September 3, 2012

Dear Brothers/Sisters,

You were recently sent a package requesting a donation to the J. Russell St. Eloi Fundraising Campaign.   To date, the response to our campaign has been very poor.  As a reminder, now that the summer holidays are over, I encourage you to consider a donation to our campaign.  The scholarship fund depends solely on donations from our UA Locals, so your contribution will ensure we meet our mandate to assist deserving applicants who wish to pursue a career in the piping trades.   

The scholarships also directly benefit apprentices in your local as the J. Russell UA Scholarship Fund Society presents five scholarship awards of $1,000 each to the top apprentice in each category of the UA National Apprenticeship Competition every year.  At the recent UA National Apprenticeship Competition in Scarborough, the apprentices pictured below with John Telford, UA Director of Canadian Affairs, each received scholarships of $1,000 as winners in their respective trade categories.

I am pleased to announce that Ben Wagner, of Local 527 also won for his category at the 2012 UA International Apprenticeship Competition recently held in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Congratulations to Ben Wagner on a great achievement!

Russell St. Eloi advocated excellence in the piping trades and these scholarships recognize the achievements of our apprentices.  The scholarships also assist those who, due to various barriers, do not have equal access to achieving their career goals.

Thank you in advance for your support of this meaningful program.  I have attached a sponsorship form for your convenience and look forward to your response.

Fraternally,

A.D. Al Phillips
Executive Director

Attached is the full text of this letter and a sponsorship form if you wish to sponsor the scholarship. 

Unemployed Workers Help Centre If you hear family, friends, neighbors', etc mentioning they are or someone they know is having issues with EI, you can tell them that there is an outfit, the UWHC, which is supported by your union that gives help to any worker having trouble with their EI claim. Check out the website by clicking the link below: http://www.unemployedworkerscentre.org/