Welcome to PLAN Institute

From the Amazon listing:

"This is a riveting and redemptive family memoir. Donna Thomson’s vivid descriptions of her own experience in treading delicately through daily care, medical emergencies and the medical bureaucracy as she and her family cope with her son Nicholas’ cerebral palsy is both inspirational and instructive. From the first tentative diagnosis to Nicholas’ celebration of his 21st birthday last summer, Thomson examines how she and her family have tried, with various degrees of success, to cope with Nicholas’ needs, while at the same time ensuring that their lives (as well as Nicholas’) have value and dignity. Donna Thomson’s own experience with adversity takes on new meaning when viewed through the lens of Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and other philosophers’ roadmaps of how to realize a good life against all odds. This lens includes not only people with disability, but also the enormous generation of post-WWII Baby Boomers who are beginning to sense the health care crisis that is looming as they deal with their own aging and increasingly infirm parents. Donna Thomson’s brilliantly written family memoir provides a strong, original message that touches on the lives of anyone caring for the needs of another."

Parents of special needs kids start co-op to create work experience
By Walter Cordery, The Daily News June 25, 2010

A group of parents in Cedar who have special needs children have banded together to form a co-operative in an attempt to give their children some skills that they can use.

The Cedar Opportunities Co-op has recently become a registered co-operative. The vision of COCO is to contribute to the full inclusion of people with disabilities who live in the Cedar/Yellow Point area by providing opportunities for employment and work experience.

Patricia Johnston, the parent of a 20-year daughter who has Down syndrome, is the treasurer of the new organization, which recently received $2,000 in seed money from Mid-Island Co-op.

The parents' vision includes opening a cafe in the Cedar area that will be owned and operated by persons with disabilities and allow them to be productive members of the community, said Johnston.

The Spring issue 2010 of A Human Future presents National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, hereditary Chief from the Ahousaht First Nation in B.C. speaking on the future of the First Nations youth.

Read also about Ed Johnson, an important member of both communities— L’Arche Cape Breton and the Waycobah First Nation.  

Vickie recently presented on Tyze in Portugal and France. Here is a good photo of her presentation to APDC - the Association of Portuguese Telecom Providers. The name of the conference was 'Services to the Citizen.'

Al and Vickie were awarded with the CPA Humanitarian Award today in Winnipeg.  Congratulations!

CPA Humanitarian Award
This award shall be conferred upon outstanding individuals who are not psychologists or organizations which are not psychological organizations whose commitment and persistent endeavors have significantly enhanced the psychological health and well-being of the people of Canada, at the local, provincial or national level.

A bold announcement to build 1000 new units of supportive housing in Vancouver was made this week.  One commentator called it the biggest drive to build social housing in a generation.The details are of course important but how it came together is more instructive for those interested in addressing the causes of social and environmental problems instead of only managing their effects.

First the details: eight new housing projects for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; an ambitious 3 year time frame; $205 Million contribution from the BC Government; $20 Million from the business/philanthropy sector; land from the City of Vancouver valued at $32 Million; eleven non profit housing providers.  A key innovation is the recognition that housing by itself is not a solution.  Supports that make a house a home and give people a sense of belonging are as important as the physical structure.

The artistry behind this announcement is as fascinating as getting inside the heads of Michelangelo or Leonardo as they launched the Renaissance in Florence.  If we are to tackle tough persistent social challenges we need to be just as innovative about how we do the innovation as we are about finding innovative solutions.

“The film goes beyond disability” - Chris Burke, Actor & Self-Advocate (star of Life Goes On).

DOXA Documentary Film Festival

Public Screening

Sunday, May 9, 2:00pm

Vancity Theatre 1181 Seymour Street @Davie

Vickie Cammack and Al Etmanski have been chosen by Ashoka as one of a group of 25 fellows, from the network of 2,500 social entrepreneurs, who are ready to scale their good ideas and replicate their success all around the world. It's an amazing group.  See the list at Ashoka's Globalizer.

Here's a word on the prestigiousness of being selected and the opportunity afforded to spread the PLAN wisdom:

"Over the past three decades, Ashoka has developed its fellowship to include over 2,500 individuals in more than 70 countries – the world’s pre-eminent network of social entrepreneurs.  Through an internal application process, the Ashoka Globalizer program identifies those fellows within this network with the greatest potential for catalyzing global systems change.  Upon being nominated as “on track to globalize” by their local fellowship representative, Fellows are integrated into a new on-line community, using Ashoka’s proven changemakers.com collaborative model to leverage insights from the broader fellowship and further refine their leading social innovations.  They outline their global scaling plans in official applications to be reviewed by the Globalizer Leadership Team, 25 leading Fellows are selected as “ready to globalize”, and their scaling plans are collaboratively refined with input from the entire Globalizer online community.  They also receive pro-bono support from Ashoka’s leadership and partner organizations to develop strategic and communications plans on par with their global ambitions.   Finally, these Fellows are aggressively marketed throughout the Ashoka network to ensure that their compelling social innovations are recognized by the broadest possible global audience."

EVOKE is a call to young Canadians aged 13 to 25. We want to hear your perspective on human rights through art. Reflect on the past and present. What do you see for the future?

This is your chance to EXPRESS YOURSELF, BE CREATIVE and HAVE YOUR ART RECOGNIZED!

The contest opens April 14, 2010 and closes May 25, 2010.

Jean Vanier - wise humanitarian and all-round mensch
By BERNIE M. FARBER, FreelanceApril 13, 2010

It has been said that one true measure of civilization is how well we treat the most vulnerable members of our society.

If there's one man who truly understands the importance of kindness, compassion, understanding, and, as we say in Hebrew, "tikun olam," or repairing the world, it's Jean Vanier, the Founder of L'Arche.

By creating L'Arche - a remarkable and unique network of homes where the developmentally disabled live comfortably, together with volunteers and staff - Vanier has given those who are often forgotten and locked away as worthless, the miraculous opportunity to play an important role, by touching others.