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What an amazing year it has been!

June 14, 2018
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| Categories: Circles

November 2nd, 2017 at our first Circle night, we knew, within minutes, that lives were going to change. Yes we had a lot to learn and we happily dove in, knowing that every minute invested in this initiative was going to significantly impact the community. Throughout our months together, the Leaders and Allies built formidable relationships and have grown to care about each other like a family. In the first few meetings the group took the time to get comfortable with each other and by February we easily settled into our groove. We have each grown and been supported. Our very own Circles Coach, Michelle...

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You Can Now Attend Bridges Out Of Poverty In The Evening!

June 4, 2018
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| Categories: Bridges Out of Poverty, Circles

Now Available: Evening Sessions of Bridges Out of Poverty Through our many conversations with individuals throughout the County, across many sectors, we have come to understand that many of our community members, interested in Circles and Bridges Out of Poverty, are not able to get away for an entire day to attend the full-day Bridges Out of Poverty workshop. We're listening! And we want each and every individual, who is interested, to have the opportunity to increase their awareness of poverty in our community and be given the chance to shift their perspective and feel empowered to be part of...

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“At Circles I feel like I belong”

March 2, 2018
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| Categories: Uncategorized

Many of us who have struggled to fit in, find our place in the world and who work to achieve a true sense of success know the power of truly feeling like we belong. In Dr. Brene Brown’s research on belonging she asked a large group of eighth graders to define belonging…here is what they said: Belonging is being somewhere where you want to be, and they want you. Fitting in is being somewhere where you want to be, but they don’t care one way or the other. Belonging is being accepted for you. Fitting in is being accepted for...

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Is the answer Social Capital?

January 26, 2018
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| Categories: Circles

We believe that an important tool in the toolbox necessary to get out and stay out of poverty is social capital! Have you ever found yourself in a new situation, good or bad that you had no idea how to manage? You knew that you had to make a change but you had no idea how to maneuver this new environment? No idea what to do, or how to respond… uncomfortable, like an outlier? How did you figure it out? Did you Google it, read up, find some info online, collect resources from an info center? What if this new...

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Can children end poverty?

October 25, 2017
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| Categories: Circles

Can Children End Poverty? Similar to and in conjunction with parents and educators in schools, we believe that a significant part of our job is to teach the next generation. When children are born, their parents are their primary source of knowledge.  Once a child enters school their teacher plays a significant role in their lives as well, teaching them the core of academia. And one of the most important things, we believe, is that we ALL need to teach kids the value of helping others.  We view ourselves as educators and part of our goal is to properly educate...

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Together we can overcome poverty

September 6, 2017
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| Categories: Circles

For many, living in financial hardship is a daily struggle. One in 7 Canadian adults and 1 in 5 Canadian children are currently living in poverty.  Globally, World Bank projections suggest that about 700 million people are affected by poverty with about 1.2 billion living on less than $1.25 USD per day. Thankfully, there are many organizations focused on improving the quality of life both within our country and across the world. The key to reducing poverty is to provide opportunities for advancement.  Economic growth goes hand in hand with human growth.  For this be established, people need to have...

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What’s Great about Getting Ahead?

August 16, 2017
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| Categories: Getting Ahead

The goal of Getting Ahead: To help individuals in poverty to build their resources for a more prosperous life for themselves, their families, and their communities. By creating an actionable plan for change graduates of the Getting Ahead program build the capacity to move towards being financially self-sufficient. The Getting Ahead curriculum: Involves work done in a safe learning environment with the support of an experienced facilitator and co-facilitator with lived experience of poverty. Enables you, the participant, (also known as “investigators”) to examine your own experience of poverty as well as explore issues in the community that impact poverty (banking, housing,...

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How to Become a Circles Ally

August 8, 2017
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| Categories: Circles

Are you looking for a great way to give back in your community? Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity that will give you the chance to help change people's lives for the better? To help individuals and families reach their ultimate potential and as a result strengthen the community you care for? Do you see the effects of poverty and wish there was something you could do to help support the members of your community who are struggling? I know you recognize that poverty is a systemic issue and as you learned in your Bridges Out of Poverty training, blaming people for...

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Building Community One Meal At A Time

August 3, 2017
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| Categories: Circles

Have you ever really thought about how sharing a meal or a cup of coffee can change your life? When you sit down with your family over dinner - which I know doesn’t always happen since Amara has soccer and Kingston has basketball - you engage in conversation, laughter, fun and interaction, which all provide you with opportunities.  Opportunities to learn, share and grow. There are plenty of statistics telling us why it’s important to eat meals together as a family, but how does that relate to us personally? The fact is, we’ve all had those moments, ones that have...

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Find Out Why Circles® Is More Than Just A “Program”

June 29, 2017
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| Categories: Circles

People have asked me "What is Circles?" As the Simcoe County Circles Coordinator, I have the privilege of working and learning from so many wonderful people in our community. Recently I engaged in a powerful conversation with a wonderful woman who is currently struggling to get herself and her 4 children out of poverty. What I learned from her (even though I thought I knew) was that the circumstances that forced her to make some very tough decisions, which led to the struggle to keep her family together, could VERY EASILY have happened to me. What also moved me (to tears)...

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