Dear Vincentians,
At the beginning of this New Year, I am writing to provide an overview of the twinning activities that marked the year 2020, and to ask that you submit the 2020 Annual Report on your twinning partnership.
Administration
A third payment method has been in effect since September 2020, the direct withdrawal from a conference or council bank account. This is in addition to the options of paying online with a credit card or sending a cheque. Twinning policies and procedures were updated this past year and can be consulted on the National Council website (www.ssvp.ca). A new country, the Cayman Islands, was entrusted to Canada in 2020.
Starting this year, annual administration fees are increasing from $20 to $25, to help cover the costs of managing the twinning program.
COVID-19
The Coronavirus has led to an increase in requests for SSVP assistance in recipient countries, with rising unemployment, illness and lockdowns. Local funding sources have dried up, impacting conference and council activities.
Most of the families assisted in Central and South American countries, as well as in the Caribbean, survive on small street businesses, precarious jobs or subsistence farming. These families were left with no income with the onset of the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. In addition, social and medical services are deficient in all of these countries. Twinning became, for recipient twins, an important means to continue assistance to the poorest families of their communities.
Last May, I sent letters to National Council presidents in the countries where there were twinning partners with conferences or councils in Canada, advising them that the Canadian partners might be able to help their twins cope with the pandemic, if a request for help was sent to them. Twinning conferences and councils in Canada were notified of this initiative. The response from Canada’s partners was good. Some twins increased their contributions; others responded favourably to requests for assistance for small community projects. Thank you for your generosity!
Annual Report
Twinning conferences and councils must submit their 2020 Annual Reports to their Regional Twinning Coordinator by February 28, 2021. The Annual Report Form is available on our website, www.ssvp.ca, under the Members tab – Committee Resources – Twinning, or directly by clicking here: Annual-Report-Form
This newsletter is being sent to the conferences and councils that have been active in 2020 in supporting twinning partners and providing funds. It is also being sent to councils and conferences that have not reported any financial activity to the National Council last year. I ask that they inform me of the status of their partnership. If you have any communication issues with your twinning partner, please contact me at twinning-chair@ssvp.ca and I will try to resolve the issue.
Thank You
My sincere thanks to all of you for your dedication to the program. Special thanks to Nicole Schryburt, Administrative Assistant – Twinning, for her hard work, support and ideas. I also thank the regional coordinators for their continued support and commitment.
We invite you to join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SSVPCanada/
“To serve with love, respect, justice and joy” – Mission SSVP Canada
Clermont Fortin, Chair, National Twinning Committee
Regional Twinning Coordinators
Donna Thompson, Regional Council, BC & Yukon
Cathy Pidhirney, Western Regional Council
Guido Kelly, Ontario Regional Council
Claude Roy, Quebec Regional Council
Judy Peddle, Atlantic Regional Council
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, National Council of Canada
2463 Innes Rd., Ottawa ON K1B 3K3
Tel: 613-837-4363 – toll free: 1-866-997-7787 – fax: 613-837-7375
Website: www.ssvp.ca
National office: national@ssvp.ca
Administrative Assistant – Twinning: twinning@ssvp.ca
Chair, National Twinning: twinning-chair@ssvp.ca twinning-chair@ssvp.ca