CAPA registers as non-profit organization

Summer is full of hope and new beginnings. Saskatchewan summers are always a bit 'iffy', but we plant and water and relish each bud and bloom. A large white shrub rose is in glorious blossom outside my kitchen window, lilacs fill the air with sweetness, my beans are up and tomato plants grow with abandon. As I write, the sky is a pure prairie-blue with not a cloud in sight, and the day couldn't be more perfect if it tried. Summer is like that.

This is a season full of hope and fresh beginnings for CAPA too. Today we received the documents that officially form CAPA into a non-profit organization. It took a while to accomplish - in fact it took longer than we anticipated! With our new status CAPA takes a giant step forward in our ability as a stakeholder organization to carry and voice the arthritis patient perspective. When CAPA began in 2001 we nourished the hope that we could represent arthritis patients in this way. Our Annual Report for 2006 , published in April, chronicles our fifth year of successful activity. We've had five years of constant learning, education and advocacy, or “education with persuasion” as we define advocacy. Five years of a solid and supporting relationship with The Arthritis Society while we developed and tested our wings. Five years of fruitful partnerships, collaborations, alliances and coalitions. Five years of work and seized opportunities to make a difference that has carried CAPA to a degree of success beyond anything we dreamed of when we first began. Our achievements are because of the talented and knowledgeable leadership of our Steering Committee drawn from across Canada, and because of the participation, feedback and support we have received from our members - you. We view our new status with optimism and a renewed dedication to make a difference for Canadians living with arthritis. We're listening to you, and want to hear your needs and suggestions.

It's another kind of new beginning for us, this time assuming the role and taking our first steps alone as a truly independent organization with non-profit status. To make our transition as painless as possible we are receiving help from The Arthritis Society who graciously continue to host the CAPA web-site. There is still much to do. We are redesigning our logo to give CAPA a fresh, new look and planning a new website that will continue to carry all our information. We'll have a new look here, too, and a new web address. We'll keep you posted as plans progress. Rest assured, in spite of all the hustle and bustle of 'remodeling', we continue with business pretty much as usual. It's an exciting time, full of hope, optimism and plans for CAPA's future.