The year of 2022 has been year of pivoting for Doula Support Foundation. We have had some influential board members step down, and a whole collection of new faces join our team. In addition to this, we have faced private changes as well as the huge change of life back to it's new normal, with Covid-19 lingering.
With all of this in mind, we wanted our Annual General Meeting to be a refresher for the organization as well as a new energy as we prepare and shift in 2023.
Our new Chairperson, Mandy, kicked off our AGM with a breakdown of all the board member changes this year. She let everyone know of the positions still available to fill on the board. For more info on this, sign up for our newsletter. We are always looking for new faces and energetic help!
Next, our Director of Doulas, Bethany filled us in on the number of clients we have served this year (hint: its a lot!) and how many are still to come. She has also coordinated a discount for anyone looking to take the "When Survivors Give Birth" webinar hosted by Birth Roots Training. If you are interested in signing up, please find the link HERE. Additionally, if you use the code: WSGBDISCOUNT you will get a sweet little discount.
Bethany also read the financial summery from our Treasurer, Anna. We are lucky enough to get a monthly donation from Childbirth Kingston, but otherwise we must push fundraising and applying for grants in order to serve the families that need our services. Please find our donation page and if you have a moment, a little donation goes a long way to help families of low income have a doula involved in their birth and postpartum experiences.
Continuing on the with AGM, Laura and Josee (Board Members) brought us up to speed on an exciting project DSF has been working hard to put together! You will hear more about this soon!
Lauren (Me!), our Marketing Director and Ashley, our brand-new Fundraising Director, spoke about shifting the social media presence to draw in fundraising and awareness as we are becoming more known within the community. Ashley has some fun fundraisers coming up including a monthly hike to connect with each other and nature, charcuterie host boxes for holiday season, and a virtual auction for the holidays too. Some great gifts will soon be at your fingertips.
In addition to the business recaps, we had three guest speakers. Chelsea Loutsenko who is our former Chairperson, and currently Owns Childbirth Kingston. Chelsea spoke about the vision for Childbirth Kingston, as well as the ultimate dream to create thriving opportunities for both doulas and clients alike! We also heard from Amanda Hall who owns Willow Family Wellness and specializes in Occupational Therapy. Amanda told us all kind of exciting things she hopes to be providing clients with soon as well as what her clinic already supports the community with. If you are a seasoned parent, new parent, or expecting parent, we highly recommend reviewing their services! We would like to extend a huge thank you to you both for speaking to us about all the incredible things you do.
Last we heard from our former client, Summer. Summer talked about all the ways she felt supported during her birth and early postpartum. It is always a pleasure to hear our client's experience, thank you again for sharing, Summer!
That's a wrap for our 2022 Annual General Meeting, we hope to see you at our 2023 AGM :)
If you have interest in joining a board meeting or volunteering with Doula Support Foundation, please inquire with info@doulasupport.org
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