| Project Diploma Outreach is in full swing! |
March 30, 2004 - The Project Diploma Outreach program is off to a great start with 3 sessions occurring in successive weeks starting on March 23rd. We'd like to stress that if you're a parent, a student, a graduate, mature student, and/or just naturally curious, these informational sessions are for you! Please don't hesitate to call us at the number below if you require more information. Last week, Ann Tavares - a training consultant with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities - was our guest in promoting the value of apprenticeship programs. The informational session was held at the Project Diploma headquarters and was a success! We thank everyone who attended and hope the valuable presentation was beneficial in providing a great choice when considering post-secondary options. We thank Ann Tavares for her time and presentation! For tonight, our focus will be on financial assistance and scholarships. The session will take place at 7:00p.m. EST at the Project Diploma main office. Have all of your questions about financial planning, student loans, and scholarships answered by Portuguese professionals and students who will also share their personal experiences. Scholarship application forms will also be available. Our third informational session will be held on Tuesday, April 13th at 7:00p.m. EST at our Project Diploma main office. The topic explored will be "Non-traditional Careers" which will focus on the professions and successes of Portuguese role models in our community. Learn more about the numerous career options available to students and learn from the experiences of these remarkable individuals. More details are to follow next week on where it will be held. Please keep yourself informed by checking our Current Events section for upcoming details and important dates! The informational sessions are held at the Project Diploma main office: 1680 Dundas Street West
(lower level, side door)
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 416-536-9069
|
| Friends of Project Diploma Fundraiser a resounding success! |
March 10, 2004 - We are well into March and with a new month comes exciting times ahead on the Project Diploma calendar! All the hard work put into the February 27th fundraiser came to a climax at 7:30p.m. with the powerful voice of Isabel Sinde singing both the Portuguese and Canadian national anthems to officially kick off the highly anticipated event. Manny Coelho – Chair of Friends of Project Diploma begun his opening address in Portuguese by acknowledging the special guest in attendance and describing the personal interest he has had in higher education among Luso-Canadian youth going back to the when he was actively involved with the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business & Professionals. In particular the need to have a community based encouragement initiative further upstream in the education process to augment the current wonderful scholarships programs offered by the Federation and other Luso-Canadian organizations. In English he summarized the objectives of Project Diploma, encouraged individually the current members of Project Diploma and congratulated the five presidents of each of the organizations that collaborated as “Friends” for their commitment, leadership and cohesiveness in the organization of the fund-raising event , over several months of work. Manny, made it a point to thank each of the sponsorship sub-committee that helped with the fundraising effort as well as to thank each of the silver and gold sponsors, saving a special thank you, for bcpbank - the Platinum sponsor of the event. In closing he stated: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it has long been well noted that those that help themselves, have a success and strength that no other resource could ever match. Today, you have helped Project Diploma, today, you have helped our youth, today as a community, we also, help ourselves. Thank you." Below you can peruse over some of the pictures from our eventful night. Maggie Unção |
| BBBST & Project Diploma partnership on track as mentor training sessions begin |
March 9, 2004 - The inaugural launch of the Project Diploma/BBBST mentoring program is on the horizon. With that in mind, this is a reminder to all PD mentors that our first training session will take place at the Project Diploma offices this Thursday, March 11th from 6:30p.m - 8:30p.m. EST. This training session only applies to those mentors who have already been accepted into the mentoring program for St. Mary's Catholic High School. Please check your e-mail for the documents provided by Kim Ferguson, Manager of Program Development at BBBST. It is imperative that you are familiar with the manual prior to the training session. Anyone with an interest in becoming a future PD mentor, please visit us during our office hours or feel free to contact us here or by phone for more information. Our telephone number and office hours are posted below. Project Diploma Office Information Thursday 12-6pm EST and Fridays 10 - 4pm EST Telephone: 416-536-9069
|
| bcpbank becomes lead sponsor for PD Fundraiser |
February 20, 2004 - With just one week remaining until the highly anticipated fundraising event, Project Diploma is ecstatic with exciting news regarding corporate sponsorship. Project Diploma is proud to announce that bcpbank has become the lead sponsor for the February 27th event. The following is an excerpt from the Friends of Project Diploma press release: “bcpbank’s goal is to grow together with the communities we serve. Project Diploma fits into our overall commitment to corporate citizenship and our vision of above and beyond,” said Alexandre Beirão, President and CEO of bcpbank Canada. “It is part of our mission to develop strong relationships with local communities by getting involved in many communal projects, such as, Project Diploma which fosters local career development and strengthens the communities where bcpbank acts,” concluded Mr. Beirão. Friends of Project Diploma Press Release English - Download (49KB) The strong message provided by bcpbank was coupled with some more encouraging news as reports indicate that more than 300 tickets have been sold for the event thus far. Tickets are still available! For further information, Corporate Sponsorship or to purchase tickets, please contact: Joe Pinto at (416) 259-8222 ext. 239 ACAPO at (416) 536-5961 FPCBP at (416) 537-8874 Maggie Unção at (647) 295-3663 Maggie Unção
|
February 19, 2004 - The "Communidades Direcção Regional" of the Azores have released the date for their Encontro: Jovens 2004 excursion. The experience has been set to take place from Saturday, July 31st, 2004 to Wednesday, August 11th, 2004. It is a wonderful opportunity, for youth of Açorian decent, to meet with other individuals of the same heritage and culture from across North America, as well as, sharing and discussing issues of relevance to the Azores and to our Portuguese communities within our own countries. Topics related to history, culture, geography, and perspectives for the future of the Azores, its inhabitants, and immigrants are all explored in numerous ways and by various inspiring speakers. You will leave the conference not only with many new cherished friendships, but also with a renewed sense of pride of being Portuguese and with an overwhelming desire to become more involved in our Portuguese community. As a past partcipant of Curso Jovens 2003, I encourage all eligible individuals to apply as this is not an opportunity you want to miss out on. Below you will find the criteria and application form available for download. Good Luck to all applicants! Regulamento Curso Jovens em Português - Download (110KB) Formulàrio de Candidatura em Português - Download (124KB) Maggie Unção |
| Friends of Project Diploma release fundraiser theme poster and details |
|
|
February 5, 2004 - Friends of Project Diploma have released all the details for the Project Diploma fundraising event scheduled on the evening of Friday, February 27th, 2004. To view an enlarged version of the event theme poster, click on the image to the left. You can also view the press release about this month's fundraiser event by clicking on the link below. Fundraiser Press Release - Download (46KB) |
TIME: Friday February 27, 2004 Martini Reception at 6:30pm (Compliments of Bacardi) Dinner at 7:00pm LOCATION: Mississauga Convention Centre 75 Derry Road West Mississauga, Ontario TICKETS: $95.00/adult & $50.00/students CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS: Gold $2,000 Silver $1,250 ENTERTAINMENT BY: Starlight & Brazil Nativa
Maggie Unção
|
| Project Diploma monthly update |
February 2, 2004 - January capped a busy start to 2004 for Project Diploma. The inaugural launch of the Project Diploma/BBBST mentoring program approaches with the completion of the application phase. Twenty mentors will be matched with twenty Grade 9 students attending St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School. The Project Diploma fundraiser press conference brought provincial recognition when the MPP for Mississauga East, Peter Fonseca, presented Friends of Project Diploma (a coalition of 5 well-respected Portuguese organizations organizing the February 27th fundraiser) with 2 certificates from the Ministry of Education. February promises to exceed January’s event calendar. With the launch of the mentoring program scheduled for mid-February, the much anticipated Project Diploma fundraiser will take place on Friday, February 27th, 6:30p.m. EST at the Mississauga Convention Center. We expect to provide images from this exciting night on our website shortly after. With our expanding Online Bulletin Board, work will begin immediately on auditing for broken/updated links and structure. Upon completion of the audit in the coming weeks, work will commence on a new layout designed to organize and provide a more user-friendly interface to maximize information retrieval. No date has been set for the new layout. As usual, we will continue to add new resources to our existing Online Bulletin Board as time goes by. We expect exciting and successful times ahead and we ask that you please keep yourselves informed by staying up to date with our Current Events section. Maggie Unção
|
| Portuguese community associations ready to announce Project Diploma fundraising event |
| Mentoring information sessions |
January 9, 2004 - With the anticipated launch of Project Diploma's mentoring program looming on the horizon, Project Diploma will be holding a couple of meetings at our office location starting on Sunday, January 11, 2004. The meeting(s) will be directed towards prospective mentors. These meetings will serve to help make sure we have the rest of the applications in line, to answer any questions you may have, and to tell you more about the mentoring program. To ensure that all prospective mentors can attend, Project Diploma will be holding two sessions to fasciliate convenience. Attendance at one session is mandatory! The two dates are as follows: Sunday, January 11th - 2:00pm and Monday, January 12th, - 7:00pm Both meetings will be held at the Project Diploma main office located at: 1680 Dundas Street West
(lower level, side door)
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 416-536-9069 If you have any questions regarding becoming a mentor or about the upcoming meeting(s), please contact us. We look forward to engaging our prospective mentors this upcoming week!
|
| Project Diploma launches office hours to better serve the community |
January 3, 2004 - Starting in January 2004, Project Diploma will be holding office hours on Wednesdays from 6 - 8PM and Fridays from 10 - 4PM, in which PD Team Members will be available to meet and assist Portuguese parents and students with their questions about post-secondary education. Whether you have questions about support networks ( tutoring, mentoring, homework assistance, etc), lifestyle (personal issues), options (exploring and applying for post secondary opportunities; universities, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, finances (scholarships, grants, financial aid) or careers (evaluating diff. career options and employment issues), Project Diploma team members will be able to provide you with the information, links, and resources you seek and require. Visit our office and allow our team to assist you with your educational questions and/or concerns.
The Project Diploma Office is located at: 1680 Dundas Street West
(lower level, side door)
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 416-536-9069 Office hours are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 7th. See you soon! Maggie Unção
|
| Project Diploma strikes mentoring partnership with Big Brothers and Sisters of Toronto |
(Toronto) – Project Diploma is proud to announce an official partnership with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto (BBBST), resulting in the launch of the Project Diploma In-School Mentoring Program in January, 2004, at St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Toronto. “We are extremely pleased to partner with Project Diploma and the Portuguese-Canadian community. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to reach the youth and its needs within a specific ethnicity,” stated Kim Ferguson, Manager, Program Development for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto. The In-School Mentoring Program’s goal is to foster the positive development of youth. Together, Project Diploma and BBBST can provide support that enriches the student’s likelihood of continuing his or her education. This In-School Mentoring Program will match current secondary school students in Grade 9 & 10 with volunteers from within the Portuguese-Canadian community. Participants in the program will be required to meet the enrollment and support standards outlined by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, which is a leading organization providing mentoring programs across the country. For more information on BBBST, please visit their website at www.bbbst.com . “It is unfortunate that a large percentage of Luso-Canadian youth continue to underestimate the importance of higher education,” stated Maggie Unção, Chair of Project Diploma. “By increasing the visibility of existing role models to our youth and fostering one-on-one relationships, we hope to overcome some of the obstacles that students face.” In a survey conducted by Project Diploma in late 2002, the desperate need for mentors became clear: students stated that a high degree of uncertainty, a fear of failure, and a lack of role models, amongst others, were critical factors that prevented them from pursuing university, college, or apprenticeship programs. Volunteers will be expected to meet with the student once a week for one hour. If you are 19 and over and wish to participate as a volunteer, then please contact Project Diploma at (416) 536-9069 or BBBST at 416-925-8981. Project Diploma and BBBST will be hosting an informational session in January 2004 at its main office located at 1680 Dundas Street West. Stay tuned for details. Jane Almeida May 4 2004 - Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Federation of Portuguese Business and Professionals in collaboration with the Portuguese Canadian National Congress a is pleased to announce the first annual essay contest as part of our "Portuguese History and Heritage Project". This project seeks to contribute to the preservation, celebration and promotion of Portuguese community heritage and the enhancement of pride and self-esteem among youth of Portuguese Canadian background. The contest will run from April, 12, 2004. till midnight May, 22, 2004. and is opened to all Ontario Students from grades 8 to 12 of Portuguese decent. Those wishing to participate are invited to submit short essays between 300 and 500 words ( 1 to 2 double spaced pages) relating their views on the impact their cultural heritage has had on shaping their view of the world and their own sense identity as Portuguese Canadians. Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries at a ceremony as part of the Portugal week celebrations. Prizes Best overall essay (All grades) $1,500.00 Grades 11 & 12 First Prize $ 1,000.00 Second Prize $ 750.00 Third Prize $ 500.00 Grades 8 to 10 First Prize $1,000.00 Second Prize $ 750.00 Third Prize $ 500.00 School with the most submissions $1,000.00 Entries may be submitted by mail to: Portuguese Heritage Essay Project 722 College St, Suite 301. Toronto, Ontario. M6G 1C4 E-mail @: essay@portugueseheritage.ca Please remember to include your full name and address as well as your age, grade and the name of the school you are attending with your submission. For more information on contest rules, awards and deadlines, please contact: John Barros - Outreach Coordinator Tel: 416-537-8771 Email: info@portugueseheritage.ca Web: www.portugueseheritage.ca
|
|
