Best Buddies
Best Buddies Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing our communities through one-to-one friendships between individuals with intellectual disabilities and students.
Founded in the United States by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies established its first chapter in Canada in 1993 and was incorporated as a registered Canadian charity in 1995.
Today, there are 180 Best Buddies chapters operating in numerous communities throughout Canada, involving approximately 3000 active volunteers. Queen’s was the first Best Buddies Chapter established in Kingston!
In our chapter Queen’s students are matched with a member of the Kingston community with an intellectual disability based on interests and compatibility. Buddy pairs then hang out every few weeks one on one as well as part of larger social activities which are organized by the executive team. The number of buddy pairs each year is dependent on the number of interested volunteers however our numbers grow every year!
Our program gives people with intellectual disabilities the chance to have experiences which most people take for granted – going for coffee, out to a movie, or simply enjoying the company of a good friend. For a person with an intellectual disability, friendship helps to ease the isolation, disempowerment or loneliness that often deepens the challenges that he or she faces daily. By having a student friend, Buddies are able to explore their world with a peer who brings empathy, laughter and support.
Please help us keep the buddy tradition alive!
Positive Space
The Positive Space Program identifies and encourages the development of “positive spaces” where sexual and gender identity is affirmed and individuals can receive support and information on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) issues.
The program recognizes that all spaces at Queen’s should be safe for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, and provides a way for Queen’s community members—students, faculty, and staff—to take responsibility for challenging discrimination and contributing to a welcoming and inclusive environment.
The goals of Positive Space are:
* To increase the visibility of LGBTQ people, issues, and communities
* To offer support and resources to individuals concerning LGBTQ issues
* To strengthen the LGBTQ and ally communities on campus and in Kingston
Those interested in the program can attend an Information Session and then determine whether they wish to become a participant and post a Positive Space sticker.
While gender and sexual diversity are the focus, the program also recognises the similarities and intersections among all forms of discrimination and the need to combat racism, sexism, ableism, classism, and ageism, in addition to homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and heterosexism.
Initiated by students with assistance from the Human Rights Office, Positive Space is celebrating its 10th anniversary at Queen’s this year. A steering committee guides the program, which in addition to facilitating Information Sessions also undertakes other projects, including the production of a directory of LGBTQ-friendly resources and services in the Kingston area.
QPID
Queen’s Project on International Development (QPID)’s student fee is up for renewal this year! If approved at referendum, QPID’s student fee will remain at $2.00 subject to individual opt-out. QPID relies on this funding to support its initiatives.
For the past 19 years, QPID has been one of Canada’s only entirely student-run non-governmental organizations. What began as an engineering project building water wells in Guyana has grown into an organization that engages students of all faculties and disciplines in several different initiatives.
A component to QPID’s mandate is its international and Canadian summer projects. In order to participate in these projects, QPID partners with non-governmental organizations in project regions to work on development-based initiatives addressing community-identified needs. QPID hopes that through its projects, cooperants gain an appreciation for the complexities of development and the importance of active local and global citizenship. In the summer of 2009, QPID sent a total of 14 Queen’s students to Nunavut, Guyana, and Ghana.
On campus and in the community, QPID’s Kingston Projects committee hosts an annual, completely free conference for local high school students. At the conference, students have the opportunity to engage with development through interactive workshops, presentations, and discussion with speakers. Additionally, weekly QPID Forum on campus encourages Queen’s students to interact with development-based topics through discussion. Both are a valuable way for Queen’s students to engage with development.
Funds raised from the student fee assist significantly in funding QPID’s local and global initiatives. Without the support of the AMS student fee, QPID would be unable to participate in the initiatives it does. On October 27th and 28th, vote YES to the continuation of QPID’s student fee and support one of the most unique student groups in Canada!
QSAB
QSAB works with the Department of Volunteer Services at the Kingston General Hospital to enhance the student volunteer experience by providing leadership and mentorship to the student volunteer programs. Many Queen’s students volunteer their time and effort to the KGH volunteer force, and QSAB is present to nurture a welcoming and supportive environment for these volunteers in addition to providing education, development, and fundraising opportunities for interested students. Events range from fundraising bake sales to seminars addressing topics such as medical school and communication with those who have mental disabilities. The proposed student opt-out fee will help QSAB minimize operating costs while implementing health care education workshops, volunteer appreciation events, and fundraising initiatives. QSAB is actively involved in furthering the mission of the KGH Auxiliary in the areas of fundraising, patient services, and community involvement. All money fundraised by QSAB goes towards improving patient care and comfort at KGH.
Queen’s Secularists and Inquirers
Queen’s Secularists and Inquirers is a discussion group on campus, meant to provide a free-forum for issues of secularism, challenge dogma, insure a diversity of ideas are heard at Queen’s, and allow inquiring minds to network. Good membership insures the quality of the discussion – without our members we are nothing. To that end, we’ve proposed a 10 cent optional student activity fee to fund our key budgetary concern: advertising. The service we offer (discussion) is free, but attracting membership each year to maintain the highly engaging and educational quality of the group is not. This will also give us more financial flexibility, allowing the group to expand and host more events on campus. The kinds of events we’ve hosted in the past are movie screenings, forums with profs, and fundraising for micro-loans charities.
Queen’s Swing Club
The Queen’s Swing Club is dedicated to sharing the love of Swing Dancing, both with Queen’s students and the Kingston community. Beginner lessons are held every Monday night, followed by social dancing to practice all the cool new moves learned in the lesson. Swing Dancing is a great form of exercise, a way to meet new people, hear great music, and learn about the history and culture of Swing. Most importantly, it’s a lot of fun!
We would like to establish a $0.20 student fee (subject to individual opt out), to help us cover our costs. As one of the most affordable student clubs ($2.00 to drop in or $10 for a membership for the whole year), this twenty cent fee would allow the Queen’s Swing Club to hold more special events, such as live band nights and workshops, and at cheaper prices. For more information about the club, visit our website at www.queensswingclub.com.
Sexual Health Resource Centre
The Sexual Health Resource Centre (SHRC) is a confidential, non-judgmental, pro-choice, queer positive, non-heterosexist, feminist information and referral resource for questions regarding sex, sexuality, and sexual health.
Our office in the John Deutsch University Centre is staffed by trained volunteers who respond to inquiries both in person and on the phone by providing current and accurate information, and referrals to community resources. The SHRC extends its services to both the Queen’s and Kingston communities and keeps its office open year-round.
Our services include a confidential phone line, an extensive lending library and pamphlet collection, and we sell non-prescription safer sex products and sex toys at cost, which ensures that products are financially accessible to clients. Volunteers provide free educational workshops on campus, at a variety of venues in Kingston including high schools, and in surrounding communities. The SHRC also maintains an informational website.
AMS student fees allow the SHRC to run educational programs and events, purchase important teaching tools, maintain a large product base to cater to diverse clients, and grow our resource library to include new topics in sexual health and replace outdated material.
The Sustainability Action Fund
The Sustainability Action Fund (SAF) is a new initiative to create a grant-making fund for sustainability-focused undergraduate student initiatives at Queen’s University. Any undergraduate-run project that plans to reduce the university’s negative environmental impact and make campus more sustainable will be eligible for funding. Grants given will fund student-run projects that increase campus energy efficiency, reduce waste, or educate the Queen’s community on sustainability-related issues. Such projects include, but are not limited to: student research, projects proposed and to be managed by students, and internships. To be considered for SAF funding, projects must meet the following criteria:
Projects must directly address environmental sustainability on the Queen’s University campus, or in the capacity that on-campus activities influence sustainability off-campus.
All proposed projects must have a clearly defined, measureable, and quantifiable outcome.
Project proposals may be submitted by Queen’s University students, staff, administrators, or faculty, provided that at undergraduate students have strong involvement in the project in a managerial capacity.
The SAF shall only fund projects that go above and beyond minimum sustainability requirements already established by the university.
All projects selected for funding shall have a mechanism for measurement, evaluation, and follow-up after funding has been dispersed.
Projects shall have publicity, education, and outreach components.
The fee of $2.85 per undergraduate student (optional) will generate the funds available through the SAF grants. An annually appointed SAF Granting Committee, comprised of voting undergraduate student members and advisory faculty, staff, and administrator members, will select grant recipients. This Committee and all its activities will be fully accountable, submitting annual reports of all activities, including projects receiving grants and financial statements.
Telephone Aid Line Kingston
Telephone Aid Line Kingston (TALK) is a confidential, anonymous and non-judgmental volunteer-based service providing crisis, distress, befriending and information support. TALK’s aim is to meet the needs of a diverse population, principally within Queen’s, Kingston and the surrounding area. We are a safe place to call when you don’t know where to turn.
The phone lines at TALK are staffed by trained volunteers from 7pm to 3am every night of the year. We handle many topics and situations, including issues surrounding sexual orientation, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide and abuse. TALK provides a wide range of services from crisis management to offering information to other agencies in the community.
TALK has been in operation as a non-profit organization since 1973 and was founded by a Queen’s student. It has grown to become an accredited member of Distress Centres of Ontario (DCO), a registered charity and an official AMS club.
The AMS student interest fees contribute to a large portion of TALK’s budget. These allow us to maintain the operation of our phone lines, to provide our volunteers with the training they need and to raise awareness of our organization and its services. Throughout our affiliation with Queen’s, TALK has been a visible profile on campus. We publish the ‘Learning to Listen’ guide, which teaches active listening skills and crisis response techniques. This is available to other organizations as well as to dons and floor seniors in Queen’s residences. We are always looking for new volunteers at TALK and extensive training sessions are run twice a year.
For more information, feel free to call our business line at 613-531-8529. Need to talk? Call 613-544-1771.
Plebiscite question
Do you agree that Queen’s University should take immediate action to reduce our global impact on climate change, by signing a comprehensive treaty that will commit Queen’s to science-based Green House Gas reductions?
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