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In 2023, CUPE BC launched a fresh digital campaign to build public support for Seamless Childcare Now. And this month, the Government of BC has announced it’s moving forward on the plan—with a new pilot project for fully-integrated before- and after-school child care options at BC public schools.

It’s great news for parents and kids across the province.

We all know what a struggle it is to find child care. And, once you’ve got it, how difficult it can be to navigate that hectic daily routine.

That’s why CUPE BC, the largest union in British Columbia, has been campaigning for better public childcare for years. And Seamless Childcare is one of the best ways to make life easier for parents, while making use of the existing school space, resources, and trained staff at BC’s public schools.

On May 16, the Government announced that a pilot project will start this fall at school districts in Chilliwack, Nanaimo-Ladysmith, and Nechako Lakes.

Instead of letting classrooms sit empty before- and after-school, the new program will see Education Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, and other trained support staff provide learning and care for children in school classrooms.

It’s a practical solution—and a big relief for parents. The plan means more work for school support staff, more childcare options for parents, fewer pickups and drop-offs for families throughout the day, and the confidence of knowing that your kids are getting the care they need, at school, all day long.

If implemented across the province, Seamless Childcare could create thousands of new spaces for school-aged childcare without building a single new facility.

At The NOW Group, we love building fresh and engaging digital campaigns that connect with parents, and help build support for the public services that make life better for people. And every day, we work with our clients to support and improve public education for millions of kids across Canada.

Want to talk about new tools for your next digital campaign? Reach out here or give us a call. Our team is ready to help!

Applications are now closed for the 2024 scholarship.

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We’re proud to announce that applications are now open for The Ian Reid Scholarship! This new award was established in collaboration with the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation for Social Democracy and Paul Degenstein—our beloved former Senior Partner and Chief Creative Officer—in memory of Paul’s late husband, Ian Reid, and in celebration of his lifelong commitment to making life better for Canadians.

Established earlier this year, The Ian Reid Scholarship will be awarded annually to students committed to working in politics to promote the values and goals of social democracy. It is intended specifically for those pursuing careers in political research, strategy, and communications.

The scholarship also recognizes the role of 2SLGBTQ+ people in the social democratic movement. And it seeks to encourage greater racial, cultural, economic and gender inclusion around the decision-making table—to create public policy that better meets the needs and aspirations of everyone.

With annual prizes of $1,500 and $1,000, the new scholarship is open to students from any Canadian public post-secondary institution enrolled in an undergraduate degree. Find full eligibility details here. Applications are due by June 23, 2024.

The Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation for Social Democracy is proud to have been chosen by Ian’s dearest friends and family to be the home for this scholarship in his memory.

About Ian Reid 

Ian Reid spent his political career supporting and advising social democratic leaders and the New Democratic Party. Ian believed in the necessity of political work and the potential of social democracy as a force for good. He believed that listening and learning from people was the starting point in making positive change. He was a passionate advocate for using research as an instrument to do that and to develop messages that speak to people’s hearts and minds. His goal was to elect progressive governments and put in place policies that make a difference in people’s lives.

For many years, Ian was the Head of Opinion Research for the NDP government in British Columbia. In that role and others, he was one of Canada’s most brilliant research experts. He was able to cut through the noise, identify trends, and draw insights from what he heard. He made research useable for campaigners, communicators, and policy-makers—so that we could better connect with our audiences, speak to their aspirations, shape policy and meet their needs.

As a political researcher, Ian was also a pioneer. He humanized the demographic groupings in polling. Long before it became a standard practice, he had campaigns put names and faces to people within those groupings, and discuss the daily challenges those diverse individuals face, to strengthen our understanding of where they’re coming from and what they’re looking for.

Ian continued his work through 12 years of a terminal illness, serving at the end of his career as Chief of Staff to Carole James. He died in 2014 at age 58. His three children—Jordan, Shamus, and Alexis—carry forward his work in politics, advocacy, and government.

“Health care needs health care workers. Let’s support them—so we don’t lose them.”

That’s the message at the heart of MGEU’s new campaign to support thousands of dedicated health care workers across Manitoba. And our team is proud to help deliver that message to all Manitobans, with ads airing now across the province—including MGEU’s first-ever 60 second radio spot.

Health care doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes a whole team of dedicated workers. When our loved ones need health care, we rely on people to deliver it— people with names, stories, and a shared commitment to delivering the best health care for everyone.

But today, Manitoba’s health care workers are doing the best they can with too little support and limited resources. Staff are overworked and underpaid. And the ongoing staffing crisis is making it harder to hire and keep experienced workers, in major centres and especially in Manitoba’s rural communities.

In some health care regions, vacant health care aide positions have more than tripled. And spending on private staffing agencies has doubled in some regions, draining resources away from our public hospitals and health care facilities when workers in the public system need more support, not less.

Fixing the staffing crisis and rebuilding public health care starts by supporting health care workers—so they can be part of making health care better, for all of us.

MGEU represents nearly 9,000 members working in over 175 different health care facilities—from allied health to home care and facility support. The new campaign features radio, outdoor billboards, and online ads across the province, reminding Manitobans of the people at the heart of health care.

The campaign’s 60-second radio spot is complemented by 30-second radio ads, all of which focus on the incredible workers—on the frontlines and behind the scenes—who keep health care running and deliver exceptional care to people, every day.

As the ads say, “This is health care. And it doesn’t happen without Jack, Brenda, Meghan, Shrivan. And thousands of dedicated workers across Manitoba.”

“Health care needs health care workers. Let’s support them—so we don’t lose them.”

MGEU is calling for an end to the staffing crisis and a focus on rebuilding public health care by:

• Increasing wages for public health care workers;
• Improving working conditions;
• Lowering the unsustainably-high staff vacancy rates; and
• Decreasing the use of private health care agencies.

You can check out the campaign at MGEU.ca/healthcare-workers.

Want to talk about innovative tactics, like 60-second radio spots? Give us a call! We’re here to help unions and non-profit organizations with smart, effective, and persuasive campaigns that support working people—and make life better for everyday Canadians.

Love public speaking? Probably not.

If you’re like most people, the thought of taking the podium at a high-stakes moment likely puts your heart in your throat and a wobble in your knees.

But here’s a little secret that can help. 

No one’s a natural at giving a speech or delivering a press conference. It takes hard work and many hours of practice to find your own style of public speaking—and the confidence to do it well.

The effort is always worth it.

For years you’ve heard us talk about the power of your message to change hearts and minds, frame the conversation, and shift public opinion to help make life better for people. Finding the right words to reach the right audience and get heads nodding is crucial to bringing more people on board and winning the change you want to see.

But delivering your message takes more than the right words.

What you say matters. And how you say it matters just as much.

The instrument you use to deliver your message is your body and your voice. Your tone, your speed, your hand movements, stance, posture, and breathing rate—it all affects how you feel about public speaking and how you make your audience feel when they hear you.

The more you’re able to get out of your anxiety and get into the moment, the more likely you’ll be able to bring people with you. And your audience is more likely to be moved to action and persuaded by your message when your delivery is natural, fluid, confident, and relaxed.

At The NOW Group, we help leaders and communications teams find the unique style of public speaking that suits them best. And we do it in coaching sessions that look different depending on your needs—from regular one-on-one practice to small-group coaching to full-day sessions with over 100 people in the room. The more people in your organization who can deliver your message with confidence, the better equipped your entire team will be to win action on the issues that matter most.

Here’s four simple tips that can help get you started:

• Breathe. If you’re not a practiced meditator, here’s a 3-minute meditation to try. Particularly if you’ve had a tough day, taking three minutes to reset might just be what you need. And if you don’t even have three minutes, we bet you have time to take three deep breaths. Even that will make a difference, we promise!

• Move. Whether that’s a quick walk around the block, or a quick bit of desk yoga, we can’t emphasize enough how much of a difference it makes to sneak some movement in. On busy days, too many leaders rush from meeting to meeting – or get stuck in back-to-back Zoom calls—which is a recipe for fatigue and poor emotional regulation. Particularly when you’re prepping for a speech or an interview, take 2 minutes to move your body, consciously relax the tension in your muscles, and shake off the nerves. You’ve got this!

• Laugh. We worked with one leader who tended to speak quietly and struggled to connect physically with their material. Their delivery felt stiff and wooden, which makes it hard to connect emotionally with an audience. Over a series of months of working together, we realized that laughter was often the best way to get them out of their head and back into their body. So, we did something unexpected: we upped the goofiness quotient, often joining them in song or even dance as part of their speech prep. It helped them relax and turn their worry into a smile. Now, that may not be your solution, but learning how to relax on demand is a skill every leader needs.

• Practice. Do the best athletes ever stop training? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Too many people make the assumption that once the speech is written or the press conference remarks have been printed, you’re somehow ready to go. That’s never a good strategy. Whether you’re new to speeches and press conferences or have been doing them for twenty years, you still need to build time into the schedule to sit with your words, review them ten or twenty times (seriously), and get comfortable with what you’re saying—and how you’ll say it.

There is lots of research to back up the value that a little more integration with our physical selves can help us perform better in all aspects of our work. And if you give a couple of these tactics a try, we’re willing to bet that you’ll gather a bit of anecdotal evidence of your own.

Who knows? You might just learn to love public speaking.

Want to talk about what our personalized coaching sessions can look like for your team? Give us a call. We’re always here to help!