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Volunteer at National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women Vigil (12/6/2012)

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Once you've reviewed the event details, and decided you'd like to join us, you MUST sign up at the bottom of this page.

You are STRONGLY encouraged to read this page in its entirety before signing up. If you'd like to attend, we ask that you abide by our rules and procedures as a time/cost saving process (with an end result of keeping membership free and lower cost events).

The Basics:

Event Type:

Volunteer

Event Location:

Philosopher's Walk (on Bloor between Avenue and Bedford, next to the ROM)

Date(s) & Time:

Thu, Dec 6 2012 1:00 PM

Registration Cut Off:

Wed, Dec 5 2012 8:00:00 PM

Event Duration:

6 hours if you stay through to the end of the vigil

Difficulty Rating:

D1: Easy

Event Coordinator(s):

Mat M
You must be logged in to get the Event Coordinator contact information.

Member Cost:

Voluntary Donation Only (See Below)

Participant Info:

Who's Invited:

Members Only, 18 And Older Only

Maximum Group Size:

Minimum Group Size:

Number Registered So Far:

6 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)

Are Dogs Permitted:

Itinerary:

Every year, women and men pause on December 6th to reflect on violence against women in our society and remember the 14 young women killed in 1989 at Montreal’s l’École Polytechnique just because they were female. In response to that event, in 1991, the Government of Canada officially designated December 6th as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Every year since 1990, a Toronto-based organization known as Women Won't Forget has conducted a vigil at 6 PM on December 6th at Philosopher's Walk, where there is a memorial to the women from Montreal, and 14 red oak trees, one planted for each woman murdered in 1989.

We'll meet at the north entrance to Philosopher's Walk, which is on the south side of Bloor between Avenue and Bedford, or in between the ROM and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

We'll walk to the vigil site (just a few minutes away) and once there, we will be assisting the organizers with setup, which primarily consists of hammering wooden stakes into the ground (makeshift gravestones for all the women murdered in Ontario since 1989).

Depending on how many volunteers there are, setup tasks could take anywhere from an hour to most of the afternoon. The actual vigil starts at 6PM. You need not stay for the vigil if your schedule won't allow for it. Even just coming out to help with preparations will be greatly appreciated. The organizers also need volunteers just before, during and after the vigil to hand out the folded programs, help direct people to the vigil site, clean up after the vigil, etc. For that reason, if you can stay for the vigil and if setup is finished early such that there is time between when we finish and when we're needed back for the vigil itself, we'll head to a nearby Tim Horton's to keep warm. If you would like to volunteer but can't come at the 1 PM meeting time, please click on the website link below, and contact the organizers directly about how you can volunteer.

Please keep in mind that although there are some tasks that can be done indoors, the bulk of the volunteering will take place outdoors and it can get chilly.

The vigil itself consists of a native healing ceremony, speakers, performers and ends with the laying of roses on the monument. Everyone is welcome and the ceremony proceeds regardless of the weather. If you can't volunteer, please consider coming out for the vigil itself.

For more information visit www.womenwontforget.org

Required Items to Bring:

Warm clothing as we'll be outdoors for the duration of the event.

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.
Candles and/or a rose for the ceremony.
If you got 'em - Hammers, Chisels or screw drivers and WARM CLOTHES. We won't be doing any heavy lifting, just hammering some of the stakes for the grave stones (made of construction paper and wood) into the ground.

How to Get There:

Event Directions:

TTC to either Museum or St. George Subway Station. From Museum, walk north on Queen's Park to Bloor, then turn left (i.e. go west) on Bloor, past the ROM, to the north entrance of Philosopher's Walk. From St. George Station, go to the Bedford Road exit, walk south to Bloor, cross to the south side of Bloor, turn left (i.e. go east) and walk past the Royal Conservatory of Music to the entrance to Philosopher's Walk. If you

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Notes:

Photo Credit: Taken by Event Organizer (Mat M) at the 2008 Vigil.
- We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines at all times while participating in TOC events.
- Details of this event are subject to undergo a change at any point in time, with or without warning.
- Questions about equipment or rentals? Send them to safety@torontooutdoorclub.com.
- Notice any errors or problems in the information on this page? Please notify our Content Editor(s), Stacy, at content@torontooutdoorclub.com.

Voluntary Donation: ( What is this?)
Suggested donation amount for this event is: $1.00/Person.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance:
Please review our Cancellation Policy carefully!