December 3, 2018 marked the 15^th yearof our Charitable Trust Dinner, an evening of ceremony, reverence and reflection.The Dinner is an annual event held during the 16 Days of Activism againstgender Based Violence to honour the memory of the 14 women who died on December6, 1989 at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.

It is also an evening to learn more about domestic violence in our community and about the programs available for victims and an opportunity to raise funds for the CFUW 1989 Ecole Polytechnique Commemorative Awards.

Guest speakers are invited from community services such Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre, Police Services (the Police Chief), Transition House, Victim Services, the Domestic Violence Community Coordinating Committee, the North East Women’s Health Alliance and True Self.

This year our speaker was Shannon Palmer, a social worker at North Bay Correctional Services. Shannon, a former recipient of a CFUW North Bay Scholarship, gave an outstanding presentation on“Perspectives on Local Women’s Justice”. She has initiated classes for inmates leading to a secondary school graduation diploma and established a library within the facility.