Month: September 2015
THE BANK OF CANADA LAUNCHES NEW VIMY-THEMED $20 BILL.
The Vimy Foundation is very pleased that on May 3rd, the Bank of Canada unveiled the new $20 that will be put in circulation in the coming months.
Thanks to the Bank of Canada, the victory of Vimy Ridge will be depicted on the new bill, allowing Canadians to carry a piece of history in their wallets. Just as Canadian innovation was successfully demonstrated on the battlefield of Vimy and with the architectural design of the memorial some years later, the new series of Canadian notes are at the frontier of bank note technology and will set a benchmark worldwide.
The Bank of Canada unveiled this new $20 bill during a very important time, as people across Canada and France just commemorated the 95th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 2012. This prestigious honour will help commemorate the sacrifice and success of Canadian soldiers in the First World War.
The Vimy Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote Canada’s First World War Legacy as symbolized by the victory at Vimy in 1917 and is thus proud to have consulted the Bank of Canadaon this initiative and to have given support with regards to the theme and design of the new bill. The Foundation looks forward to future collaboration with the Bank of Canada.
For more information on the new $20 bill, please visit: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/ займ без отказа
2015 BEAVERBROOK VIMY PRIZE WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
The Vimy Foundation is proud to announce the 2015 winners of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize, a prestigious scholarship that aims to educate and inspire students through the historic Battle of Vimy Ridge, where Canada came of age and was then recognized on the world stage.
Now in its tenth annual edition, the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize provides students aged 15 to 17 with the unique opportunity to take part in an intensive and rewarding scholarship program in Europe. From August 7 to August 21, 2015, students will participate in educational seminars, visit museums and historic battlefields, gravesites and monuments such as the iconic Vimy War Memorial, while building new relationships with other participants from Canada, the United Kingdom and France, as they learn about history.
List of Winners:
Thomas Albertini – Toronto, ON
Isabelle Ava-Pointon – Vancouver, BC
Rachel Bannerman – Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Luca Bonifacio-Proietto – St. Catharines, ON
Derrin Couture – Debden, SK
Gabriel Duguay – Halifax, NS
Jessica Dutchak – Dauphin, MB
Palma Gurdulic – King, ON
Josanna Hickey – Bathurst, NB
Caitlyn Jarvis – Gibsons, BC
Carson Jones – Delta, BC
Aspen Murray – Hartland, NB
Nicolas Rigudiere – Bezouotte, France
Evan Rippin – Langley, BC
Mollie Symons – Wolfville, NS
Alice Vines – Surrey, Great Britain
Congratulations!
For more information about this program, please contact:
Stella Begic
Programs Manager, Vimy Foundation
514.904.1007
sbegic@vimyfoundation.ca деньги в долг
VIMY FOUNDATION RELEASES NEW POLL FOR VIMY WEEK 2015
New Vimy Foundation poll reveals majority of Canadians believe 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge in 2017 should be focus of Canada’s Sesquicentennial
Vimy Day to be celebrated across Canada on April 9
TORONTO—April 8, 2015 —To mark Vimy Day (April 9), The Vimy Foundation has released a new poll measuring Canadian attitudes and knowledge of this seminal moment in Canadian history.
With 2017 being a big year for Canada as it celebrates both its 150th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, one of the most famous battles of Canadian history, which scholars often point to as Canada’s definitive “coming of age” moment, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Vimy Foundation has revealed that three quarters (74%) of Canadians ‘agree’ that ‘the 100th anniversary of Vimy, falling as it does in 2017, should be one of the most important celebrations for Canada that year’.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge, and its contribution to Canadian history and nation building, is so significant that the government of Canada chose to include an image of the monument on the new $20 bill. Many Canadians want to see the gesture go even further: a majority (51%) of Canadians ‘agree’ that since the new $20 Canadian polymer bill features an image of the Vimy monument, they’d ‘support changing the name of the $20 bill to a “Vimy” to help commemorate the battle’s centennial in 2017’.
“It is encouraging that a clear majority of the country recognizes the important place the victory holds in our history,” said Jeremy Diamond, Executive Director of the Vimy Foundation. “As we countdown to 2017, we look forward to further engaging and educating Canadians about this seminal moment in our nation’s history.”
Troubling was that four in ten (40%) Canadians feels the war cenotaph/memorial in their community is ‘in need of repair and/or restoration’. Built following the end of the First World War, these cenotaphs/memorials are often used for public gatherings and celebrations, particularly on Remembrance Day.
From 2014 to 2018, Canada and those around the world mark the 100th anniversary of many important milestones from the First World War. But most Canadians are not entirely aware of these important anniversaries. Four in ten (44%) ‘agree’ that they are ‘aware of upcoming centennial anniversaries of important moments of the First World War, such as poet John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields, the Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, etc’. Conversely, a majority (56%) ‘disagrees’ (they are aware of these important milestones).
Interestingly, 5% of those polled (up 2% from 2014), said that they or a member of their family are considering travelling to Vimy for centennial celebrations in 2017.
Other findings include:
- Three quarters (75%) ‘agree’ a visit to Canadian battlefields, cemeteries and historic sites in Europe has or would increase my knowledge and appreciation for Canada’s military history,
- Three quarters (72%) ‘agree’ that all Canadians should participate in a local activity to celebrate Canada’s 150 birthday in 2017
- A majority of Quebeckers (54%) support the renaming of the $20 bill to a ‘Vimy’ in time for the centennial in 2017
- Half of Albertans (50%) ‘agree’ that the cenotaph/memorial in their community is in need of repair/restoration
The Vimy Foundation, working with the Government of Canada, is spearheading the building of an Education Centre at the Vimy Memorial site in France, so that students and visitors can better understand this pivotal moment in Canadian history. The Centre will open on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9, 2017. For more information on Vimy 2017, visit www.vimy100.ca
Click here to view full poll results.
The Vimy Foundation
Founded in 2006, the mission of the Vimy Foundation is to preserve and promote Canada’s First World War legacy as symbolized with the victory of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, a milestone when Canada came of age and was then recognized on the world stage. Visit www.vimyfoundation.ca.
THE VIMY FOUNDATION REMEMBERS ROBERT FENECH
In Memory of Robert Gerald Fenech
August 9, 1955 – March 30, 2015
Rob passed away suddenly on Monday, March 30, 2015. Born August 9, 1955 in Toronto, Rob was a proud and dedicated employee of the Toronto Transit Commission for 27 years. He had numerous respectable qualities but will be fondly remembered for his great sense of humour, exceptional carpentry skills and his willingness to jump in and help others. He was a staunch supporter of the Vimy Foundation by proudly wearing his Vimy pin on any occasion.
He enjoyed travelling, from visiting his favorite country Brazil to splashing with friends and their children at the Great Wolf Lodge. One of his favorite pastimes was his daily leisurely strolls through Wychwood Park and watching Seinfeld episodes every evening. Rob will be lovingly remembered by his cherished spouse, Madlyn Sue; beloved son of Mary Fenech and the late Joseph Fenech, dear brother of Joe (Anne), Doreen Ciamarra (Tony), Peggy Haslett (Tom), Diane, Louise Kelly (Sean), Paul, and Maryellen MacDonald (Danny); dear brother-in-law of May Yan (John), Karen Fong (Ian), Wayne Sue (Heather) and Jean Sue (Tony); and dear uncle to numerous nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may visit at the Jerrett Funeral Home, 1141 St. Clair Ave. W., Toronto (1 block east of Dufferin St) on Friday from 2-4pm and 6-9pm. The Funeral Service will be on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 11am in the Jerrett Funeral Home Chapel. Cremation to follow privately.
To make a donation to the Vimy Foundation in honour of Rob, please click here.
2015 VIMY PILGRIMAGE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
The Vimy Pilgrimage Award recognizes the actions of young people who demonstrate outstanding service, positive contributions, notable deeds, bravery or leadership. Their acts may have served their peers, schools, communities, province or country. This award consists of a fully funded, week-long educational program in Vimy, France, to study Canada’s tremendous First World War effort. This year the week is scheduled for April 5 – 13, 2015 and will include classroom education and daily field trips to important First World War sites.
Thank you to our generous supporters of this program: EF Educational Tours Canada and Canada’s History.
Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Somaya Amiri – New Westminster, BC
Michael Batas – Calgary, AB
Kathleen Blundon – Mount Pearl, NL
Noémie Cloutier – Montréal, QC
Hicham El Bayadi – Orleans, ON
Emma Doucette – Johnston’s River, PE
Evan Dyson – Brandon, MB
Hilary Friesen – Halifax, NS
Émélie Gagnon – DSL de Grand-Sault, NB
Branden Handrahan – Bragg Creek, AB
Jonah Lee-McNamee – Vancouver, BC
Annie Martel – St-Pierre Jolys, MB
Taiya Melancon – Mayo, YK
Rishabh Nag – Mississauga, ON
Paul Okundaye – Niagara Falls, ON
Tiffany Quon – Vancouver, BC
Emily Roach – Blind River, ON
Madeleine Robitaille – Rhodes Corner, NS
Jessica Scott – Regina, SK
Nikolas Starzomski-Wilson – Howie Center, NS займы на карту
UPDATE! THE VIMY OAKS OF SCARBOROUGH-AGINCOURT
THE VIMY OAKS of Scarborough-Agincourt
Saturday, January 24, 2015
On April 9, 1917, Vimy Ridge was captured by Canadian forces and, with the victory that claimed nearly 11,000 Canadian casualties and lives, Canada became a nation.
Born in 1889 in Milliken north of Agincourt, Leslie Miller survived three and a half years of trench warfare in World War I with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, including the historic battles at Paschendale, Ypres and Vimy. After the Vimy battle was won, many soldiers realized that they had been part of something truly great. Leslie Miller looked around for a souvenir on the Ridge, which was completely devoid of structures or vegetation due to shell fire but he did find a half buried oak tree. He gathered up a handful of acorns.
Those acorns were subsequently planted by him on farm land which is now home to the Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church. He called his farm the ‘Vimy Oaks Farm’. Today, several of the original oaks survive. However, there are no original oaks on the Vimy Ridge site.
Monty McDonald, as a teenager, worked with Leslie Miller on his farm. In remembrance of him and all our Canadian soldiers, Monty came up with the idea of repatriating the Vimy Oaks of Scarborough-Agincourt back to Vimy, France.
And so, the Vimy Oaks Team was formed to help preserve and promote Canada’s WWI legacy through the creation of a living memorial.
In partnership with the Vimy Foundation, we are working to grow and plant up to 120 trees at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France for the 100th Anniversary, April 9, 2017.
Today the process begins with professional arborists taking cuttings (scions) from the crowns of the oaks which will be grafted onto base root stock – quercus robur. Like Ice Wine this process must be done in the cold weather. The saplings will be grown at Connon Nurseries in Waterdown, Ontario using an accelerated method. In two years time, 125 cm young oak saplings will be ready for shipment via air to France.
We hope to arrange a ceremonial planting involving all the Canadian regiments that fought in WWI on the 100th Anniversary in April 2017.
Lest we forget.
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VIMY OAKS Team:
Monty McDonald, Lead retired Engineer with extensive project development experience.
Dr. Ron Ayling is a forester, with some 30 years experience in project development and management, and is now Editor of the Forestry Chronicle, a Canada-wide forestry magazine.
Dave Lemkay General Manager of the Canadian Forestry Association, instrumental in planting of Canadian Maples at Juno Beach centre in Normandy, France on D Day Anniversary.
Ed Lawrence well known gardening expert and radio personality with many industry contacts.
Tony DiGiovanni Director Landscape Ontario
Case Vanderkruk and Andrew Barbour Connon Nurseries.
Colonel Ralph Coleman (retd) former director public affairs Canadian Military.
Patricia Sinclair local community activist with a network of contacts; public relations expertise.
Key Supporters and Volunteers:
Andrew Cowell, Chris Brown, Caitlin Ayling: arborists responsible for initial harvesting.
Members of the Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church for overall support of the project.
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Representing Veterans Affairs The Honourable Peter Kent, Member of Parliament for Thornhill stated: “I applaud the Vimy Oaks team for preserving the legacy of First World War Veteran Leslie Miller. These trees stand as a symbol of the strength and determination of those who gave so much nearly 100 years ago, and it is truly an honour to be here to witness the beginning of what will become a lasting reminder of the Canadian sacrifice on Vimy Ridge.” « Je félicite l’équipe responsable des chênes de Vimy de leurs efforts en vue de préserver le patrimoine de M. Leslie Miller, vétéran de la Première Guerre mondiale. Ces arbres représentent la force et la détermination de tous ceux et celles qui ont tant donné il y a près de 100 ans, et c’est un véritable honneur d’être témoin du début de ce qui sera un rappel durable du sacrifice canadien sur la crête de Vimy. » L’honorable Peter Kent, député de Thornhill
Vimy Foundation Executive Director, Jeremy Diamond stated: “To commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 2017, the Vimy Foundation, in partnership with the Government of Canada, is spearheading the building of the Vimy Education Centre, which will be located at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. We are thrilled to partner with the Vimy Oaks project, the trees from which will make a fitting complement to the Centre and site. Congratulations on this wonderful initiative.”
“I comment Vimy Oaks for their work in highlighting the unique links between Scarborough-Agincourt and one of Canada’s most important military achievements. As we near the centennial of this seminal battle for Canada’s Expeditionary Force, programs, like the one by Vimy Oaks, will help remind us of all the sacrifices made by many Canadians so that we can have the freedoms that make Canada the nation it is today.” Arnold Chan, Member of Parliament, Scarborough-Agincourt.
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Media Contact: Patricia Sinclair (416) 498-8199 / psincl@outlook.com
Click here to read the article in the Toronto Star: “On Vimy Ridge, mighty oaks will grow again – thanks to a Canadian soldier”
Click here to listen to a radio interview: 680News reporter Kris McCusker speaks with Jeremy Diamond, executive director of the Vimy Foundation.
Click here for additional photos in the Vimy Oaks album on our Facebook page.
UPDATE APRIL 7, 2015:
Curious about how the young sapling are coming along? CityNews Videographer Audra Brown finds out more about saplings grown from oaks that originated in Vimy Ridge which will eventually be planted in France. Click here for the video update. деньги в долг
VIMY FOUNDATION RELEASES NEW POLL FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY 2014
Three in Ten (27%) Canadians Will Attend a Remembrance Day Ceremony This Year, 23% Said they Went Last Year
Vimy Foundation poll shows 82% Support Making November 11 a National Holiday
Toronto, ON – November 9, 2014 – Three in ten (27%) Canadians say that they will attend an official Remembrance Day service on November 11th this year, an increase over the 23% who said they attended one last year, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Vimy Foundation.
There has been a great deal of attention placed on the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers recently, given the tragic killings of Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent on Canadian soil. Despite this, the 27% of Canadians who say they will attend a ceremony this year is down from the 30% who, in 2012, said they would attend.
There is presently a bill before Parliament that would make Remembrance Day a national statutory holiday. The poll shows that most (82%) Canadians would support November 11th being made holiday (down 3 points since a similar poll conducted in 2012), while just 18% would not (up 3 points).
While most Canadians won’t be attending an official service this year, eight in ten (77%) say that they will observe two minutes of silence at 11 o’clock on November 11th (down 3 points), and an equal proportion (77%, down 5 points) are wearing a poppy in the lead up to Remembrance Day.
Honouring Canada’s Fallen…
The data show that some Canadians are more likely than others to remember Canada’s fallen in various ways:
Those in Alberta (41%) and Atlantic Canada (39%) are most likely to say they will attend an official ceremony, followed by those living in British Columbia (31%), Ontario (31%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (20%) and Quebec (9%).
Atlantic Canadians (94%) and Ontarians (90%) are most likely to say they will observe two minutes of silence at 11 o’clock on November 11th, followed by those in British Columbia (76%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (74%), Alberta (71%) and Quebec (55%).
Atlantic Canadians (94%) and British Columbians (90%) are most likely to say they’re wearing a poppy in the lead up to November 11th, followed by those living in Ontario (87%), Alberta (83%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (79%) and Quebec (43%).
Atlantic Canadians (94%) and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (94%) are most likely to support Remembrance Day being made a national holiday, followed by a majority of those in British Columbia (88%), Ontario (84%), Alberta (81%) and Quebec (71%).
For more information
Jeremy Diamond
Executive Director
416.722.9754 (cell)
jdiamond@vimyfoundation.ca микрозаймы
THE VIMY FOUNDATION FEATURED IN GLOBAL NEWS REMEMBRANCE DAY COVERAGE
Global News, November 9, 2014: “More Canadians plan to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies: poll“
Almost three in 10 Canadians say they plan to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony this year, according to a new poll.
That number is higher than last year and has been steadily rising for more than a decade, says Jeremy Diamond, executive director of The Vimy Foundation. Five years ago, around 18 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they would attend a service.
The poll, done by Ipsos Reid for The Vimy Foundation and released to Global News, found that 27 per cent of those asked planned to attend a service this year.
Click here to read the full story on Global News, including poll results about attitudes on a November 11 national holiday and wearing a poppy. деньги в долг
VIMY FOUNDATION EVENT IN THE NATIONAL POST
To mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, the Vimy Foundation hosted an event on October 6, 2014 at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in downtown Toronto, where retired CBC journalist Brian Stewart had a discussion with historian and National Post columnist Conrad Black. The theme of the evening’s conversation was “1914-2014: A Century of Aftershocks.”
The National Post attended this event and printed a transcript of their discussion on October 20, 2014. It has been edited for length and clarity. You can find the text of the article here: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/10/20/stewart-black-canadas-extraordinary-war/ займы на карту