In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We ask God Almighty to grant you and your honourable family good health and wellness.
We are writing this letter to inform you of the following:
1. The Canadian Druze Society is one of the only Societies that has a HOUSE for the Community and CEMETERY LOTS in more than one city in Ontario. We are very proud of this fact.
2. We are proud to be a community of which this saying applies to us all: “A Druze person has a Dear Soul and a Generous Palm”. عزيز النفس سخي الكف
3. When our Charity was registered in 1992, the number of families in the community was approximately 20% of what the number is today.
4. At that time, we started a one time, voluntary $1,000 initiation payment. We had some cemetery lots that cost approximately $500 to $800 each. The price of each lot today ranges from approximately $5,000 to $30,000, which is more than 10 times the initial cost.
5. The cost of utilities (electricity, gas and water, phone services, etc.) has also increased greatly since 1992.
6. Changes will be required in order to allow us to sustain our House and Cemetery Lots services. As such, we came to the conclusion that a member paying the annual fees and benefiting from the offerings of the Society, as well as the deductions in the price of the events, will be required to pay the one time $1,000 Initiation payment to benefit from the offerings of the Society that are listed below.
7. As of now, the member who has paid the dues, including the one time $1,000 Initiation payment, will be eligible for the Society’s benefits including, but not limited to:
7.1 Up to 50% reduction on the rent of the Druze House Hall set for the public.
7.2 Up to 15% discount on the price of tickets for public celebrations held by the Society.
7.3 Up to 15% discount on summer camp prices/dues.
7.4 Up to 100% discount on the Arabic/Culture School studies.
7.5 The right to run for the elections of Directors of the Board.
7.6 The right to a Free Burial Lot of the Society’s burial lots at the cemeteries that will be assigned by the Board to a deceased member, spouse or dependents aged 17 years and under.
We ask for your understanding of the above, and trust in your willingness to support, sustain, and strengthen our Society. We look forward to hearing from you and ask that, if you have not paid already, you will make the one time, $1,000 Initiation payment either through e-Transfer to CDS@rogers.com or by any means through one of the Directors of the Board.
We want to reemphasize the importance of also continuing to pay the annual membership fees and be sure to make the payment for at least the last two years, including the current year.