Members Communique # 7 (March, 2018)
Grants & Donations:
ICCC received Indian Rupees 10 lakhs (approx.$!9,500) grant from the High Commission of India (HCI) for its Spiritual Hub and other work;
$10,000 from the Social Planning Council of Ottawa(SPCO) for its Seniors Program, and $5,000 donation from Subhas & Uttra Bhargava for an ICCC Compassionate Ottawa (ICCC-CO) project.
The new ICCC- CO initiative will generate matching $5000 fund (conditional donation) to promote Advance Care Planning (ACP) for the seniors.
ICCC Appointments & Membership:
ICCC Board made several new appointments to effectively conduct its business. These include: Chan Chandramouli (ICCC Treasurer & Secretary),
Karunakar Papala (Board member),
Anil Agrawal (Member, Constitution & By-Laws Standing Committee),
Daljit Nirman (Legal Advisor) and Archna Abrol (Advisor).
Additionally, ICCC Board is also considering community members appointments for various ICCC Sub-committees (e.g.: Communications, Cultural, Virtual Hub, Sports Hub, etc.) and would welcome suggestions for memberships of these committees.
ICCC Board, after seeking CRA clarification, has approved the use of Life member’s excess ICCC contributions/donations from 1st January 2015 onwards only for nominating a new life member. However, the Gift of Life Membership will be limited to a maximum of two (2) per life member.
ICCC Programs, Hubs and other Activities:
ICCC Seniors Program:
ICCC Seniors celebrated traditional LOHRI Festival on 13th January 2018 at Tanglewood Center with the catered lunch and great entertainment (total attendance 95), and Family Day on 16th February 2018 with dinner and entertainment program at the Palki Restaurant. The successful event at Palki attracted more than 135 seniors from ICCC, Deshantari of Ottawa and Ottawa Sikh Community Services. The weekly meetings at four (4) different centers (Tanglewood, Orleans, Kanata, and Durga Temple) continue to attract active participation from 100-125 seniors for regular activities.
ICCC Social Network of Women (S.N.O.W.):
ICCC S.N.O.W. will be celebrating International Women’s Day on 24th March, 2018 at the Palki Restaurant. Program details, sponsorships opportunities and tickets information is available at the ICCC website: icccottawa.org.
Physical Hub:
Nitya Varma is negotiating with the City of Ottawa for the Nepean Sportsplex space and the final report is expected soon. ICCC Board is also exploring other proposals for the Community Center building. However, substantial financial and other resources commitment from the community would be necessary for accomplishing this challenging ICCC mandate.
ICCC Virtual Hub:
The Community Portal and website is constantly updated with a variety of new & useful information received from community organizations and various other sources. Members are encouraged to visit and promote the website: icccottwa.org in order to learn latest news about upcoming community events, activities and other community and ICCC information.
ICCC Spiritual Hub:
The “Meditation & Peace Gardens, Ottawa” meetings with City officials and potential partners have produced positive results and ICCC has signed a contract for Landscape Planning & Design in late February. The grant money from the High Commission of India (courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, India) will cover the initial soft costs for Project Development Plan & Presentation Package. However, additional funds for the multi-phase development of the Meditation& Peace Gardens, Ottawa will be solicited from all interested individuals and community organizations.
ICCC Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Scholarships:
ICCC has received 21 applications from students of the 3 universities (Carleton, Ottawa and St. Paul) and Algonquin College. Community has reacted very positively and has donated generously. Based on ICCC Scholarship Award Criteria, a total of five scholarships with a total amount of $2500 (each scholarship worth $500 value) will be awarded to five students in 2018.
ICCC Collaborations:
Note: ICCC’s strategy is to connect, communicate and collaborate with India centric associations and individual’s initiatives.
ICCC – Festival of India, Ottawa: Canada 150/150 Project
For Canada’s 150th Celebrations, ICCC and Festival of India partnered to promote inter-cultural connectivity through greater positive interaction between 150 Indo-Canadian host families and 150 guests families from a different culture during 2017. The final Appreciation Celebration at the Infinity Center on 27th January 2018 was attended by over 250 participants, including hosts, guests, Mayor, MPs, and dignitaries, etc.
ICCC – Coalition of Indo-Canadian Community Associations:
ICCC’s led an initiative In December 2017 for the Joint Celebration of Major/Significant Events by a Coalition of Indo-Canadian Community Associations and has chaired 3 meetings of this Coalition. ICCC has participated in the following events:
· Pravasi Bhartiya Day: 9th January 2018 celebrations coordinated by the Coalition partner “Overseas Friends of India (OFSI).
· India’s Republic Day at Parliament Hill: 29th January 2018 celebrations coordinated by India Canada Associations.
· Holi on the Parliament Hill: 1st March 2018 celebrations sponsored by Chandra Arya, MP and organized by various Coalition partners.
ICCC – Community Organizations:
ICCC is negotiating ongoing relationships (e.g. MOU) with the following organizations for a variety of mutually beneficial joint projects:
· The Ottawa Hospital Foundation
· The Montfort Hospital Foundation
· Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa (uOBMRI)
· The Royal Ottawa Hospital Foundation
· Carleton University Center of Excellence
· Compassionate Ottawa
· Nepean Rideau and Osgoode Community Resource Center (NROCRC)
Aasha Mehta
Director of Communications;
Indo-Canadian Community Centre
https://icccottawa.org