It is with great pleasure that we announce the newly elected board for 2024-2025. We are excited to continue working together to advocate for and support the guide dog user community across the country.
During our AGM on Saturday, we successfully elected the following positions:
President – – Dar Wournell by acclamation for a two-year term.
Treasurer – – Marisa Hersey-Misner by acclamation for a two-year term.
Secretary – – Cathy Stuckenberg elected for a two-year term.
Additionally, we elected 7 directors, all for a one-year term:
• Blair Young
• Devon Wilkins
• John Morris
• Louise Johnson
• Philip Strong
• Ryan Hooey
• Wendy Sloat.
We are grateful to all who participated in the election, and we extend our congratulations to the new board members. As always, we encourage open communication and welcome any questions, concerns, or ideas you may have. You can reach out to the board at any time at:
guidedogusers@gmail.com
and we look forward to hearing from you.
Together, we will continue to strengthen our community and ensure that the voices of guide dog users are heard.
Warm regards,
Dar Wournell
President
Guide Dog Users of Canada
www.gduc.ca
Invitation to “Sniffing It Out” with Phil Griffin – Thursday, July 18, 2024
Dear Members and Friends of GDUC:
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Sniffing It Out discussion, where we will have the pleasure of hosting Phil Griffin from Leader Dogs for the Blind. Phil will be speaking on a vital topic for all guide dog handlers – – Various Considerations for Proper Dog Preparation and Care When Dealing with Extreme Weather.
About Phil Griffin
Phil Griffin is currently Team 1 Supervisor at Leader Dogs for the Blind. He has been at Leader Dogs for 34 years now. Starting in June of 1990, Phil was hired in as member of dog care where he worked and cared for the incoming dogs, dogs in training and some of the breeding stock and puppies housed on campus. He spent 1 ½ years doing that before starting his apprenticeship and becoming a GDMI in 1994. Since that time, he has been a team supervisor, assistant director of training, director of canine care and kennel manager as Leader dogs was renovating the kennel. After the renovations, Phil returned to training and team supervisor where he currently works and supports the current management and department until retirement which is closing in faster than he is ready for!
Event Details
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2024
Time:
• 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland
• 8 p.m. Atlantic.
• 7 p.m. Eastern.
• 6 p.m. Central.
• 5 p.m. Mountain, and,
• 4 p.m. Pacific.
Location: Zoom (details will be provided upon registration)
This session will provide invaluable insights and practical tips to ensure your guide dog is well-prepared and cared for during extreme weather conditions.
To participate, please e-mail us at
guidedogusers@gmail.com
to receive the Zoom information. note that this presentation will be recorded.
We hope you can join us then!
Best regards,
Guide Dog Users of Canada
Join the Giving Tuesday movement! Donate from now until November 29 and help Guide Dog Users of Canada win $5,000!
November 16, 2022
Dear Member, Friend and Supporter of Guide Dog Users of Canada
Giving Tuesday is now well established in Canada as a day to give back to the community and causes that we care about. As you consider the charities and special causes you wish to support this year, we invite you to consider supporting the work of Guide Dog Users of Canada.
A registered Canadian charity since the late 1990’s, Guide Dog Users of Canada (GDUC) brings together guide dog handlers and those waiting to work with a guide dog across Canada.
As a totally volunteer run organization, GDUC works to educate the public on the access rights of guide dog handlers and provides support to guide dog teams in the areas of advocacy, education and peer support. Throughout the pandemic, we worked hard to facilitate connections among guide dog handlers through our discussion lists and regular “Sniffing it Out” chats via Zoom that focused on education and sharing information and experiences. And we value the opportunity to represent the needs and views of guide dog handlers at the community and government levels, including recent advocacy on such important topics as, for example, relief areas in airports.
In addition to our education, advocacy and peer support efforts, GDUC also operates two special funds: a Wellness Fund that helps offset unexpected veterinary costs incurred by handlers in order to do everything possible to keep a guide dog working. Our Mary Spice Fund provides small grants to help our members attend in person conferences, which we try to hold on an annual basis (of course interrupted by the pandemic). Given that our members come from across the country and many are on fixed income, the ability to offer small transportation grants helps us make our organization more inclusive.
None of these activities would be possible without the continued support of our generous donors. We invite you to include Guide Dog Users of Canada as you make your charitable giving decisions this year. You are welcome to support our general GDUC operations, or contribute directly to our Wellness Fund or our Mary Spice Fund. The easiest way to donate is via Canada Helps. Simply search for “Guide Dog Users of Canada” and make your donation directly using Canada Helps which will also issue you your charitable income tax receipt on our behalf. If you wish to designate your donation to one of our particular funds, you can also do that on the Canada Helps Donation page. Also, another reason to use Canada Helps to make your donation, if you can – between now and November 29th, all donors via Canada Helps will be entered into a draw to win a $5000 contribution to the charity of your choice. All donors are automatically entered into the draw between now and November 29th which is Giving Tuesday. You can visit Canada Helps at: www.CanadaHelps.ca. Once on the Canada Helps site, just search for guide Dog Users of Canada.
If you prefer not to use Canada Helps, you may either make your donation via interac e-transfer to the email: treasurer@gduc.ca or via personal cheque. In either case, please contact our treasurer, Penny Hartin, directly at treasurer@gduc.cawho can provide you with specific instructions and also obtain the information she will need to issue your charitable income tax receipt.
Our guide dogs provide us with friendship, independence and a precious link to the communities in which we live. We sincerely thank you for supporting us, the handlers in being the best we can be in supporting our guide dog/human partnership.
Sincerely yours,
Dar Wournell
President
Guide Dog Users of Canada
Mom’s Pantry Fundraiser
Hello everyone:
We are fundraising again this year with Mom’s Pantry. You can start
ordering immediately. The closing date to order is December 1. Once an
order is placed, it will be shipped within a few business days. Please
note: no frozen items will be mailed out
other than the cinnamon and garlic spreads. To place an order, please go to:
Once items are added to your cart, enter the following information:
Group name: GDUC
Order number: 361067
Group passcode: 28100
Thank you for supporting this fundraiser.
Cathy Stuckenberg, Chair
Fund Development Committee
Sniffing It Out Recording with Senator Chantal Petitclerc
Below is the link to the recording for the Sniffing It Out session with Senator Chantal Petitclerc. This meeting with the Senator took place on 17 October 2022.
If there are issues with the link to the recording, email your GDUC Technical Committee
Guide Dog Users of Canada HRSO Proposed Standards Information Session
Notice to GDUC members and guide dog handlers.
As you may have heard the HRSO proposed standards for Animal Assisted Human Services are available for public consultation with the deadline of July 15th. The National Coalition of Guide and Service Dogs has already prepared accessible versions of the proposed standards for our use given that the Public consultation process was inaccessible. In addition, the Coalition has prepared a background document on some ideas for responding to the proposed standard. CNIB has done similarly.
If you would like copies of the documents prepared by the coalition and by CNIB for your review in the event that they assist you in preparing your own comments/responses to the proposed standard reach out to the GDUC Communications Committee by email. Or if you would like a copy of the accessible version of the Proposed standard prepared by the coalition contact the GDUC Communications Committee as well: communications@gduc.ca
The GDUC Board and members of the Coalition are hosting an information session for GDUC members or interested guide dog handlers on Wednesday, July 6th at 6:0pm Eastern (Toronto) time in order to provide everyone with additional information and strategies to consider. If you would like to attend send an email to the GDUC Communications Committee to have the Zoom Cloud Meetings link sent to you in order to join this information session: communications@gduc.ca