New Website

The Alliance is proud to announce that we have a new and improved website! First launched in 1997, our site has functioned as a key mechanism for keeping our members connected and up-to-date on the Alliance’s recent activities, and as a resource for promoting our various publications and for providing information and registration materials for our popular Annual Meeting.

The need to update and re-design and update of the site was raised as a top priority by our membership at our 2001 Annual Meeting part of the “re-visioning” session on the future of the Alliance held by the then-new Co-Chairs, Bruce Ferguson and Celia Denov. In addition to the need for increased regular updates to the site content, SLA members stressed the importance of developing a more “interactive” website, one with the capacity to connect individuals and organizations from our membership across the province
of Ontario.

In early 2002 we were fortunate to be referred to the website developer » Gregory Bobnis by long-time SLA Steering Committee member Graham Clyne of the Prevention Dividend Project. Graham helped to arrange a donation for the first one hundred hours of service to the Alliance, and since that time, Greg Bobnis has been working with the Steering Committee to launch this new site.

Greg Bobnis brings considerable experience and expertise in working with innovative non-profit and public organizations, that require a web-based strategy to maximize their exposure and effectively communicate with their “customers”.

Designing organizational solutions that have included compelling websites, interactive CD-ROM and DVD tools, digital audio and video, and other e-business applications, » Greg Bobnis maintains a clear focus - maximizing the success of users.

We hope that this enjoy your stay and take this opportunity to make check out all of the new features and content that we have added. Please stay tuned for more additions and regular updates over the coming months. If you have suggestions and/or comments please » contact us - we’d love to get your feedback on our new and improved “look!” Don’t forget to drop by our » guestbook and leave your mark.

New Online Features

We've listened to your feed-back over the past year and have made every effort to ensure that our new web-site will contain much more up-to-date information and interactivity as requested by you, our members! New features of the site include:

What’s New - This expanded section of the site will provide members with the most up-to-date information on the activities of the Alliance, the Task Forces, as well as recent developments within the child and youth services and policy sectors.

Forums - This new component of the site will function as an electronic bulletin-board where members can interact and have "live" online discussions according to specific topics of interest.

Guestbook - Leave your mark in our guestbook and let us know you were here! This is also a great way to let other members know you’re out there and online, including the chance to provide a link to your personal or organizational website.

The History of The Sparrow Lake Alliance - A small group of SLA members has currently undertaken an initiative to document the history and past achievements of the Sparrow Lake Alliance. Please watch this page for ongoing updates as the project develops.

Tribute to Dr. Paul Steinhauer - This portion of the site will be dedicated to remembering the immense contributions that Dr. Steinhauer made as the founder
of the Sparrow Lake Alliance and as a tireless advocate for children, youth and families. In addition to a listing of key publications, it will include an online video of Dr. Steinhauer and interactive look at his legacy.

Task Forces - Over its thirteen year history the Alliance has had a number of active and influential Task Forces. This section will provide regularly updated information on current Task Force activities and publications, as well as a listing of relevant resources recommended by members. This section will also include a listing of previous Task Forces, their publications, and contributions to the Alliance.

Conferences of Interest - A new feature of this site, this section will promote upcoming conferences of interest to our members.

Links - This section now includes not only links of interest to SLA members, but a complete listing of personal/organizational sites belonging to SLA members, organized by sector. Make sure to submit your site today.

Publications - This section has been completely revised and updated to include the most recent and “popular” SLA publications and Task Force Reports. Make sure that you check out our list of over-stocked papers currently available at a discounted rate.

New Online Documents - We now have several documents now available for more convenient download in Adobe Acrobat pdf format, including: Annual Meeting Bulletins; Archived Conference Proceedings; Membership Renewal Form; Donation Form; Conference Registration Form; Map to Bayview-Wilwood Resort

Please refer to the site-map for a complete overview of the site organization and contents.

Your Input and Feedback

In order to make our new site a success and keep the content current we are actively seeking ongoing feedback and input from our membership. Please consider this your site and your chance to contribute to the Alliance on regular basis. Please take a few minutes to complete the online
» Feedback Form, and tell us what you like about the site, what you ‘d like to see more of, and provide us with suggestions for future additions and improvements. As well, we’d like to hear from our members and other site-users with regards to the following areas:

What’s New - Get your latest news out to SLA members instantly! This section will include brief updates and articles of interest to our members.

Forums - Have a topic that you’d like to suggest for discussion? Here’s your chance to connect with fellow members to share ideas and strategies around current issues in the child and youth services and policy sectors. These online forums will be moderated by an SLA site administrator and will be open to SLA members only.

Feature Articles - The SLA welcomes submissions from members for inclusion in our feature articles section. Looking for a forum to share that brilliant opinion/editorial piece you recently wrote? Have a program or initiative that you’d like to promote? Have a service or advocacy “success story” you’d like to share? Here’s your chance to let other members know what you’re up to, and to share your expertise on current issues of relevance to our members and site-users.

All submissions will be reviewed and approved by the Steering Committee’s Website Review Subcommittee. Please contact us for more information about how to submit an item for publication on this site.