I’m proud to say that 2017 marked another successful year for the Williamsburg Community Association (WCA) and our community. Throughout the past year we secured a large community matching grant from the City of Kitchener, once again partnered with several local businesses for our annual events, launched a new website and reviewed important documents that mold our Association.
Reflecting back on 2017, I’m extremely thankful to live in a community that thrives on social events and continually supports our Association.
Our three main events in 2017 included Family Day in February, Neighbours Day in June and the Williamsburg Festival in September. Family Day gave the WCA an opportunity to partner with Freedom in Christ Church as they hosted and ran all indoor activities including a full playroom of Lego, K’nex, blocks and crafts. The WCA ran all outdoor activities including snowshoeing, Plinko and snow painting. This event led to a strong foundation between Freedom in Christ Church and the WCA. We look forward to partnering with them again in the future!
Neighbours Day was filled with events starting with a community garage sale in the morning, events in Max Becker Commons Park during the day and a movie in the park at night. The movie was generously donated by the Tracey Valko Team who supports our community every chance they can – and we’re grateful for their support! Over 350 community members came out and sat under the stars to watch Sing! Thank you to all the families who participated in Neighbours Day, congratulations to all the prize winners and thank you to all the businesses who supported this event. The WCA is always looking for new members. If you’re interested in joining the Association or Board, please get in touch with us by email at Williamsburg.community@gmail.com.
The Williamsburg Festival is always a key time for the WCA to connect with community members, tell you all about the exciting things the WCA is planning and also listen to feedback from our community. During this event, we gave out almost 100 snow cones to community members and their families. If you would like to get news about the WCA, our programs and community events, please visit our website and sign up for our e-newsletter.
This year the City of Kitchener offered matching grants to local neighbourhoods around the city who want to improve their community. The WCA was thrilled to learn that the grant we submitted to improve Max Becker Commons Park was chosen for one of the matching grants. Once RBJ Schlegal found out about the grants, they also contributed to project. This made our improvement plan even more of a reality. A small committee is currently working hard to complete the improvement plan so things can begin in spring 2018.
Another tremendous accomplishment for the WCA in 2017 was launching our new website design! The new website (williamsburgcommunity.ca) includes a user-friendly scrolling display so you can easily find information about current programs and upcoming events, pictures of our community members and Association, a blog about all things related to Williamsburg and links to our social networks – we hope you follow us and who knows, you may even see yourself in a photo! This project was a huge undertaking and I’m very proud of the outcome. The new website is a fantastic reflection of our community and the WCA’s values.
A huge personal accomplishment during my time as President was the review of the Associations’ Bylaws, Policies and Procedures and Code of Conduct. Reviewing and updating these documents keeps up with our ever changing neighbourhood and also represents the communities best interests such as unanimous decisions and elimination of dual roles within the Association.
Overall, the WCA accomplished a lot in 2017 and I would like to thank you for your continued support – it helps build a strong community. I’m very proud of our milestones over the past year and look forward to 2018!
Tara Parachuk
WCA President