Contributor: Ramon Sales, PhD, CEM Chairperson
Last December 2, 2023, Caring for our Environment – Manitoba (CEM) held a Holiday Celebration and Volunteer Appreciation at the Sir William Stephenson Library, Winnipeg. The event theme was “Strengthening Community Partnerships to Advance a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future”. Thirty-nine people attended.
A total of 39 individuals attended.
In his virtual welcome remarks, CEM Chairperson, Dr. Ramon Sales, highlighted the importance of strong collaboration and partnerships with other local organizations to advance the shared goal of increased public environmental awareness, while also harnessing the opportunities in the coming year. He noted the event coincided with the gathering of world’s leaders of almost two hundred countries in Dubai to decide on the fate of our warming planet to make it more liveable, safer and healthier in the decades to come.
CEM was honoured to have as its guest speaker Dr. Dennis Gupa, Assistant Professor at the Department of Theatre and Film, University of Winnipeg. Dr. Gupa shared his creative work using traditional ways of knowing, storytelling and applied theatre as a tool for promoting conversations and dialogue to advance social justice, community participation and climate action. Dr. Mariciel Nuyda, CEM Vice-Chairperson and Head, Education Committee, awarded a certificate and token of appreciation to the guest speaker.
At this event, CEM also awarded certificates of appreciation to eighteen volunteers who shared their time and talents during its events and activities launched in 2023.
This fun-filled event also showcased the talents of CEM members, their families and the three 2024 Miss Galaxy Canada winners through their inspiring musical performances and messages. The three pageant winners, who also shared their ideas about ways to help protect our environment, were Katrina Czarina Salazar, 2024 Miss Teen Galaxy Canada, Lesceia Fajardo, 2024 Little Miss Galaxy Canada, and Janiyah Estrella, 2024 Miss Pre-Teen Canada Galaxy Third Runner-Up. The event was capped by the awarding of the lucky winners of door prizes and the 50/50 raffle draw.
CEM would like to thank its event donors for their generous support: Norman Garcia with MR. PEG, Maileen Pamplona with PANASIA Holidays, Rizalina Cortez, Mariciel Sanchez, Jun and May Sales and the Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM). As well, CEM would like to express its sincere appreciation to its partner organizations for their unwavering support for its activities and events – Green Action Centre, MMSM, Recycle Everywhere and Green for Life (GFL) – Environmental Inc.
For more information about CEM and how to volunteer or become a member, visit www.ceminc.org or email us at caring4environment@gmail.com. Also check us out on Instagram (@caringforenvironmentmb) and Facebook (Caring for our Environment – Manitoba and Caring for our Environment for Sustainable Prosperity).
