2020-05-14 Meeting

Dan giving a presentation to Manitoba Over The Rainbow. Part of the larger Winnipeg Rainbow Resource Centre - almost fifty year old community organization.

Started in Dec 2015, Roberta. came together for movies, coffee, chats, dinner, programming 2 days a week. Program coordinator, open to 55+ Q community. Members from varying backgrounds, swap recipes, stories

Service level agreements 50% - provincial - various contracts about the other half, plus private donations. Funding from New Horizons, the Secretariat, Tri City Project, Saskatoon & Edmonton, and Jar on the table during meetings.

Dan MacKay - any pronouns - Mi'kmag language / algonquian language - doesn't have them

Long time queer publisher in Halifax

History: read top of https://gay.hfxns.org/ElderBerries

Governance: very very loose society structure

• we have an ex officio and an ex ex officio board members
• The board does multiple jobs: Chair also does the newsletter; Secretary also does membership
• Collections at events. Will be asking for online collections if necessary.

At the moment we have

• 279 people to contact by email
• 8 we phone
• FB page has 380 likes and 434 follows (not sure how that relates)
• Obviously some overlap

Activities

• social events
• "Speaker's Bureau"
• lobbying / political work: fairly effective

On very good terms with the local large old folks home, Northwood -

Bad Northwood news.

Social events are totally carte blanche

• Show Patricia Martinson
• Always have some kind of food- particulars are announced before
• Almost always have a "pass the hat"

Feedback from a survey

• inconvenient times
• don't like the food
• can't travel
• don't like the venue

Zoom experience

• people who have never been to a meeting
• Did a very successful grief counselling session
• People like the social times

Elderberries built on to the Over 30s

Suggestion: just start doing it and invite people.

Ideas:

• Intergenerational movie night: Secret Love