De la part de l’Alliance de vie active pour les Canadiens/Canadiennes ayant un handicap, j’aimerais vous remercier de l’appui que vous nous avez récemment offert.

Comme vous le savez, l’Alliance risquait de devoir fermer boutique à cause des délais de financement par l’Agence de santé publique du Canada. Je suis ravi de vous annoncer que notre message est bien passé et que les activités de l’Alliance seront maintenant financées, un fait confirmé hier lors d’une réunion au bureau du Ministre de la santé.  

J’étais très impressionné par tout l’appui public provenant du réseau de l’Alliance et des divers intervenants : o       plus de 1000 personnes ayant exprimé leur préoccupation au moyen d’une pétition en ligneo       environ 100 lettres envoyées au Ministre de la santé o       50 députés parlementaires ont été avisés et ont répondu aux questions o       de nombreux coups de fil ont été faits auprès des différents paliers de gouvernement, leur demandant d’agir.o        

L’Alliance est un réseau formidable se composant de milliers d’organisations et d’individus. Cet appel récent à l’action témoigne du pouvoir de ce réseau national voué aux Canadiens et Canadiennes ayant un handicap.  

Mille mercis de nous avoir appuyés. Nous anticipons avec plaisir toute collaboration future avec vous.  

Bien à vous, 

 

Henry WohlerPrésident de l’Alliance

On behalf of the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, I would like to thank you for your recent support.

As you are aware, the Alliance was at risk of closure because of funding delays from the Public Health Agency of Canada. I am very pleased to report that our voice has been heard loud and clear and there is now support in place to resume Alliance operations. This was confirmed yesterday at a meeting with the Minster of Health’s office.

I was very impressed with the amount of public support that came from the Alliance network, and stakeholders –
o over 1000 people voiced their concern on an online petition
o approximately 100 letters were sent to the Minister of Health
o 50 members of Parliament were notified and asked questions
o Numerous phone calls were made to various level of the government requesting action.

The Alliance is an amazing network of thousands of organizations and individuals. This recent call to action is proof of the power of this national network dedicated to Canadians with a disability.

Thank you very much for your support. We look forward to continuing to work with you.

Yours in active living,

Henry Wohler
Chair ALACD

You are helping the cause

Hi guys,

 Just wanted you to know that we have over 500 signatures on our petition so far – THANK YOU. Thanks to Marco for heading up our appeal to the Government of Canada. If you haven’t contacted your MP yet or signed the petition – please do so. If you need a hand, just give us a shout at the office – 1-800-771-0663 or info@ala.ca.

Cheers,

Wendy

Help ALA

This was a letter sent out to 2006 YE participants by Marco Pasqua 

July 20th 2006 

Hi gang,      I hope you are all well rested from the action packed week we had in
Ottawa at the Youth Exchange. Summer has been a hot one so far but hopefully you have all been able to stay active in some cool areas. I’m very happy to hear that some of you are not only staying active, but have already actively become Youth Ambassadors in your own communities. 

For those of you who don’t know me personally, my name is Marco Pasqua and I had the privilege of being a Youth Exchange participant in 2003 and Leader for the past three years. The experiences I have had over these last 4 years not only show me that regardless of your disability you can live a strong and healthy lifestyle, but also that even the smallest group of people can make the biggest impact, and well, that’s where you guys come in.  

It has been brought to my attention by Nadia Smith, the Youth Exchange Coordinator, that the ALACD could use the Ambassadors’ help. As you know healthy active living is important and beneficial for your body, mind and soul.  In order to promote this message the ALACD has partnered with the Public Health Agency of Canada (Health
Canada). Facilitating active living opportunities has been the mandate of the ALACD for the past 17 years.   

We are now 1/3 into the 2006-2007 fiscal year and have yet to see a contribution program that supports the area of physical activity. This is where I thought you might be interested in advocating for a good cause. 

I am always looking for ways to help the ALACD since they have given so much to me through the Exchanges I have attended. That is why I chose to write a letter to the Minister of Health. Check out the letter that is attached. If you would like to make a difference and at the same time help the ALACD, here are a few steps that you can take.   

Step 1: Read my letter to the Minister of Health.  

Step 2: Think about what you want to write. You can refer yourself to page 14 of the #4 workbook of the Youth Ambassador kit for an example of an email letter.  

Here is an outline for your letter that you could use.  

*     For instance the first paragraph (introduction), write about who you are and where you live.  

*     The second paragraph, write about your experience at the Youth Exchange and how it has: changed your views, opened a new chapter in your life, your goal setting, your ideas and different opportunities that you are looking into, etc.   

*     The third paragraph, you would write about the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (ALACD) as an organization. You can take this part from my letter or from the ALACD website www.ala.ca.     

*     The fourth paragraph, address the Minister of Health about the lack of funding in the area of healthy active living.  

*     In conclusion, write why this is important to you and the influence it will have for the future.  

Step 3: Send your email to the Minister of Health (address down below) and copy your own MP and myself mailto:italiansalsiccia@hotmail.com . Check out the parliament website www.parl.gc.ca to find the MP in your riding.   

The Honourable Tony Clement, P.C, M.PMinister of HealthHouse of Commons
Ottawa, OntarioK1A 0A6Email: Clement.T@parl.gc.ca  

Step 4: Be sure to follow-up with your MP approximately one week from the time you sent your letter and let me know of their response.     

If we all respond and send a letter to the MP’s, that would make 42 of 308 federal ridings that we have communicated with which, makes it at almost 15% of all Canadian ridings. Think of the impact we will have all together.  

Thank you for taking action! 

Yours truly, 

Marco Pasqua2003 Youth Exchange participant    2004-2006 Youth Exchange Leader