Projects

Kids in the Kitchen

March 2007

A great time was had by all who participated in our Kids in the Kitchen event at the Creative Kids Museum on Saturday March 24th.  We handed out 53 take home packages and a total of 73 children participated in at least one activity during the two hour event. The guest speakers all delivered a consistent message on the importance of healthy eating and fitness to children’s health.  Kathleen Polet, guest nutritionist, had the kids jumping and flexing their muscles as she reviewed the food groups and their impact on the body. Will Kwong, Stampede Casino Executive Chef, told the children that he loved cooking because he could always make people happy with his creations. He demonstrated the preparation of Sandwich Tubes and then impressed both children and parents with several delicious variations on this traditional wrap. The taste-testing was enjoyed by all!

 Jason Parker, 2006 Olympic Silver Medalist, gave a truly inspiring presentation with photos from his childhood and the games in Turin. He shared his experiences as an overweight child interested in hockey but weak in skills other than skating. He then described his fascination with speed skating on TV and his hard work to try to imitate the professionals without the proper training facilities. He explained many challenges he faced to accomplish his childhood dream of skating in the Olympics. Jason encouraged the kids to set goals, keep their bodies healthy in order to meet these goals, and to pursue their dreams. After his formal presentation, Jason signed many autographs and answered questions from all ages, from toddlers to grandparents.

After the presentations, the children enjoyed many hands-on activities including colouring worksheets, making activity medals, and assembling yogurt parfaits and fruit smoothies. Kathleen Polet taught the kids about portion sizes, while New Member Trina Koops shared her nutrition experience by teaching children to read and compare food labels.

Thanks to Cartoon Network, we had a special Kids in the Kitchen prize pack to offer in a draw. It included an apron, oven mitts, measuring cups and a bowl.  The children all went home with tote bags filled with information on the JLC, the Junior Chefs program, recipes for the day’s treats, a special JLC bookmark, two Health Canada fitness magazines, the new Canada Food Guide, the “My Amazing Little Cookbook”- and more!

We would like to thank the Canada Safeway store at Glenmore Landing for the donation of the 75 reusable tote bags for the kids. Special thanks to Terry Guidry for her fabulous creativity in designing the bookmarks for the kids, the draw tickets, and the KITK aprons for our volunteers. Everyone in attendance (including our volunteers!) learned new tools needed to lead healthy, active lives. Educating children and parents on nutrition is an important proactive step in the process of raising awareness and attempting to reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues.

Junior League of Calgary Stuffs Christmas Stockings for

Northeast Calgary Teenagers

December 2006

The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) is pleased to announce the third annual Teen Christmas Stocking initiative. The JLC is striving to make a difference by providing Christmas stockings to 150 teens in Calgary who would otherwise be missed during the holiday season. Most Christmas giving programs focus on younger children. In 2004, the JLC identified that teenagers were being overlooked and established this initiative to meet the community need.

The Junior League of Calgary has purchased personal hygiene items such as shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and dental floss as well as socks, gloves and candy canes. These items will be tailored for 75 male and 75 female recipients. The Christmas stockings will also include toothbrushes donated by Dr. Moez Lakhani and Dr. Leonard B. Smith, gift certificates donated by McDonalds and Sunridge Spectrum Cinemas plus passes to the Village Square Leisure Centre donated by MLA Yvonne Fritz.  Special thanks to Primrose Drilling Ventures Ltd for a generous cash donation to the Teen Christmas Stocking initiative.

The stockings will be distributed to the teenagers through five community agencies:  the Heart of the Northeast Community Solutions Resource Centre, North of McKnight Community Resource Centre, the Sunrise Community Link Resource Center, Awo Taan Native Women’s Shelter and the Women’s Centre of Calgary. 

Carol Smith, President of the Junior League of Calgary, states, “We are thrilled with the community support for the Teen Christmas Stocking initiative.  These Christmas stockings will brighten the holiday season for these teenagers by making them feel special and showing that they are not forgotten members of the community.”

As part of the JLC mission of promoting volunteerism, members of the donating organizations and the community agencies have been invited to participate in the event.

Note: Members of the Junior League of Calgary stuffed the stockings on Monday, December 11th during their monthly membership meeting. The final tally for clothes collected was 4,500 lbs!

Talbot's Clothing Drive a Huge Success

November 2006

November 2006 - Thanks to the tremendous work of League members, the Community Team and Jodie Bereznay’s marketing efforts, theTalbots second annual Clear Our Your Closet clothing drive was hugely successful.

Clothing was collected from both Calgary stores and BC stores. From Southcentre, we received 2102 pounds of clothing while the Market Mall location brought in 1336 pounds for a total of 3438 pounds. Boxes of clothing were sent to us from Vancouver which added an additional 40 pounds.

Thank you to everyone who participated in helping make this project fun and rewarding. The women at the Sheriff King Home, Women in Need Society and Walk-in Closet greatly appreciate having winter coats and more items for their wardrobes.

The winner of the Talbots in-store draw was a Talbot's regular customer, Norma Brown. Congratulations Norma!

Junior Chefs Summer Camps A Big Success

July and August 2006

  During July and August, Junior League of Calgary's Junior Chefs Program held summer cooking camps at community centres in Marlborough Park and Bridgeland/Riverside. Sixteen children, ages12-15, attended the three teen camps and thirty-five children, ages 8-11, attended the five kids’ camps. Registration was open to the public and participants learned about the camps through our ad in the summer camp section of the Herald, fliers distributed at schools that hosted our classes, as well as word of mouth. The children who attended the camps came from all four quadrants of the city.

Done in a Day (DIAD)

Children's Cottage Nursery Painting

March 2007

Members of the Junior League of Calgary spent a portion of Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, repainting a play room at the Childrens Cottage, a past project of the JLC.

Thank you to all our volunteers, Antoinnette Douville-Mackie, Melissa Stoesser Young, Carol Smith, Cindy Ferguson, Terry Guidry, Denise Bottomley, Susan Cruess, Brenda Ostlund, Judi Lee, Lorena Engen, Kathy Deyell, Jamie Enachescu, and New Member-Elizabeth Andrews, and especially to our artist, Barb LaPointe for her fantastic patience with all of us non-artists.

A special thank you to Hardings Painting, a local painting company, who donated their time and materials to repaint the background to our mural, and to Swintons Art Supply for providing their mural paints at a discount. Junior League members contributed 82 hours plus 24 hours by Barb LaPointe who planned, drew and over saw the mural completion

Packing at Ronald McDonald House

March 2007

Junior League of Calgary members helped pack up the Ronald McDonald House as they moved to their new home next door to the new Alberta Children’s Hospital.  The help that they received was greatly appreciated.  

A giant THANK YOU to all our volunteers!

JLC Volunteers at Ronald McDonald House

November 2006

Junior League Members are volunteering their time throughout the coming months to providing meals and baking to the Ronald McDonald House. Our first effort took place on November 27, 2006, and was a great success!

Junior League of Calgary's "Pink Crusaders" Run for the

Cure

October 2006

On October 1st, members of the Junior League of Calgary and their families braved the rainy weather to participate in  CIBC's annual Run for the Cure in support of Breast Cancer.  A great time was had by all who ran or walked in support of this worthy cause. 

Other Happenings

Junior League of Calgary Receives Grant

January 2007

Special thanks to the Rotary Club of Calgary South for their generous donation to help us expand the reach of our Bundles of Hope project. This is the second year that this fantastic organization has supported Bundles of Hope. In 2005, they donated $1,000 to the project and this year the grant was increased to $1,500.  The funds will be set aside for purchases of health and hygiene items for the bundles which will be distributed to emergent-need families by several community resource centres. These basic items, which we all take for granted, are treasured by these families, who must allocate their limited funds to food and shelter rather than hygiene items such as toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Calgary South for helping us to make a difference in the community by providing the funds to purchase these items that truly improve the lives of many Calgary families!

Junior League of Calgary Hits the Road and Helps out in

New Orleans

October 2006

The Junior Leagues Rebuilding a Better New Orleans initiative came to a successful close on Sunday, October 8. The week-long project marked the largest gathering of Junior Leaguers from across the Association outside of an AJLI annual conference, with Sustainers, Actives and New Members and their friends and family putting in over 12,000 volunteer hours during the week’s projects. What began as an invitation by Junior League of New Orleans Past Presidents and co-chairs of the initiative, Liz Creel, Wendy Beron and Ellen Coleman, resulted in the mobilization close to 1,000 volunteers over the course of just nine days. More than 600 were Junior League volunteers who traveled from 200 cities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The fruits of their labour are truly inspiring. 

Four members of the Junior League of Calgary, Cindy Fergusen, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Denise Bottomley and Carol Smith,  traveled to New Orleans to participate in this initiative.   Junior League of Calgary President, Carol Smith, described her experience:

"The trip to New Orleans was an unbelievable experience. While it was discouraging to see the devastation that is still evident everywhere, it was very positive to be part of over 600 Junior League members from 200 different leagues, with another 400 family and friends, supporting a community in need. The enthusiasm and commitment of these women truly encapsulated our vision - Woman Building Better Communities. "