Happy September from the CEWIL board,

As we settle into a new school year, we hope that the summer allowed everyone to escape work demands! The CEWIL community has been busy with membership renewals, IHUB grants and operations, strategic planning and many more things.

We are excited to welcome our community back to townhalls for the next few months. Knowing that each pandemic stage has brought various challenges, opportunities, and obstacles, having townhalls has become a valuable way of staying connected and learning from each other. This month we will focus on updates from the Board. October, we will be showcasing our official SWPP partners. November, we will take the opportunity to meet the newly elected Board after the AGM in early November. Lastly, December will be a celebration of our volunteers a chance to network with each other. To join us for the townhalls, sign up here.

CEWIL is currently pulling together our annual report in preparation for the AGM. In preparing the AGM, it is always impressive to see our community's work for each other. Please look for the AGM materials being circulated soon, which have committee reports, board reports and new this year – a staff report! Please mark your calendars for November 3^rd, when we will host our second virtual AGM, highlight the organization's achievements, discuss proposed by-law changes and welcome our incoming Board! For a review of the proposed by-law changes, please visit here.

The last few weeks have been filled with exciting announcements! First, our employer and community resources were launched! Thanks to Dan Lonergan for leading the development of these! Not to mention they were the third most-read item in Academica that week!  Also, we recently celebrated the publication of the Canadian Edition of the International Journal of Work Integrated Learning. Special thanks to Dr. Judene Pretti and Dr. Ashley Stirling for their leadership in this publication. We also heard some familiar voices in the launch of CEWIL's very own podcast hosted by Dan Lonergan – Into the WILderness (catch title – kudos to Charlene Marion on that one).

On a couple of personal notes, we are celebrating new additions to the families of some of our CEWIL board members! Matt Rempel and his wife welcomed Miles Rempel to their family, and soon Scott Daniels and his wife are welcoming their second child in the coming days! We also wanted to congratulate Kristine Dawson on her recent move to Algonquin College as Associate Vice President, Experiential Learning and Innovation! Lastly, a cool tidbit is that our very own Kelly Mahoney travelled to Japan to volunteer at the Olympics!

One update that we wanted to bring special attention to is the recruitment of the EDI Special Advisor. The EDI Committee has been working diligently to bring a robust, equitable process to secure this critical position for CEWIL. We have received a strong response and are working through the various stages of the process. We will keep the community posted on our progress.

As we move through into the Fall season, with much uncertainty and changes happening on campus and in organizations, we encourage you all to lean on each other in the community. We have a compassionate network of caring individuals who are willing to listen, share and collaborate. We also would like to note that on September 30^th, the CEWIL organization will be observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day will serve as a day of reflection on the atrocities this nation committed against the Indigenous peoples. Our staff will not be available on this day.

We wish our entire community a productive and successful Fall. We look forward to connecting with you at our upcoming town halls and AGM!