UOACONNECTION

November 2013 Volume 21 Issue 3

The UOAConnection is a publication of the United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. This bulletin is published 10 times a year in both English and French (future) to provide greater communication to the chapters. Limited funds only permit circulation to chapter leadership who are encouraged to share the information with their members by including items of interest in their newsletters.
NATIONAL OFFICE: United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. 344 Bloor St. West, Suite 501 Toronto, ON M5S 3A7

Presidents Message
6 November 2013 Greetings all, As I write this, I am excited to see so many people making bids on the items up for auction on our first ever online auction. The website address is: http://www.32auctions.com/organizations/10546/ auctions/11525. The auction continues until November 15. Ive put in a few bids and already someone has out bid me on the items I really want. Hope I win the Canadian Tire $100 gift card with my bid of $57. Special thanks go to Rosemary Gaffray who has volunteered to take one of the vacant positions on the board of directors. The board appointed Rosemary at our October 19th online board meeting. Congratulations go to UOAC past-president Pat Cimmeck who was elected to be NCACOA president at the meeting in Argentina in October. Congratulations also go to Lisa Gausman who was elected to the vice-presidents position. Im sure they will do a great job! On Saturday, October 5, 2013, the United Ostomy Association of Canada hosted the 1st Annual Stoma Stroll Awareness Walk in various cities across Canada to celebrate Canada Ostomy Day. Ostomy Chapter members in Moncton, Calgary, Gander, London, Niagara, Halifax and St. Johns pulled together actual walks in a very short time. There was also a very successful virtual walk. Other chapters organized teams under the virtual walk. Indeed a super job by all involved! I put together a video of all the walkers and put it on Youtube. Check it out here: http://youtu.be/2TEw1nYOllk We started out small with just a few chapters and we made a few mistakes along the way. But the committee hung in there and worked out the problems as best as they could. Lessons have been learned and will be corrected for next year. We want to have every chapter and every individual involved next year! We dont have the final figures yet for the Stoma Stroll Awareness walk, but initial figures show that we have surpassed our goal of $20,000. We have proven that this fund-raising idea works and helps to raise awareness. We look for bigger and better next year! Mark your calendars now the 2nd Annual Canada Ostomy Day will be held

Email info1@ostomycanada.ca
416-595-5452 FAX: 416-595-9924 TOLL FREE: 1-888-969-9698 WEBSITE: www.ostomycanada.ca PRESIDENT: Peter Folk VICE PRESIDENT: Ann Ivol TREASURER: Stephen Maybee SECRETARY: Carol Wells DIRECTORS: Ed Tummers Ruth Kenney John Molnar Lorrie Pismenny Andrea Manson Rosemary Gaffray

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The first Saturday in October, 2014. We extend an invitation to all chapters across Canada to join in the Stoma Stroll Awareness Walk. A twelve page procedure manual will be sent to all chapter presidents in the next while. UOAC will set up the walk webpage for your city, provide you with posters, postcards and pledge sheets, provide you with a certificate of insurance, pay for approved expenses such as permits and first aid staff. The board of directors will continue to hold monthly online meetings (usually a Saturday at 9:00 a.m. CST). Any chapter president that is interested in sitting in as an observer is welcome. Please send an email to the office to get an invitation. Our next online meeting is Saturday, November 16. The Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act provides federal not-for-profit corporations with a new set of rules that are modern, flexible and better suited to the needs of today's not-for-profit sector. Our by-laws committee is working hard to have new by-laws ready for a vote at the AGM in St. Johns in 2014. Prior to that, we would like the chapters to look through and discuss the by-laws as well as the changes in the way that the organization will run. Packages will be mailed out to each chapter president. The fall appeal letters will be going out this month. Please be generous in your donations. And thank you for your continued support. Our friends over at The Canadian Association for Enterostomal Therapy (CAET) have developed a new program on their website called "Find An ET Nurse". Click on the link below to go to their site. https://members.caet.ca/etfinder. We also have links to their website on our website. Our next biennial conference will be in St. Johns Newfoundland in 2014. Dates are July 31 to August 2. Our conference chair is Carol Wells and the St. Johns and Gander chapters are working together to put on a great conference. We hope to see you all there and take some time to tour around the Rock and enjoy the unique experience that is Newfoundland. Conference and hotel registration forms are already on our website, along with links to websites that show some of the other things you can go see when you visit Newfoundland. The link is: http://ostomycanada.ca/ events/biennial_conference_of_uoac Again this year we will be asking for donations from individuals and chapters for raffle and auction items. And we will be asking for advertisements for the program booklet. Janet Paquet has agreed to do the program book this year. The theme this year is Ostomates Connect on the Rock. Hope to see you there! Peter Folk President, United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. peter.folk@ostomycanada.ca

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Announcements: FUN and FUNd-raising On Line Auction for Ostomy Canada

Just in time for Christmas! On Nov 1-15, Ostomy Canada will be holding an online auction with items such as ostomy accessories (Weir Comfees, Stomastifler, Stealth belt, gift certificates (Hudsons Bay, Canadian Tire and more). We are looking for donations to auction. If you have an item or are a company looking promote your products, or are a crafter or artist please consider donating to our auction. Advertising will be done through social media and Ostomy Canada website. For more information, please contact Andrea (Andy) Manson at almanson@me.com

UOAC Conference 2016

We are looking for a host chapter for the year 2016. If any chapter is interested, please contact the national office for a Hotel Check List of the criteria required to host a conference.

Please note: We have stopped using the uoacan@astral.magic.com email address. From now on please send any communication to info1@ostomycanada.ca. Please update your address books and websites to reflect the new information.

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Contd from Page 1 OFFICE COORDINATOR Carole Pew OFFICE CHAIR Stephen Maybee NATIONAL OFFICE ADDRESS 344 Bloor St. W., Suite 501 Toronto, ON M5S 3A7 OUTREACH Administrator: Andy Manson AWARDS : Ann Ivol (Leader) Delilah Guy (Member) PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AN OSTOMY: Lyn Atkins (Leader) Corry Stewart Dorosh (CoLeader) Pat Cimmeck , Karen Lindsay (Members) PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY (INDUSTRY, MEDICAL OTHER) Andrea Manson (Leader) Delilah Guy, Contacts from Hollister, ConvaTec, Coloplast, and Salts. Current CCAET President, Contacts from Crohns and Colitis, Colorectal Cancer Assoc. Bladder Cancer Canada, etc. ((Members) SASO: Betty Woolridge (Leader) Ann Ivol, Vacant (Members) YOUTH CAMP: Pat Cimmeck (Camp Administrator) Lisa Gausman, John OShaughnessy, Karen Spencer (Members) 20/40: Angie Schickerowski (Leader) Vacant, vacant (Members)

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Social Networking
During the year 2010, our website has had 504,822 hits 17,193 unique visitors. During 2011,we have had 660,359 hits from 19,160 unique visitors. During 2012, there were 728,083 hits on our website by 27,019 unique visitors. 80% of our visitors use Windows, 13% use Macintosh, less than 1% use mobile phones. 70% of our visitors type in the URL, use bookmarks or links in email to reach our site, 21% came to our site from a search engine and 9% came to our site from a link on another web site. For an online map of chapters and districts, click here: http://www.ostomycanada.ca/maps/map.html You can type your postal code in the bottom right hand search box to locate your city or town and then zoom in to find your nearest chapter or satellite. If you have any comment on our website, please contact: John Molnar or Peter Folk through the national office email info1@ostomycanada.ca Social Media:

Our website is very popular, a great source of information and at least 6,350 other websites directly link to ours. More and more people are using the Internet to get Ostomy information and our contact form is used regularly to contact the office. Peter Folk
Unique web visitors Number of Web Visitors Web Hits Facebook page likes Facebook group members Facebook Parents group members Discussion Board members Twitter Followers LinkedIn followers LinkedIn group members Google+ Circle members uoac1 group members Blog followers (Includes Twitter followers) Blog Hits YouTube Channel Views Stoma Stroll Website Visitors Stoma Stroll Website Unique Visitors Stoma Stroll Website Page Views Online Auction Bids 15578 26259 403015 201 392 37 65 165 9 35 45 35 203 2799 343 791 473 826 96

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Contd from Page 4 GOVERNANCE: Administrator: Ann Ivol BYLAWS: Ed Tummers (Leader) Carol Wells, Lorrie Pismenny (Members) MEMBERSHIP Andrea Manson (Leader) Ann Ivol, Steve Maybee, Ruth Kenney (Members) NATIONAL OFFICE: Steve Maybee (Leader0 Peter Folk, UOAC Office (Members) NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS: Peter Folk (Leader) Ann Ivol (Member) POLICIES & PROCEDURRES: Ann Ivol (Leader) Delilah Guy, Rosemary Gaffray (members) STRATEGIC PLANNING (ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN Executive Committee (Leader) Board of Directors, UOAC Office (Members) PRIVACY: Privacy Officer (Vacant) John Molnar (Member) ADVOCARY: Ed Tummers Administrator ADVOCARY: Ruth Kenney (Leader) Delilah Guy, Lorrie Pismenny (Members) CONFERENCE: Delilah Guy (Conference Administrator) Carol Wells, Gander & St. Johns Chapters (Members) COSS (DSS): Roger Ivol (Leader) Jean-Pierre LaPointe (Quebec Rep), Vacant (Pacific Rep), Gerald Dakiniewich (Prairies Rep) Angela McGinn (Atlantic Rep) John Molnar ( Southern Ontario Rep (Niagara; Brantford; Halton-Peel; Toronto; London), Roger Ivol (South Ontario Rep

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Donate To UOAC
The Canadian finance minister, Jim Flaherty, announced that the Canadian one cent coin is going to be phased out, so now's the perfect time to donate your pennies to charity! We have signed up to receive donations online through CanadaHelps.org. This is a handy way for you to make a donation without even leaving the comfort of your computer chair. Simply visit our website at: http://www.ostomycanada.ca/ and click on the image that looks like this:

This will bring up a secure website that will allow you to enter your credit card or PayPal information. Canada Helps will issue a donation receipt right away and email it to you.
Have you set up your 2013 monthly donations yet? It's easy and convenient. No cheques to write, no pledge payments to remember. Monthly giving allows you to spread your donation out over the year so that you hardly notice the regular deductions, and provides United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. a steady, predictable income so it can work towards its mission. Set it and forget it. Here's how: . 1. Set up or log in to your Canada Helps account Remember that you need to have a credit card on file for monthly donations 2. Click the Monthly Giving tab. 3. Search for UNITED OSTOMY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA INC. 4. Click DONATE MONTHLY 5. Enter the details of your monthly donation. Visit our donation page: http://www.ostomycanada.ca/donations Peter Folk President, United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc.--

You can now donate to the United Ostomy Association of Canada Inc. through PayPal

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Chapter Information on the Website

Did you know that our website www.ostomycanada.ca had over a half million hits last year? A lot of the visitors visited the website to look for a support group in their area. Therefore, it is important that this information be kept up to date! Make sure when sending the information in to the UOAC office that the chapters contact information is current - phone number, email contact, newsletter availability, website, annual dues, meeting dates and times. Visit our chapters page on our website at http://www.ostomycanada.ca/chapters and let the UOAC office know via email if any of the information needs to be updated. Weve had at least one chapter past president contact the office to tell us that the website still included their phone number instead of the current president. Please check your chapters listing to make sure the updates have been done correctly!

Upcoming Events:

UOAC Online Auction Nov 1-15 2013 UOAC Chapter # 604, NL Annual Christmas Dinner Dec 4th, 2013 Ostomy Toronto : Holiday Cocktail Party December 5th, 2013 Regina Chapter 40th Anniversary May, 2014 Saskatoon Chapter 40th Anniversary May, 2014 July 31st - Aug 2nd, 2014. Conference in St. Johns, Newfoundland August 2nd, 2014 Annual General Meeting Delta Hotel, St. Johns, Newfoundland

Note: If your chapter has an upcoming event that you would like added here or on the national website, please email the details to Carol Wells through the national office email.

UOAC Annual General Meeting 2015

We are looking for a host chapter for the year 2015. If any chapter is interested, please contact the national office for a Hotel Check List of the criteria required to host an Annual General Meeting. Also contact your COSS representative for the Chapter Information Session manual.

Ostomy Toronto Holiday Cocktail Party

Event: Place: Time: Cost: On Thursday December 5th, 2013 Ostomy Toronto will host their Holiday Cocktail Party. The event will take place at 245 Davisville Avenue. (Mt. Pleasant Road Davisville Avenue. 6:pm- 10:00 pm $10.00

Our Holiday Party this year has a special significance because Ostomy Toronto turns 55. As per tradition we ask our members to donate new toys for Sick Kids Annual Toy Drive (any new package toy of any price will do). Cost for the evening is $10.00, which covers food and beverages, and is payable by cash at the door.

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District Support Services Report, November 2013

This will probably be the last time that the letters DSS or District Support Services will be in use. The name was change d in April of this year to COSS or Chapter Outreach Support Services to highlight the fact that it is the chapter who will be the focus of the support, not a district. The new COSS manual is a revision of the old manual that will take this fact into account. It is stil l a work in progress because the final version will contain information that chapters consider important to them. In other words, the move to change and innovation will be a two-way street with chapters participating in the changes. The ultimate goal is to have chapters prosper with the help of experienced and skilled people who have the ability to solve most common problems at the chapter level. The only way to resolve issues is to talk about them. Finding solutions to problems is a must, or they will get worse. But, in reality, some chapters are in distress because they have been unable to resolve problems that have been in the making for a long time - for example: declining membership, lack-lustre monthly meetings, tired executive, few volunteers, no long -term plans. The answer? Our COSS Co-ordinators (formerly the DSS Reps) must be available to come to the rescue. As you know, in 2012, tw o Representatives died, one Representative resigned after many years of service, and the Chair retired. It has been most diff icult to find qualified people to volunteer for the vacated positions. We are fortunate that three new people have come forward to take on the challenge. On November 9, there will be an intensive one-day training seminar in Hamilton to prepare all our COSS volunteers to tackle the challenges of dealing with chapters in need. I am pleased to announce the following new candidates for the position of COSS CoOrdinator: Angela McGinn, from St. Johns, NL (for the Maritimes); Gerald Dakiniewich, from Saskatoon, SK, (for Western Canada); and Richard Olley, from Oakville, ON. They will be joining John Molnar, from St. Catharines, ON, (South-Eastern Ontario); JeanPierre Lapointe, from Montreal, (all of Quebec); and Roger Ivol, from Hamilton, ON (South-Western Ontario) for the one day training and orientation session. These Co-ordinators will be expected to provide resources and services to any chapter in his/her area. It must be difficult for chapters who ask for help when there is no one there. UOAC is working to re-build the bridges. But we need more volunteers. Were still looking for two or three new people to serve British Columbia, Northern Ontario and part of the Maritimes. The Co-ordinators will be contacting you, in due course. But we ask that chapters needing assistance not to wait until a Co-ordinator contacts you. Instead, notify the UOAC office as soon as possible and leave a message for your area Co-ordinator to call you. The sooner you do so, the faster will be the response time. We are entering new and exciting times. With fresh new ideas, frank and open dialogue, most problems can be solved. We hope that every successful chapter will share the secrets of their success with the Co -ordinators, who, in turn, will pass on those secrets to other chapters. By working together, we can make lasting change happen. Submitted by, Roger Ivol, COSS Administrator

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Jokes for Today

COSS (DSS): (Hamilton; Stratford; Kitchener-Waterloo; Winsor; Sarnia). Richard Olley (North Ontario Rep) INTERNATION RELATIONS: Pat Cimmeck (Leader) Lisa Gausman (Member) PUBLIC AWARENESS (INCLUDES COD&WOD): John Molnar (Leader) Delilah Guy, Carol Wells, Lorrie Pismenny (Members) FINANCE & FUNDRAISING Administrator: Vacant FINANCE: Steve Maybee (Leader) Executive Committee (Member) FUNDRAISING: John Molnar (Leader) Carol Wells, Andrea Manson, Roger Ivol, Steve Manson, John Delaney (Members) BURSARY: John Molnar (Leader) Roger Ivol, Andrea Manson, Rosemary Gaffray MARKETING & COMMUNICATION Administrator: Carol Wells CONNECTION: Carol Wells (Leader) Ann Ivol, Joel Jacobson, Lorrie Pismenny UOAC Office (Members)

OSTOMY CANADA:
Lisa Gausman (Leader) Lorne Aronson (Advertising), Elizabeth Lindner, UOAC Office (Members) PUBLICATIONS: Ann Ivol (Leader) Joel Jacobson, Andrea Manson (Members) SOCIAL MEDIA / WEBSITE: Peter Folk, John Molnar (Leaders) Andrea Manson, Lisa Gausman, John Molnar, Carol Wells

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PEG BOARD
LOOK FOR UNSUNG HEROES IN YOUR CHAPTERS. LET'S HONOUR THEM BY TELLING US WHAT THEY DO.
Surely there have to be men and women in your chapters who are doing all the little things that make the chapter tick. Email Joel Jacobson, UOAConnection editor, through the national office email at info1@ostomycanada.ca with their story.

2014 UOAC Conference in St. Johns

Delilah Guy has been appointed Conference Administrator for the 2014 conference in St. Johns. She will be working closely wi th St. Johns chapter president and Chair Carol Wells along with other members of the Gander and St. Johns chapters. Watch this spa ce for updates in the coming months! The dates for the Conference are July 31 August 2, 2014. We have the Delta St. Johns tentatively booked. Come see Canada`s coolest city to quote Danny Williams. The Conference Registration and Hotel forms for the 14th National Conference to be held July 31st, to August 2nd, 2013 at the Delta St. John's, St. Johns, NL will be available in the next issue of UOACONNECTION and on the WEBSITE www.ostomycanada.ca. More information will follow