Purpose: To provide an update on the activities and accomplishments of ICCC.
ICCC COVID-19 Relief Fund:
“GREAT THINGS HAPPEN WHEN WE ALL WORK TOGETHER”
The Indo-Canadian Community Centre would like to congratulate and thank all those who have, to date, generously donated over $63,000 for its “ICCC COVID-19 Relief Fund”, and provided several “in-kind” contributions including face masks (1500+) and Indian cuisine (450+ meals) for frontline medical staff of Ottawa hospitals. ICCC’s initial donations to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and Ottawa Food Bank are being matched and recognized by many (e.g. The Ottawa Hospital, FACES Magazine, Malhotra Foundation). Further, ICCC’s initiative has kindly been mentioned by Mr. Chandra Arya, MP in Parliament, and by the High Commission of India in its “India Connect” monthly e-newsletter.
“Giving Back to the Community” is a cherished value of our rich Indian heritage. ICCC’s appeal to all in the community is to come forward and donate generously for this worthy cause. Your donation can be made to/via ICCC, or directly to the organization of your choice. Please do inform ICCC of your donations, if made directly to another organization, so that under ICCC’s new initiative, an Annual Report with “Total Donations made by the Indo-Canadian community in Ottawa” can be prepared for creating awareness in the mainstream. ICCC acknowledges cooperation from Deshantari of Ottawa-Carleton and Malayali Association of Ottawa in starting this collaborative process with ICCC. Kindly do share this information with your network to support ICCC’s various worthy causes so that they can also be recognized on the ICCC website as Donors, Volunteers and Supporters – by providing generous support and donations for the need of the hour.
Additional details for all above mentioned initiatives are available in the ICCC Virtual Community Centre (i.e. Portal & website: www.icccottawa.org).
ICCC & EKAL Vidyalaya in Kerala, India:
ICCC has donated $25,500 to EKAL Vidyalaya to fund 4 life time schools for deprived children, as well as for anemia treatment for 400 women under “Arogya Program” in Kerala, India. Please contact the ICCC Board for your donation to support EKAL programs in other areas also.
ICCC Summer Students Program-2020:
ICCC will hire seven (7) summer students during 2020 to work on its various projects. Students interested in applying for a position are welcome to submit applications – see details posted on the website: www.icccottawa.org.
ICCC Seniors Programs:
ICCC Seniors Virtual Zoom meetings are now attended by more than 80 seniors every Thursday (2:00-3:30 p.m.) and Friday (10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon). These meetings, in a very social and informative setting, provide Yoga sessions, talks by invited guests and socializing of seniors by way of singing songs and Bhajans, jokes, and anecdotes.
The planned opening of the physical Community Centre in the “Rideau-Rockliffe Community Hub” is awaiting approvals from the authorities, and further delays are due to the COVID-19 pandemic.ICCC Virtual Community Centre – An Online Community Portal
(www.icccottawa.org) provides numerous platforms to bring the community together –these platforms are: Community Hubs, Community Programs, Community Forums, Social Media and the “Events Calendar” – all designed to provide a central “GO TO” place for community activity, news and events.
OTHER INFORMATION:
Please understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted progress on many ICCC programs and activities – some events have either been cancelled or postponed until further notice. The ICCC Board will also make a decision on the Virtual AGM 2020 soon. Further, the ICCC Board of Directors and Program Chairs are working on numerous initiatives, and are striving hard to accomplish the new VISION for ICCC, i.e.
“A United Indo-Canadian Community Thriving in the Canadian Mainstream.”
Please monitor the ICCC Portal & website: www.icccottawa.org for your one-stop source of current information about COVID -19 from all public agencies, ICCC programs and other community events, news, views, etc. and also for a wealth of other useful information available from other sources.
Finally, ICCC is very thankful to you all, would welcome your feedback and suggestions, and greatly appreciates your continued support for its numerous initiatives, including the ongoing fund-raising effort to support COVID-19 and other worthy causes. ICCC values “Unity in Diversity”, and kindly encourages all in the community to join and become a part of ICCC so that we can all together create enhanced awareness of the contributions by the Indo-Canadian community in Ottawa.
Please Stay Safe & Healthy.
Kind Regards.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors & Program Chairs.
Kanwal (Ken) Talwar
President, ICCC
613-866-5623
E-mail: president@icccottawa.org
Website: https://icccottawa.org
