ICCC Communique #4

Members Communiqué # 4 (August 2017)

New Board Member

Under a Bye-Law provision to co-opt two additional board members for the remainder of the year, the Board has co-opted Mrs. Aasha Mehta ‘s name as the 9th member of the Board for the remainder of the year. Her name will be proposed to the AGM for confirming her continuity. She has experience of having been on the ICCC Board in the past. This year, she has volunteered to handle the communications.

Grants received and applied for:

  1. Received the Summer Students Hiring Grant from Federal Govt: Three Summer Students were hired under this grant. They started work in June in three roles: Communications Assistant, Information Assistant, and Technology Assistant. Students worked for eight to eleven weeks, and finished on the 25th of August.
  2. Received an $8,000 grant from the Ontario Seniors Community Grant program: This grant is for the period of June 15 through March 31, 2018, and is meant to support Trips and Outings programs for seniors.
  3. Applied for NHSP Seniors Program Grant of $25,000: Application is under process for the Seniors Programs during March 2018 – March 2019. Application was submitted back in May 2017. Awaiting Federal Govt. approval by Feb 2018.
  4. Applied for Govt. of India Grant in-Aid for 2018-19: HCI invited an Application Proforma for Govt. of India Grant-in-aid for community-based programs to promote and support Indian Heritage. ICCC submitted its proforma and made a case for funding for the Spiritual Hub and other ICCC initiatives. Have not heard back from the High Commission of India.

Progress on existing initiatives:

  1. Physical Hub/Community Centre: The Community Centre Property Exploration team (headed by Mr. Nitya Varma) is moving forward with its negotiation with the City of Ottawa for a collaborative arrangement to build out the community centre in a City property. When further details of the project are worked out and the City has provided its interim decision, we’ll prepare a proposal for the SGM.
  2. Spiritual Hub/Meditation and Peace Garden: ICCC had briefly proposed to the City of Ottawa that ICCC will arrange to build out the Meditation and Peace Garden in collaboration with the community, and the City’s Parks and Recreation Department should take over the park for ongoing maintenance. But it appears that the City of Ottawa is not able to include our Meditation and Peace Garden in their current plans. Consequently, ICCC is planning to launch the project and seek collaborative partnerships with Indo-Canadian and mainstream community organizations. A Spiritual Hub Committee is being formed to develop a concrete plan of action.
  3. Virtual Hub/Community Information Portal: The www.ICCCOttawa.org website (Indo-Canadian Community Hub) is being populated with the following community information:
    1. A Community Events Calendar: Many of the community events are included in the calendar. We are also enlisting the Indo-Canadian associations to post their events in our calendar for the benefit of the entire community.
    2. Community News
    3. Information about book authors, poets and writers, etc. in the community.
    4. Indo-Canadian Community Hall of Fame: We are including a brief profile of the Indo-Canadian community award winners and other honour recipients such as Order of Canada, Order of Ontario, Order of Ottawa, and many other awards and honours.
  4. ICCC Constitution & By-Laws Committee: The committee comprised of Anish Mehra, Dr. Prabir Neogi and Dr. Shiv Chopra, have met a few times. They are looking for key areas to recommend constitution amendments for presentation to the next SGM.
  5. ICCC-FIO Canada 150/150 Project: This project is to get 150 Indo-Canadian families to invite and meet 150 families of different cultures and share the Indian culture and lifestyle with them. A committee of ICCC and Festival of India Ottawa representatives is coordinating the project. FIO plans to publish the feedback on their experiences.
  6. Educational Scholarships for Youth: ICCC is developing a proposal to grant 2-4 scholarships to first year undergraduate students from Algonquin College, Carleton University, Ottawa University, and St. Paul University. So far, six donors have come forward to donate funds for the scholarships. Rekha Dogra has initiated this proposal and coordinating the project along with a committee. Once the proposal is finalized, it will be announced on the www.ICCCOttawa.org website. The applicants will fill out a questionnaire, and a team of judges will evaluate each questionnaire.
  7. Seniors activities:
    1. Seniors Coordination Committee: A seniors coordination committee headed by Mr. Anil Sukhija is organizing and overseeing the seniors activities.
    2. Seniors weekly group meetings: Two seniors groups regularly meet on Thursdays (in orleans) and on Fridays (at Tanglewood Park off Merivale Road). The participation is constantly growing.
    3. Seniors Computer Classes: A series of four computer classes has been held for seniors at Tanglewood Park Community Centre during the month of August. Over 24 seniors participated in these classes.
    4. Seniors trip to Voyageur Adventure Park: Nearly 110 seniors went on a trip to Voyageur Adventure Park on the 22nd of August.
 New Initiatives:                                                                                                                  
  1. Sports Hub – Collaboration with Field Hockey, Cricket, Soccer and Basket Ball clubs: ICCC is contemplating collaborative relationship with local clubs to promote sports in the community.
  2. Ottawa Premier League Cricket Tournament – ICCC Trophy Sponsorship: ICCC board has sponsored three trophies for the Most Valued Player (MVP), Best Batsman, and Best Bowler in the Cricket Tournaments on Sept 2-3, 2017.
  3. Membership Drive: ICCC is launching a membership growth drive by accepting membership fee payment in instalments. The Membership enrolment page is on the website at: https://icccottawa.org/membership with four payment options.
  4. Funding Drive:  ICCC is launching a community partnership drive with other Indo-Canadian organizations to support social and cultural programs and to raise ICCC’s visibility in the community. To support community-partnership initiative, ICCC is launching a fund-raising drive.
  5. Awards, Recognitions and Nominations: ICCC plans to launch a program to give awards and recognitions for deserving Indo-Canadian community people as well as to nominate Indo-Canadians for various Govt. awards and honours. An annual event will be planned for this purpose. A committee is being formed to plan the annual event and to scout for deserving candidates for Awards and Recognitions.
Recent and Upcoming Events:
  1. Aug 11-13 – Festival of India Ottawa at the City Hall: ICCC sponsored the Festival of India event and took an active part at the opening ceremony and reception, and also took part in the exhibition Booth to promote the seniors programs and the “A History of Indo-Canadians in Ottawa,” a book being published soon.
  2. Sept 6 – Seniors Annual Picnic:  Seniors will join the picnic in Andrew Haydon Park. Tickets are on sale now.
  3. Sept 12 – Cooking Up Community Breakfast Event:  ICCC will join this activity and support the fund-raising drive for a CT Scanner for the Montfort Hospital.
  4. Sept 17 – Music Performance by Pt. Rupak Kulkarni (Flute) and Pt. Hindole Majumdar (Tabla): Tickets are on sale now. It will a great evening for the Ottawa music lovers.

For further information and feedback, please contact:
Aasha Mehta, 613-823-4002
Director of Communications
Indo-Canadian Community Centre