Thunder Bay – Derek Khani and Nick Shalagan are finishing up the final details for the start of a new Speaker Series that will take place once a month at the Apollo Bar. The first event will start at 8pm on September 12, 2012 with all proceeds benefiting Cuso International.
The idea for the monthly events was created through discussions between Derek Khani and Nick Shalaga. The two agreed that Thunder Bay needed a positive space for people to share thoughts, ideas and learn from each other and that a monthly gathering would be ideal for community members, professionals, and students to connect with each other.
After being approached by Derek and Nick, Shelia Stathopoulos at the Apollo Bar has agreed to be the host venue for the events and will provide the space for the monthly meetings.
“It is exciting to be surrounded by people that are committed to creating a more positive world. The support and interest in the event has been building and gaining momentum,” remarked event organizer and Cuso International volunteer Nick Shalagan, “It’s really an amazing feeling to realize how many people have a shared interest in understanding the reality of the world around us and who are willing to make a better world a part of that reality.”
The first Speaker Series night will feature Derek Khani talking about how a shift within yourself can change the environment around you, Jocelyn Burkhart speaking about the power of language, and Nick Shalagan speaking about Cuso International. The event will attempt to raise $2,000 in support of Cuso International. Admission packages will be available at $25, $40, $50, and $100. Because of the funding agreement between Cuso International and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) each dollar raised at the event will be matched by CIDA at a ratio of 9:1.
About Cuso International: Cuso International is a non-profit, international development agency that works through volunteers. Each year, we place hundreds of volunteers who collaborate on development projects in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Cuso International is a strategic alliance partner of VSO, a worldwide network of Voluntary Service Overseas organizations. Together, these entities make up the world’s largest non-governmental, international development organization that works through volunteers. With Cuso joining the VSO international family we have worked in in all regions of the Developing World and have sent more than 11,000 volunteers over their 50 year histories.
Cuso International places educators and health professionals overseas, but also sends volunteers from many fields of expertise, ranging from agriculture to human rights, from community economic development to AIDS prevention, from eco-tourism to technology. Our volunteers work collaboratively with local people to equip them with the skills they need to ensure they can exercise their basic human rights. These include the right to a livelihood, an education, basic healthcare, a safe environment, a say in the future, and equal access to opportunity.
For further information on Cuso please visit www.cusointernational.org