The entire staff and Board of Directors from the Canadian Society for Social Devel-opment (CSSD) would like to welcome you to this edition of our Successabilities news-letter. We have been very busy this past quar-ter promoting our programs and enrolling students from across the country. In May we attended the Pan Canadian Community Futures conference and met many new potential partners. In June we exhibited at the People in Motion Trade Fair in Toronto. This event was attended by thousands of persons with disabilities looking for the latest products and services available to them. It was a fabulous opportunity to meet hundreds of people interested in our online courses, in addition to other support agencies for persons with disabilities who can make referrals to our programs. While we were back east we did a couple of pres-entations at partnering offices in Ontario and met many other service providers. We would like to welcome the Toronto Busi-ness Development Centre as our latest partner from Ontario. I toured their office and Business Incubator on my visit and was most impressed with their organiza-tion. We are looking forward to working with them. From Ontario we went on to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and did more presentations to individuals, agen-cies and partners and again received a warm welcome and lots of interest. Our Business Abilities Program takes students at any time but our web design, Internet Business Development for Entre-preneurs with Disabilities (IBDE) program starts its next session in late October and we are currently taking registrations. For more information or to register you can go to www.cssd-web.org. This past quarter we also hired more staff and you can read more about them further on in this issue. We now have 11

employees working on the CSSD team. One of our new employees is currently translat-ing the Business Abilities Program curricu-lum into French so that our program will be bilingual by next spring. We hope to also translate the IBDE curriculum in the next couple of years. Our first priority for IBDE is to expand into advanced courses for those wishing to continue learning new web de-sign skills. We are hoping to start this new training in the spring of 2007, contact us for more information or to be added to our in-terest list. In June CSSD had its first Planning Ses-sion with both board and staff. It was the first opportunity for all of the staff from both programs to meet each other in-person and there w as lots of “squeals and hugs” w hen we first gathered together. The staff worked in program teams for part of the week and the rest of the week we all took part in a session, facilitated by consultant, Lorna Vis-ser. It was a great opportunity to look at all of C S S D ‟s program s and h ow w e can im -prove on them. The time was also spent looking at ways to expand CSSD in the fu-ture.

W E L C O M E !

SUCCESSABILITIES NEWSLETTER

C O N T E N T S :

Program News—

Business Abilities

2

Program News—

IBDE 3

CSSD Web Buzz/

Asset Mapping

4

Client Success Story-

-Cathy Tocher

5

Client Testimonials 6

Communication by

Dawn Tomkins

7

Client Success

Story— Lyn Mooy

8

Quick Links

Send your ideas, submissions,

success stories, comments,

best practices, etc., by

September 24, 2006 to:

kryan@cssd-web.org

phone (250) 825-9433

fax (250) 352-0878

snail mail:

3069 Miller Rd. Nelson, BC V1L 6Z8

Meet the New

CSSD Staff

9

Links and Re-

sources

1 0

CSSD Staff June, 2006

By Kay Ryan, Executive Director

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

Page 2

If you haven‟t heard yet, the Business Abilities website is a comprehensive source for business related links. With over 500 links at your fingertips, the Abilities database is loaded with valuable tools and resources to assist in researching, implementing and managing a business. Easy to navigate and conveniently organized, you‟ll find an abundance of online information including:

Statistics, market profiles, business trends and

opportunities

Federal and provincial government and support agencies

Canadian businesses guides and publications

Financing (banks and government programs)

Media guides and marketing resources

Regulatory, tax and legal information

Provincial, national associations and lobbying groups

Ebusiness information and Online solutions

The Business Abilities Program (BA) is an online entrepreneurial training program that teaches Canadians with disabilities how to explore self employment, research their business idea and pre-pare a business plan through online curriculum and one-on-one coaching. For more info visit www.businessabilities.ca Our first year running the Business Abilities Program was a great success. The following is a general recap: TOTAL INTERVIEWS and ASSESSMENTS: 146 TOTAL APPROVALS: 99 GENDER: AGE GROUP

The BA Website underwent some major changes in the last cou-ple of months. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT http:/www.businessabilities.ca/?q=guide and review the User Guide on some of the new features !!! In June we hired a part-time Business Coach, Brenda Wiest to assist with the program . Brenda will work with participants who are completing their busi-ness plans and getting ready to move into Phase 2 and start

their businesses. Brenda is also preparing materials for a num-ber of live ELLUMINATE workshops to go along with our new Advanced Business Management modules.

If you haven't checked out ELLUMINATE – Please do so at www.elluminate.com and see the left hand menu- click on train-ing and familiarize yourself with the Program ! It is awesome ! We currently have 80 ACTIVE participants working towards self em ploym ent! H ere‟s w hat they‟re saying:

One thing this course has done is made me think about my “best choices” and how to im plem ent m y plan, and that is a good thing! Michelle, Ontario The benefits that I have found, so far, with Business Abilities, is the total wake-up-call it has given me about the amount of thought and work I had not yet put into my future business, and also that that knowledge has led me to the decision to still pur-sue my dream with more determination than ever. With all the worksheets that I have completed and those I have just scanned, I know that I can be successful in my chosen field, and with all the help I have had from Christine (and more that I will probably need), I have a much better start than most. Iris, Nova Scotia

Elluminate Live

www.elluminate.com

CSSD students and staff are using Elluminate Live 7.0 online environment to provide real time eLearning and web conferencing.

The availability of such tools as whiteboard, audio, video via webcam, direct messaging, application sharing, file transfers and break out rooms, students and instructors are able to interact much like they would in a classroom. The Elluminate environment is completely accessible to people with various disabilities offering screen reader support, scal-ability of visual content, ability to independently customize the environment, application sharing magnifier and close captioning capabilities.

Elluminate Live is available 24/7/365 for presentations, meetings, one on one tutoring – bringing people from any-where in the world to the same place at the same time, any-time. Elluminate Live is the next best thing to face to face, its interactive learning in a virtual setting.

PROGRAM UPDATE

The Business Abilities Website Has Links!

FEMALE: 64 MALE: 35

21-40 27 41-60 66 61 + 6

by Christine Weir, BA Program Coordinator

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

H ope everyone is enjoying a w onderful sum m er. It‟s been a busy start to the summer for IBDE students who are actively finishing up the program and working on their final website practicum. There is some great work coming out of the stu-dents and they now have a solid grasp of the concepts needed to build websites. The students are keeping the instructors hopping with their ideas and busy grading com-pleted work.

Kay and Gina went on a marketing trip in June which has increased registrations for the Fall 2006 intake to over 100 and growing every day with appli-cations from almost all the provinces. Phone inter-views will start in August and we will have a class ready to start in October 2006.

The last week of June was the Canadian Society of Social De-velopm ent‟s yearly planning session. It w as an opportunity for the staff to get together over the week to plan for our individ-ual programs and to get together with the Board to plan for the future of CSSD. The meetings went really well and a lot of ground was covered. For me it was the first opportunity I have had to meet my co-workers face to face and it was very excit-

ing. The instructors and I met over 4 days to discuss the first national IBDE intake and to discuss our visions for not only the next intake but the advanced modules planned for our past and current graduates. The work was delegated amongst us and we have now returned to our virtual offices to “put it altogether”.

There will be many improvements to the current format of the IBDE course. This coming year the students will work in

groups utilizing message boards and interacting weekly. We will be using Elluminate to offer weekly

classes and remedial classes for those who need some extra help. The next intake will begin with a two week orientation to ensure all the students are familiar with the program and its guidelines prior to starting the course. In addition, we are reviewing textbooks to replace the ones we had problems with, and creating others for advanced modules.

It‟s been an exciting tim e w atching current students create their final projects and move onto fulfill their dreams, as we plan for the next group to start to realize theirs. It will con-tinue be a busy summer!

Page 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS

IBDE Grads are Offering Website Design Service!!

In this day and age, every business and organization should have a website. A web presence is now fairly easy and inex-pensive to obtain, and it can be an invaluable tool. For many sm all businesses it‟s a huge step, w hether you‟re sharing information or opening up business to an international mar-ket. Fortunately, Grads of the Internet Business Development for Entrepreneurs (IBDE) are now designing Websites all across Canada. Organizations, business and agencies are all welcome to take advantage of this affordable web design service. To get in contact with a web designer near you, Con-tact Kay Ryan kryan@cssd-web.org for more info.

Vancouver Foundation Grant

Thanks to the generous support of the Vancouver Foundation, CSSD is pleased to announce a pilot lending program for BC – CSSD students. Funds are now available to purchase computers that students can rent to ow n in order to take C S S D ‟s online programs. In addition, the funding will be used to build a lending program of assistive technology devices such as screen readers/magnifiers, adaptive keyboards & mice, puffers, pointers, etc. for BC students taking the IBDE program.

Once students are ready to establish their businesses, CSSD will also have a micro loans program for our students from either program requiring start up funds to establish their businesses, or to purchase training supports. Our goal this coming year is to assist up to 20 past or current BC students with business start-up and/or computer loans. Initially, the pilot program is limited to BC students but CSSD is actively seeking other sources of funding for all students across Canada. Contact Kay Ryan for more information.

by Dawn Tomkins, IBDE Student Coordinator

PROGRAM UPDATE

To View the Work of IBDE

Grads Visit:

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

A S S E T M A P P I N G

ITS AN EXCITING TIME to be working on the web. With so many new technologies and opportunities, it‟s im portant to stay up to date in this fast paced, ever changing world.

CSSD is currently in the proc-ess of establishing a common strategy that we as an organi-zation can use to ensure suc-cess for our future endeavors on the web. We will be inves-tigating and implementing ways in which we can use these new technologies and all their associated buzz-words. You no doubt have heard of Blogging, or perhaps pod-casting, or maybe you or a friend you know has an ac-count at Flickr, a popular online Photo Sharing applica-tion owned by Yahoo! . CSSD

will be doing what it can to take advantage of the technologies pow ering today‟s greatest w eb „inventions‟.

You too can get in on the buzz and start taking advantage of these web services that are entirely free, or for a small fee:

Setup a blog on your favor-ite topic at: www.blogger.com (blogs are not just personal dia-ries)

Share your photos online at: www.flickr.com (easy to control licensing or retain copyright)

Share your favorite book-marks or favorites at: del.icio.us or www.digg.com

Create your own per-sonal start page with sticky notes etc. at: www.protopage.com

Manage your to-do lists online at: www.tadalists.com

And of course, being the web, there are always a ton of other great places to go, but hopefully this will give you some great places to start if you have been curious about how to do more online or get m ore out of your „online life‟.

Page 4

T H I S J U S T I N

In late November and early December 2005, Terri Mac-Donald of Perception Research (www.perceptionresearch.net) facilitated asset mapping ses-sions for CSSD in Barrie, On-tario; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Moncton, New Brunswick. In January and February 2006, research in the final two pilot regions was completed includ-ing an asset-mapping session hosted in Bonnyville, Alberta and supplemental research conducted in Nelson, British Columbia to complement a June 2005 SEDI (Social and Enterprise Development Inno-vations) sponsored asset-mapping session. With the assistance of local partners a cross-section of contributors were assembled from disability,

government, technology, em-ployment, and education sup-port organizations alongside persons with disabilities in order to identify and map local assets and gaps, and to build networks within and across communities and sectors. A total of 72 participants took part in the five asset mapping sessions with over 600 learn-ing assets identified across the pilot communities.

The sessions focused in on identifying learning assets and gaps related to (self) employ-ment training & learning, dis-ability, and ICT (information & computer technology) supports. The purpose of each session was to share knowledge, create extended networks and pro-

duce a visual inventory of key supports available to persons with disabilities interested in ICT opportuni-ties to gain (self) employ-ment. With new introduc-tions being made, knowledge being shared, and the occa-sional „I didn‟t know that‟ comment, the sessions were considered a great success.

Findings from focus groups in each of the five target communities served to rein-force initial findings from a comprehensive literature review; the Internet Business Development Program for Entrepreneurs with Disabili-ties (IBDE)

Continued on next page...

“ W E B B U Z Z ”

Learning Assets Identified in Five Canadian Pilot Regions

by Jacob Tilgner

Tax Refund

You may be eligible for the Fed-eral Gasoline Tax Refund Pro-gram if you are an individual who has a permanent mobility impair-ment and cannot safely use public transportation. The program al-lows you to claim a refund on part of the excise tax on gasoline at the rate of $0.015 per litre or $0.015 per kilometer.

To claim the refund, complete the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency form: XE8 Application for Refund of Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline. It can be found at

www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/clientgroup/individuals/disabled-e.html

GST/HST Rates

Effective July 1, 2006, the rates of the GST and the HST will be reduced. The rate of the GST will be reduced from 7% to 6%. The rate of the HST will be reduced from 15% to 14%.

Additional information is avail-able at:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/technical/gsthst-e.html

Congratulations

Jenna Lambert, 15, who has cere-bral palsy and swims mostly with her upper body, completed her crossing of Lake Ontario on July 20, 2006. The teenager swam the breast stroke on the 32 kilometer journey from Cape Vincent, New York to Kingston, Ontario.

Fast Food

Recently, The Ontario Human Rights Commission held a news conference in Toronto to an-nounce an agreement with 26 fast food chains to make their outlets accessible to persons with dis-abilities. Currently over 1.5 mil-lion Ontarians with disabilities face many barriers when they try to shop or eat out in restaurants.

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

cream out of the juice. After close to a year of research and experimentation, she finally came up with the perfect recipe. Jack started using the cream, and now, years later, he still doesn't have to get liquid nitrogen treatments.

She knew she had something special and wanted to take her business to the next level, She had heard about the Internet Business Develop-ment for Entrepreneurs (IBDE) program and de-cided to enroll. “At first, it w as by w ord of m outh that my cream became quite popular, and then

when the opportunity to design my own website came up, I was thrilled with the idea.” After building www.modestmoose.ca during the IBDE course, Cathy got her certificate and began selling online, and after a few adjustments to her web-site, she now does about 95 % of her business over the web.

C athy‟s online business, The M odest M oose, delivers hand m ade products to a growing number of customers throughout North America, and people are rav-ing about the results. Her product line consists of teas, soaps, hair and skin care products, and all have one thing in common, the natural healing properties de-rived from the S ea B uckthorn plant. S he‟s received testim onials claim ing her products have helped conditions ranging from acne to eczema, to sun damage and cancer.

Cathy attributes her success to a positive attitude, great family support and alternative healing. S he‟s proud of her accom plishm ents but m ost im portantly she‟s passionate about her business, and thrilled to make a difference.

For more information check out:

www.modestmoose.ca

www.virtualmall.ca

Cathy Tocher is an entrepreneur who truly believes in the power of positive attitude. Since being diag-nosed w ith M ultiple S clerosis in 2 0 0 1 , she‟s gone back to school, started an online business, and has never been happier.

Cathy, 48, grew up in North Vancouver and worked in the film industry in catering and set decoration for almost 20 years. After meeting and marrying her significant other, Grant, in 1998, Cathy moved to the country side while continuing to work for months at a time in the city. Then in 2001, came the shock of being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The Doctor told her to reduce stress and heavy work, take long naps, and gener-ally start to take it easy. The news was devastat-ing to Cathy. She immediately quit her job and began looking into alternative medicine. One year later cam e a turning point “the shock w ore off and I started to w onder w hat I could do w ith m yself.” Cathy began to take on a renewed perspective. She refused to collect government assistance and began to plan out a new course in her life.

Soon after, she started making soap at home and selling it at local craft fairs and farmers mar-kets. One day at the market, a gentleman named Jack Witty approached her holding a jar containing a bright orange juice. Jack said he suffered from Basal Cell Carcinoma and that he had been doing some research on Sea Buckthorn berries. He asked if Cathy would try to make him some skin

Page 5

fills a gap in existing services. While self-employment and entrepreneurial programs con-tinue to be offered through local business support organizations, and disability support organizations continue to provide m ainly „soft‟ em ploym ent sup-ports (i.e. resume writing, advocacy, job search), a bridge across these sectors could be further sup-ported. The Canadian Society for Social Develop-ment bridges this gap through the provision of „hard‟ em ploym ent & entrepreneurship skills cou-pled with support specifically designed to address challenges faced by persons with disabilities (i.e. scheduling flexibility, ongoing instructional sup-port, assistive technologies, etc.).

Common challenges across target communities further reinforce the need for CSSD programs, especially challenges faced by groups such as persons with disabilities and those living in rural / remote areas of Canada (i.e. transporta-tion, limited access to education, training, & employment). The Canadian Soci-ety for Social Development (CSSD) will continue to work closely with networks in each of the target communities to ensure that local supports are available for students as required. Networks in each of the target communities should con-tinue to share information both within and across sectors (business support organizations, disability support organizations, and computer supports). In addi-tion, local networks could share success stories & best practices through sub-missions to the CSSD Quarterly newsletter. The final asset mapping report, databases of learning assets for each pilot region, and asset maps are featured on the CSSD website at: http://www.cssd-web.org/?q=reports

C athy T ocher: “M odest M oose”

C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R Y

A sset M apping C ontinued …

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

Page 6

I found the IBDE Web Site Design course to be a terrific opportu-nity to gain skills and knowledge about web de-

signing that I would not have other-wise been able to attain through the resources available in my area. For people with physical disabilities that are unable to utilize traditional learn-ing centers, the IBDE course is a fan-tastic opportunity for people to learn valuable skills from their own home, and ultimately improve their life style and self esteem.

Since enrolling in IBDE I have been developing a web design business from my home computer. The won-derful part is that I am able to work at my own pace as my physical health allows me to. Also, when I have to go out and make personal calls to clients appointments can be scheduled at the best time for both the client and myself, as compared to a regular 9-5 setting.

I would highly recommend IBDE courses to anyone with physical limi-tations wanting to better their life style. The instructors are very knowl-edgeable and helpful. They can help most people work through any learn-ing blocks they might encounter. You have nothing to lose and so very much you can gain!

Thank you IBDE and staff for allow-ing me the opportunity to take part in this first session. In spite of the emo-tional struggle I ran into at points throughout the course, it was worth every minute. I would certainly con-sider other courses that may be of interest to me in the future.

Judy Short-Grimshaw

I can only speak for myself, but I have to say that the Business Abilities program is the best course I have ever taken. The help and support has been

excellent, my teacher Christine was very informative and her knowledge has been at definite asset to me and the BA program. I am also registered for the IBDE web design course in October and I am really looking forward to running my business over the Internet. In addition, I have recommended two other people for this course because I believe that this is one of the most comprehensive government sponsored programs for people who have a disability. This has been a very positive experience for my family and I. Thanks!

Connie Moretti

I started the Business Abilities course in the beginning of January and it really helped with my confi-dence. I disciplined myself to get up everyday and spend time on the course. I found myself enjoying the program and only had a couple of minor setbacks, When I got a little stressed I took the time to recoup and didn't worry about shutting the course down for a day or two. Thanks!

Darryl Bourke

I was given a great gift by the Cana-dian Society for Social Development in the form of the Internet Business Development for Entrepreneurs (IBDE) web design program. Not only did it allow me to recover lost self-esteem following my disability, but it allowed me to progress personally. I‟m eternally grateful to the people that put on the program.

H aving a disability I‟ve learned it is not the end of the road, but a varia-tion of the trip called life we all must participate in. S ince I‟ve becom e dis-abled a lot of my focus was lost and I found that things that once were com-mon were now very foreign to me. Although I‟m not extrem ely disabled, my disability does affect my day to day life and I‟ve learned to deal w ith what I have now, not what I was be-fore. This was a very tough lesson to learn but following the IBDE program I‟m finding m y life is m uch m ore en-joyable as I now know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I even

found something I am very good at doing to boot!

The IBDE web design program is far advanced to many offered to first year students at other institutions. I‟ve found that in dealing with many of these other students the tools and learning I received from the IBDE pro-gram holds me in far better stead than those w ho w eren‟t lucky enough to have taken part in this wonderful program. The in-depth training, the advanced techniques taught and the additional focus on marketing adds a new dimension to what I can now offer a prospective employer as a designer. Special portions of the pro-gram like an introduction to advanced formatting using cascading style sheets (CSS) techniques and the com-prehensive PhotoShop exercises taught me a lot, more than I thought I would be capable of learning or ab-sorbing. However the care and guid-ance exhibited by our talented instruc-tors and support staff kept me on-track and focused throughout the program (so much so that I was the first one finished the program).

N ow I don‟t look at m yself as dis-abled anymore, but as a web designer waiting to find new challenges or op-portunities. Well done CSSD, and many thanks.

Doug Burt

C L I E N T T E S T I M O N I A L S

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

One thing that similar about arriving in a new country or stepping onto the internet is that you need to arrive open minded and leave your own experience based cultural norms at the door. If you arrive on the Internet with expectations from the face – to – face world, you will experience difficulties and may miss out on much the Internet has to offer. You may also find yourself the victim or instigator of miscommunication.

Online communication can be very leveling i.e. no race, no gender, no age, no disability, but there is a big shift from visual being the most im-portant cognitive process in face-to-face communication to thoughts and ideas in online communication.

Technology has grown in leaps and bounds over the last several decades impacting our lives in every way. As the Internet has taken hold of the world, no other area of our life is more affected than how we communicate. For most of us, we can do everything, online - bank, shop, pay bills, find medical information, communicate with family and friends, listen to mu-sic, w atch television, and “go” to a movie. We can work, go to school, play games, and book a holiday to the “sunny south” – all without leaving our homes.

Stepping onto the Internet for the first time is not much different then moving to a foreign country where everything is different. For some, going on the Internet can be just as shocking as experiencing new culture and the lan-guage. It takes time, sometimes a lifetime, as the culture and language are evolving and constantly changing to become comfortable on the Intenet.

Online communication in-volves highly developed cognitive/ perception skills relying heavily on intuition. Many online users apply face-to-face communication skills to the online environ-

ment. Unfortunately, traditional communi-cation skills don‟t alw ays apply properly.

The speed of online communication gives time that is not usually available in face-to-face communication. This time al-lows for better collection of thoughts but also gives more time for filters and con-texts to enter into thoughts and change perceptions and interpretations. The lack of body language in online communication m eans that “listening” involves using one‟s perception to fill in the blanks.

With the new world of the Internet develop-ing, there is a need to redefine our beliefs on what constitutes communication and then assem ble a new “dictionary” of verbal and non verbal communication codes, ac-cents, cues and meanings. As this new form of communication develops, so does a new culture, one void of judgment except on ones thoughts and ideas.

Page 7

C O M M U N I C A T I O N

IBDE Success Story

Peter Deverell knows the meaning of work ethic; he has 32 years of experi-ence in a variety of woodlands trades. After losing his hand in a tragic acci-dent, Peter found it very difficult to find steady work in forestry other than seasonal work as a Fire Warden, so he enrolled in the Internet Business Development for Entrepreneurs (IBDE) program and ventured online to start his own web design business. Having only one hand to work with Peter describes himself as "the w orld‟s w orst typist". H ow ever, P eter has seen substantial success. He used his son‟s business, S econd Growth Woodcraft, as a model for his final IBDE project, and after graduat-i n g h e d e s i g n e d www.douglasfirdoors.com, As a result, the company has done $30,000 in online sales and opened up new mar-

kets in California, Toronto, and Saska-toon.

In addition to rounding up design work from several local businesses, Peter is doing web design and maintenance for the Lillooet Chamber of Commerce. Peter is hoping to use the Chamber of Commerce Website to continue to pro-mote local trades and network with new businesses.

P eter adm its “it's a trickle, not a flood...but if I can succeed in ramping up sales for Douglas Fir Doors, I have a m odel for m arketing other enterprises”. Peter now realizes the vast potential of the online business world, but that hard work and perseverance is needed to succeed. “I‟m definitely up for the challenge… .I now fully understand that famous .com bubble".

Actions do speak louder than words

Check Out Some of Peters Work at:

www.lillooetchamberofcommerce.com/index.html

www.douglasfirdoors.com

www.hotsaws.ca/

By Dawn Tomkins

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

Page 8

Lyn Mooy is a survivor. After years of

abuse and addiction, she hit rock bottom and had nowhere to go but up, or die. Now with 25 years of sobriety to her credit, Mooy is a happy mother and grandmother and has finally realized a lifelong dream, sharing her painful story in a book titled Carousel.

Mooy, a resident of Trail, B.C. had wanted to write ever since the age of 7, and in Grade 9 while attending Bradford District High School, she was singled out in her class to write an article in the Bradford W itness new spaper. “That‟s w hen I knew that I wanted to be a writer." But unfortu-nately, M ooy‟s life took a turn for the w orse as she spiraled down into the grips of alco-holism.

Thanks to the support of Alcoholics Anony-mous, Lyn sobered up in 1981 and went back to school to become a legal secretary. But after working for many years in the field of law, she became too ill to continue and fell into a deep depression because of financial and emotional problems.

One night while watching the news on TV, she saw an item about a 90-year-old woman who wrote her life story and got a cool million for it. "That was all I needed to get started". Before she knew it, she had a novel, Carousel.

"The story is about 95-per-cent true and about five-per-cent embellished. I had

thought of calling it my memoirs in the beginning, but then thought better of it. And after the events of author James Frey, who appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I was glad I didn't," said Mooy. After read-ing A Million Little Pieces, written by Frey, Mooy wrote to him and has received sev-eral e-mails back, and he wants to help.

"I related not so much to Frey's experi-ences, but to the feelings of an alcoholic that he had written about," Mooy said. "When I read the part in his book about his ear disease, I just sobbed. I, too, was born with an ear disease that over the years ate away the three little bones and my ear-drum. It was a relief to learn from Frey's book that perhaps some of the anger, emp-tiness and frustration that I felt over the years that led to my drinking started with my ear disease."

Mooy is a graduate of the Business Abilities (BA) program, and is currently on a country- wide book tour promoting the release of Carousel, which is published by Author House in Bloomington, Indiana. Mooy cred-its the BA program for helping her gain the confidence to implement a solid business plan and m arket her book. “The course taught me to have faith and believe in what I‟m doing by helping m e see the great po-tential out there.”

However, the most rewarding part about writing Carousel has been the tremendous response. Women of all ages are embrac-ing her story. The common response has been, “I couldn‟t put it dow n”. M ooy hopes by telling her story, others who struggle with abuse and addiction can take strength and inspiration.

Mooy is currently working on the sequel to Carousel, called Carousel – The Miss-ing Years. You can purchase a copy of Carousel online at the Author House Bookstore.

Penned under the name of Kimberley Rose Dawson, Mooy's story begins with her childhood experience with a strict and angry mother who sets the stage for her life of abuse. In her teens, Mooy is beaten to within an inch of her life and forbidden to see Edmund, her secret love, who the book jacket says, "She needs more than breath and blood." Then Liz (Mooy's character in the book) is coerced by her mother into marrying Brian. After Brian tires of her, he leaves her with three babies and a house full of rats. Norm comes to her rescue, but because of his jealous insecurities, her life goes from bad to worse. Then Lenny, her Prince Charming, steps in and swoops her away from Norm. Lenny and Liz fly to the moon on gossamer wings in a wild whirlwind romance until Liz sud-denly crashes to the earth. The discovery of a family secret forces her to spiral back down into the depths of alcoholism in order to find the only escape she can. CAROUSEL is based on a true story and is a MUST READ for anyone who has ever suffered the anguish of addiction.

-CSSD

C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R Y

Business Abilities Student Lyn Mooy Releases her First Book, Carousel

Carousel

Kimberley Rose Dawson

Quick Links

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

Sandrine Krausz

Business Abilities French Translator

Sandrine is in charge of translating the Business Abili-ties website and online course as well as other related mate-rials into French. She has worked over the years as a freelance translator with cli-ents ranging from private companies to academic insti-tutions.

Sandrine lives in Nelson, BC and enjoys spending much of her free time exploring the outdoors with her family. She is very excited to be part of the process of bringing the Business Abilities program to the francophone community.

David Hinman

Marketing/Communications

David has recently worked in the publishing business owning and operating a small magazine in Kelowna, BC. He has a diploma in accounting from Okanagan College and is completing his Bachelor De-gree in Business Administra-tion this September.

Since starting work with CSSD in June, David has been responsible for a variety of researching and marketing duties. In addition, David worked on layout and writing for this newsletter!

David is currently enjoying the beautiful sights and sounds of Nelson, BC. David Hinman is excited to be a part of the CSSD team!

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Jacob Tilgner

Graphic De-signer/ Web Developer

While attending school over the past couple sum-mers, Jacob has designed all the websites owned by CSSD. He has recently com-pleted S elkirk C ollege‟s tw o year Multimedia Production and Design Specialist Pro-gram in Nelson British Co-lumbia. Jacob is now working with us part-time and has also started his own design business, Bamboo Studios, www.bamboostudios.com.

When not working on ac-cessible web solutions for CSSD, Jacob spends his time doing artwork, publishing it on his various websites, and researching new and better ways to do things online. Oh, and… yeah, he gets out… every once in a while.

Brenda M. Wiest

BusinessCoach, Business Abilties

We are pleased to wel-come Brenda as our part-time Business Coach, assist-ing Christine with the Busi-ness Abilities Program.

For the past fourteen years, Brenda has thoroughly enjoyed teaching business and computer courses through Selkirk College and Community Futures Develop-ment Corporation. She finds it very rewarding to see her students grow, as they move down their chosen path of learning. Life-long learning is something she subscribes to,

completely.

Having been self-employed herself, Brenda knows a lot of the pros and cons of working for one‟s self. In 1 9 9 2 , Brenda launched her first home-based business, Your Business Assistant. In addi-tion to working with CSSD, Brenda has recently created a second home-based business in which she delivers business consulting, and computer instruction.

She currently lives in Nel-son BC with her husband and high school sweetheart, Paul, three daughters and a dog and a cat.

Lainey Wilkins

Assistant Web Developer

Lainey has 6 years of varied computer experience as she began studying Computer Information Systems in 1990 at Selkirk College after work-ing as a medical secretary for 10 ten years.

Lainey‟s passion for learn-ing about “w hat goes on in-side the black box” has lead her to further studies in web design and development. After successfully completing the IBDE program in 2004 she currently manages her own ecommerce web site, so she has first hand knowledge and understanding of what it takes to become a successful entre-preneur.

As a person with a disability Lainey brings a unique per-spective and is devoted to helping other people with disabilities by working part-time with CSSD.

N E W S T A F F

Meet the New CSSD Staff

VoIP Voice over Internet Proto-col (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet con-nection instead of a regu-lar phone line. The good news for consumers is that the most VoIP users can expect to save 25 to 40 per cent on their monthly phone bills when calling through the inter-net. Prices are lower because VoIP technology doesn't require the ex-pensive wires and elabo-rate switching equipment required by traditional analog lines. Also, compe-tition for new customers is heating up keeping prices low. Traditional phone companies and cable companies such as Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco and Videotron are all offering VoIP services. Check availability in your area and be sure to shop and compare.

Email Money Transfers Five of the major Cana-dian banks offer e-mail money transfers. For those of you that sell online you might want to explore if this is a viable option for your e-business. This can be especially useful for trav-eling as you can E-mail money to and from your bank account anywhere in world. To read more about e-mail money t r a n s f e r s g o t o www.certapay.com

F Y I

CSSD Successabilities Newsletter Summer 2006

Canadian Society for Social

Development

3069 Miller Rd. Nelson, BC V1L 6Z8

Phone: (250) 825-9433 Fax: (250) 352-0878

E-mail: kryan@cssd-web.org www.cssd-web.org

Assistive Device Companies

This Industry Canada site links to company directories working in the Information and Communications Tech-nologies (ICT) sector. Links to company directories working in the Information and Com-munications Technologies (ICT) sector. Each link takes you to a directory of special-ized companies for each type of assistive devices listed below. Access to Travel

provides information on ac-cessible transportation and travel across Canada with the aim of making traveling an easier and more enjoyable experience for Canadians with disabilities. The development of this Web site was spear-headed by Transport Canada in cooperation with other fed-eral government departments, provincial governments and not-for-profit associations.

Elluminate Users

S ign up for the “Ellum inate Technical B ulletin”. The aim of this bi-weekly bulletin is to provide you and all users of Elluminate Live! in your or-ganization with technical in-formation and solutions all things Elluminate. If you know people in your organiza-

tion that would benefit from re-ceiving this Technical Bulletin, please ask them to visit http://www.elluminate.com/support and click on "Join our Support Email List."

This m onth‟s tip : Update your version of Java to the latest version (Java 1.5.0 Update 7). For Windows, Solaris and Linux users, it is recommended that you remove older versions of Java and upgrade to the latest version of Java (1.5.0_07).

The Virtual Mall now includes all types of businesses selling prod-ucts and services produced by Canadian businesses.

The Virtual Mall showcases web sites designed by IBDE Gradu-ates across Canada.

Some participants have chosen to design a home-based Internet web store selling local products, others have created websites for small businesses in their commu-nities. The sites are constantly changing and new products are arriving daily, so please keep checking back.

www.virtualmall.ca

Need Legal Advice?

Whether the situation is per-sonal or business, sound legal advice can be invalu-able. Fortunately, organiza-tions across Canada offer an affordable Lawyer Referral Service. The service directs you to a lawyer in your area who has requested referrals. In most provinces, a half-hour consultation runs as little as $25. Follow either of the links below to access regional contact information-Consultation Resources:

Federation of Law Societies of Canada Contact informa-tion for each regional organi-zation

Canadian Bar Association Links to regional offices con-tact information.

SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES GUIDE:

The recently released “S ervices for P eople w ith D isabilities” guide contains info on over 60 Government of Canada programs. To get a free copy, call 1-800-622-6232, TTY 1-800-926-9105 or visit http://service-Canada.gc.ca. Also available in alternate formats by call-ing 1-800-O-CANADA. (622-6232)

R E S O U R C E S

Shoot for the moon. E ven if you m iss, you’ll land am ong th e stars.

-Les Brown

The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success. -Henry Ward Beecher

We never know how far reaching something we may think, say or do today will af-fect the lives of millions tomorrow. - B.J. Palmer

One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. - Marie Currie

Inspirational “Q uotes”

7 DEADLY SINS OF

BUSINESS START-UPS

#1: No Business Plan

#2: No Advisors

#3: Insufficient Capital

#4: No Exit Strategy

#5: All Sizzle, No Steak

#6: The Wrong Personality

#7: All Offence, No De-fense Source: www.100kacupuncture.com

Canada Business is a gov-ernment information ser-vice for entrepreneurs in Canada. The website is convenient access point to federal and provincial government programs and services. In the Eforms and Services section, us-ers can register their busi-ness, search for financing and print tax forms. Can-ada Business provides answers to common ques-tions while also providing comprehensive business related information and services

Featured Link:

Canada Business

Layout by David Hinman

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