What’s New: In Brief (September 10, 2008)

WICC (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade) Ontario Chapter will host its 11th Annual “Breakfast for Breast Cancer” on Nov. 4, 2008 in Toronto.
Erin Anderssen, senior writer for the Globe and Mail, will speak at the event. Anderssen spent five months interviewing Canadians for her special 2006 series, ‘Cancer: A Day in the Life.’ The series identified gaps in the health system and new scientific process, but was also about generosity, kindness and being resilient in adversity, a WICC release says.
The event is limited to 450 guests and will be held in the Arcadian Court, 401 Bay Street, Toronto. Priority will be given to online registrants. For more information visit www.wicc.ca or email Lyna Newman at execdirector.wicc@sympatico.ca.

A pilot program conducted this summer in Guelph, Ontario has provided 350 small and mid-sized businesses in the city’s downtown core with tools to help them become more resilient to the impact of potentially devastating events.
The program was part of the Open for Business Program, a joint initiative between the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and The Co-Operators.
It employed a university student from May to August to provide support, distribute kits and act as a resource to local businesses preparing for natural catastrophes, fires, power outages and other potentially damaging events, a release says.
“These types of businesses don’t always have the resources to develop robust business continuity plans,” said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-Operators.
“Through this pilot project, these businesses received invaluable planning tools and advice that could one day be the difference between getting through a disaster and being driven out of business.”