on that result and moved up into second place. Before she was elected to the House of Commons, Skelton was a coordinator for the Canadian Blood Services. Skelton is married to Noel and has shared in the management of their farm for 41 years.

Josee Verner - Minister of International Co-operation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages. Verner once worked as a political staffer in Quebec City in the Robert Bourassa government. In the 2004 federal election she finished a strong second; and took the seat clearly in 2006. Harper named Verner chair of the Quebec caucus and to his opposition shadow cabinet, counting on her advice as critic for the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and the Minister responsible for La Francophonie.

Source: www.ctv.ca

Community Events

North Western Ontario Tourism Marketing Conference

A one day conference dedicated to giving you the marketing tools to take your business to the next level. Mark the date on your calendars THURSDAY, MARCH 23 rd, Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay COST $ 35 More information to come with online registration starting Feb 20^th, at www.northofsuperior.org

You will walk away with the tools and information to:

· enhance your website’s keywords, maximizing your interaction with your prospects & your website’s data collection capabilities.

· a better knowledge of on-line and hard copy surveys and the valuable information they can provide your business

· how to brand your business for success

· how to build effective relationships with your existing clients to up-sell and cross-sell to them

for more information please call the NOSTA office: 1-800-265-3951 (voicemail) or 807-624-1709 Allyson or email : tourismconference@tbaytel.net

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Health Minute

Super News About Soup...

If you choose soup when hunger strikes, you could be placing yourself on the path to weight loss.

In a yearlong study of overweight people on a reduced-calorie diet, snacking on soup each day led to more weight loss than noshing on a calorie-equivalent amount of energy-dense snack foods. The key difference: even though the soup and the high-energy snack had the same number of calories, the soup took up more space in people's bellies. Thus, the soup eaters felt less hungry later and ate less over the course of the day.

RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

Source: www.realage.com

PARO Events Calendar

The PARO events calendar will list all dates, times and places of events that will be held during the next few months. Unless otherwise specified, events will be held @ PARO Place. Please contact the office at 625-0328 for any information. All Biz and Bagels will take place from 12:15pm until 1:15pm.

February

15th - Biz and Bagel - Anne Turcotte - Workshops Delivered and Other Services Available at Trendline + Scandcorp Resource Centre

15th - Chamber of Commerce After business ~ Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre

22nd - Biz and Bagel - Deb Mueller - ON Time and IN Sync

March

1st - Biz and Bagel - Marilyn Dorota - Title TBA

8th - Biz and Bagel - Sheryl Jager ~ Peace & Focus - Energetic and Physical Health **Note only 20 seats available Call PARO Centre 625-0328 to book your seat

15th - Biz and Bagel - TBA

22nd - Biz and Bagel ~ Martha Picard ~ Membership with the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, Promote Your Business, and Enhance Your Community

22nd - Biz and Bagel ~ Cindy Maki TBA

Olympic Food For Thought

They say the following logistics were used for the ceremonies:

· 6,100 volunteers and 240 professionals

· 15,000 days of work

· 100,000 meals

· 6,100 scene costumes during the two shows

· 500 pairs of skates

· 32 television cameras present at the Studio

· 4,000 square meters of stage purposely designed

· 10,000 square metres of back stage

· More than 150 trucks to transport the stage, structures, lights, audio, and special effects

· More than 100 km of cables

source: www.sympaticomsn.ctv.ca

Weekly Inspiration

"Ability is what you're capable of doing."

"Motivation determines what you can do."

"Attitude determines how well you do it." - Lou Holtz

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A Great Romance...

Jackie Robinson is one of the most admired people in sports. But unlike most sports heroes, his battles did not take place only on the athletic field. His most important battles were against the pervasive national racism that not only excluded blacks from participation in major league baseball, but from economic opportunities in fields of all kinds. Robinson led the Dodgers to four National League pennants and one World Series championship in 1955. And, in the process, he led his nation in a struggle for civil rights that continues today -- but he didn't do it alone.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers' Branch Rickey began his search for a talented and educated black baseball player to be the first to integrate the sport, twenty-six-year-old Jackie Robinson seemed the perfect man for the job. A graduate of UCLA, he was a superb four-sport athlete with strong religious roots and a strict work ethic. But, Rickey realized the hard road that lay ahead of Robinson, and during their first meeting, on August 28, 1945, he harshly questioned him about whether or not he could handle the hatred, threats of violence, and baiting he would have to endure as he crossed the color line. In his autobiography, Robinson recalled Rickey asking, "You got a girl? There are going to be times when you're going to need a woman by your side."

Rachel Isum was Robinson's fiancee. They had met in 1940 when she was a first-year nursing student at UCLA and he was already an accomplished athlete. They were married on February 10, 1946. Two weeks after the wedding, they left for Robinson's first spring training, for the minor league Montreal Royals, in Daytona Beach, Florida -- the deep south, a bastion of hard-core racism. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Rachel Robinson later recalled, "That first spring training was like a nightmare. There was so much degradation. There was bigotry like we had never encountered." But Jackie, with Rachel at his side, endured the indignities of the training trip and a season filled with countless insults, threats, and bean balls on his way to leading the league in batting, runs scored, and fielding. The next spring, despite a threatened boycott by the club's players, the Brooklyn Dodgers promoted Robinson to the major league -- seven years before the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling integrated the country's schools.

In the majors, the Robinsons again suffered through death threats, constant verbal harassment from managers, players, and fans, and physical abuse, including more pitches to his head and body. But Robinson succeeded in winning the respect of players and fans and was named Rookie of the Year in 1947, after batting .297 with 125 runs scored and twenty-nine stolen bases and leading his team to a National League title. By 1949, with the signing of more blacks to major league baseball, integration had arrived in major league baseball.

Throughout his life, Jackie credited his wife Rachel for providing the support that allowed him to work through the difficulties of his baseball career. "Strong, loving, gentle and brave, never afraid to either criticize or comfort," he once wrote of his wife. Later, according to People magazine, he said, "When they try to destroy me, it's Rachel who keeps me sane." People also reported that Norma King, wife of Dodger pitcher Clyde King, once said of Rachel, "I recall the look of pride on her face watching him play while the rest of us were worrying about whether our husbands would do something foolish."

After Jackie's retirement from baseball in 1956, the Robinsons continued to play a visible role in politics and the civil rights movement. They were staunch supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the fight against segregation, and spoke out against black separatists like Stokely Carmichael. The Robinsons were especially proud of their three children, Jackie Jr., Sharon, and David. Sadly, Jackie Jr. died in a car accident in 1971. In an interview with the Boston Globe, daughter Sharon said of her parents, "The house revolved around my father, but my mother was always the center of the family. She was in a real partnership with my father. We felt that. We knew that. He appreciated it and we did too."

Even after a heart attack cut short Jackie's life on October 23, 1972, Rachel, who has also worked as a nurse and teacher, has continued to work hard to advance the legacy that she and her husband began as newlyweds. In 1973, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which she still chairs. To date, the foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to help send more than 500 minority and underprivileged students to college. Rachel Robinson continues her husband's work of leading by example. Many who knew the couple are not surprised. Major league first baseman Mo Vaughn, who wears number 42 in honor of his hero, Jackie Robinson, once told the Boston Globe, "Jackie Robinson couldn't have been Jackie Robinson if it wasn't for Rachel Robinson. It's another case of the fact that behind every good man is a good woman. Study your history. He wanted to quit. She wouldn't let him."

FACTS about Valentines Day

source:  www.historychannel.com & www. infostarbase.com

Have an grand o'l weekend!!

LORI

PS....if you have pictures of you at your business or with you family, your pet or a special picture and want to feature it on the PARO Link....send it to info@paro.ca

PARO Centre For Women's Enterprise - 110-105 May Street North, Thunder Bay, ON P7C 3N9
Tel: 807.625.0328 Fax: 807.625.0317 Website: http://www.paro.ca Email: info@paro.ca

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