Projects

Kids In The Kitchen

21 April 2009

The Junior League of Calgary's fourth annual Kids In The Kitchen event was held on April 21, 2009 at Ranchlands School, 610 Ranchlands Blvd NW. The festivities began at 9:00 am and concluded at 3:00 p.m. 213 students in grades four, five and six  participated in the day’s activities. Chef Will Kwong, Executive Chef, Premium Seating, Calgary Stampede dazzled the students with his culinary skills, while Christy Hayne, dancer and choreographer, got everyone moving. 

For more information, check out our  Kids In The Kitchen Fact Sheet , Kids in the Kitchen Press Release - Calgary and  Kids In The Kitchen Press Release- Canada.

Canadian Press Article

Prince George Citizen Article

The Record.com Article

Telegraph Journal Article

15 April 2009

Junior League members and sustainers joined with our provisional members on April 15, 2009 at the Junior League of Calgary Office to make up over 200  fun-filled Kids in the Kitchen bags that were later distributed to the children at Ranchlands School.  Each bag was filled with recipes, nutritional tips, fitness magazines and other educational materials.

Teen Christmas Totes

6 December 2008

A group of local social agencies and community organizations planned an event called "Together for Christmas" at the Calgary Dream Centre to reach Calgarians in need.  Guests to the event received transportation to and from home, a traditional holiday meal with all of the fixings, entertainment, activities for the children, a visit from Santa and gifts for younger family members. Teens at the event received Teen Christmas Totes provided by the JLC.  Junior League of Calgary members and their families were privileged to serve nearly 200 guests at one of the planned six meals and parties.

Drew Brown, co-chairperson of  "Together for Christmas" commented,  "Junior League is incredible both in their donation of the Teen Totes and in their volunteering at our event". He shared the appreciation expressed by many of the guests. Any Teen Totes not distributed at  "Together for Christmas"  will be donated to the Alex Community Health Centre Youth Clinic which provides services to homeless and at-risk youth in Calgary.

24 November 2008

The JLC office was a hive of activity on November 24th. Members gathered to socialize, enjoy sweets and savories, hot spiced cider, holiday music and camaraderie before going around and around the table to assemble the Teen Christmas Totes. Personal hygiene items like shampoo, deodorant, Kleenex, and soap, toques and gloves, dental hygiene products including toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste, teen magazines, coupons for food, sporting events and movies, perfume packets, gift cards, books, decks of cards, free eye exam certificates, candy canes and a holiday greeting card from JLC were placed into each bag. Leftover toques and gloves were donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Calgary. Other remaining items were donated to NeighbourLink for their "Gifts for Gals" program.  Staff from the Calgary Dream Centre transported the bags from the JLC office to their facility and marvelled at the quantity of bags!

Run & Jump & Play

November 4th, 2008

On November 4, Run & Jump & Play hosted Christine Almiron, Outreach Coordinator at the Village Square Branch of the Calgary Public Library in Marlborough. In addition to giving the participating families free library cards, Christine held several story-telling sessions. For the older children she read "Bark, George, Bark" by Jules Feiffer and "Who Hops?" by Katie Davis. Christine also shared  felt books to encourage participation by the children—a big hit!

They played with the felt pieces of  "Very Happy Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and  "Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell.   Later in the morning, Christine sat down on the floor with the younger children and read "Colour Me Happy" by Shen Roddie and Ben Cort and "Peek-A-Moo" by Marie Torres Cimarusti. Thank you Christine and the Calgary Public Library for a great morning!
 

October 28th

On October 28, the Music and Movement program of Run & Jump & Play became a 'brush and floss program'. Two dental assistants from Dr. Brian Killick‘s office, Dentrix Dental Care, visited for the morning and caught the children‘s attention immediately with a big green alligator who needed help brushing his teeth. The alligator also had a nasty habit of squirting water out of his mouth, much to the delight of the boys.

The dental assistants explained the importance of brushing and flossing and read a story about visiting the dentist. After the story, it was time to try it for themselves. The children busily practiced brushing their teeth with their new toothbrushes, but the main attractions were the sugarless suckers given to the younger group and the bright bouncy balls that the older children sent careening all over the gym (at least until Miss Marilou corralled them in her pockets!). The dental floss was a mystery – but great fun to unravel! Toward the end of the morning, Dr. Killick joined us singing the 'caterpillar‘ song. He sat down between two boys encouraging them to walk their caterpillar fingers down to their toes. A Shaw TV photographer captured two boys vigorously demonstrating their tooth brushing skills.

While the dental assistants were busy captivating the children with the big green alligator, Dr. Brian Killick spoke to the parents, who were equally enthralled. Dr. Killick showed several slides and distributed a booklet for parents to take home that summarized all his points.  He reviewed the importance of proper dental hygiene and covered many other points including:

• if you can‘t brush their teeth after a meal, eating cheese or sugarless gum will neutralize the acid that causes tooth decay
• why parents should not give bottles of juice to babies when they go to bed
• thumb sucking after the age of about 3 years can put teeth out of alignment

The visit provided a unique opportunity for the parents to have the undivided attention of a professional. Many had questions and Dr. Killick spent time with each of them to address their concerns. His visit was a valuable addition to our program and we would like to thank him and his staff for all their preparation to ensure their visit was a success. Dr. Brian Killick is with Dentrix Dental Care in Market Mall.

October 14th, 2008 

On Tuesday, October 14, there was a special guest visit to the Run & Jump & Play class by WordFEST author, Sheree Fitch.  As part of Run & Jump & Play’s Bi-Annual Literacy Event Series in partnership with WordFEST, Sheree Fitch, a multi award-winning writer, speaker and educator and the author of twenty-three books read to the families and shared some of her favourite books like If I had a Million Onions, There’s a Mouse in My House and Persnickety Pete.

October 6, 2008– The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) and Storehouse 39-3-10 (S39) were pleased to partner with WordFEST to launch the new Run & Jump & Play program with a special visit from author Sheree Fitch.

Run & Jump & Play is a free kindergarten preparation and parental education program that was created by a collaborative partnership between Storehouse 39-3-10 and the Junior League of Calgary in response to City of Calgary statistics which indicate that 21% of all individuals living in poverty are children and single parent low income families comprise approximately 48% of this group. The partners recognized that impoverished children between the ages of two and five were falling between the cracks at a time that was critical in terms of the development of their physical, mental and social well being.  The Run & Jump & Play program served as a resource for nurturing and working with these children and their parents in their formative years to give these children a positive beginning to school and life and to help break the cycle of poverty. 

The program was held at the Calgary Church of Christ in three eight-week sessions during the fall, winter and spring of 2008-2009. Run & Jump & Play reached children, ages two to five, and their caregivers, who had been referred to the program by NeighbourLink Calgary and other social service agencies. The curriculum was delivered in 90 minute segments once a week by trained class facilitators from the Junior League of Calgary and the Further Education Society of Alberta. Each session consisted of four weeks of a Pre-Literacy class followed by four weeks of a Visual Literacy class, running concurrently with eight full weeks of Music & Movement and a Parental Education class. The children’s classes offered story telling, drawing, dancing, music, marching, jumping, fun games, counting and social interaction.

The Parental Education classes allowed caregivers to discuss and share experiences on topics such as: reading and writing as a family; how to share books with your children; building parenting skills; self-esteem and positive discipline; nutrition and food shopping skills; dental and eye health.  

Other Happenings

JLC Annual Celebration Dinner

25 May 2009

Another successful Junior League of Calgary year was celebrated during the Annual Celebration Dinner on May 25 at the Calgary Golf and Country Club. Martha Parker, former Executive Director of Volunteer Calgary and a past president of the JLC, gave the keynote address about leadership, leverage and learning.

As the JLC launches 60th Anniversary celebrations, we recognized some of our past projects that continue to impact the community: A $2,000 donation was presented to each of the following projects: Walk-In Closet (formerly Suited for the Job), Kids Help Phone, Calgary Reads, two Boys and Girls Club programs (Avenue 15 and Junior Chefs), Children‘s Cottage Society of Calgary, The Hera Society, Louise Dean Centre and Volunteer Calgary.

Alice Gardner-Boreta recognized all the Community Advisory Panel (CAP) members in attendance: Sherry Hiebert-Keck – Managing Director of Community Services at Catholic Family Service, Julie Johnston – Past President and Sustainer, Barbara Ross – Board of Directors, Inn From the Cold and Sarah Walker – Executive Director, Hospice Calgary Society.

We had five recipients of Volunteer Service Awards this year, to recognize members whose hours of service have made a difference in their community. JLC members received the following awards: At the Bronze level (100-249 hours): Erin Carr and Philippa Gear.

At the Silver level (250-499): Angel Oshust and Elizabeth Andrews. Due to past service Alice Gardner-Boreta received both a Silver and a Gold level award (500+ hours). Each recipient received an official lapel pin and a personalized certificate of achievement. In addition, US citizens receive a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States.

The JLC Awards of Distinction were presented to the following members:

The Vanessa Leanne Alston Memorial Award to Erin Carr for going above and beyond her placement expectation in taking on the VP Finance role.

The Denise Louise McGowan Award to Lorena Engen for her long service to the JLC and success in her placements.

The Joan Elizabeth Osler Award to Angel Oshust for her strong League spirit and friendship she shows to all the members.

The Sydney Turner Sustainer Award to Melinda Pearson for continuing to be a support and advisor to the JLC members.
The JLC Partnership Service Award to Warren Chorney who has been working as the JLC financial advisor for 10 years and has helped train many Finance VPs.

The incoming 2009-2010 Board was introduced by Susan Cruess.

The final event of the night was the traditional passing of the gavel from all the past presidents in attendance to the current president, Susan Cruess, which signifies the beginning of another new JLC year!

JLC "Stir Up Your Memories" Event

5 May 2009

Since 1950, the Junior League of Calgary has been improving the community through its many projects. On May 5, 2009 over 150 past and present members attended the "Stir Up Your Memories" event at Fort Calgary to meet with old friends, reminisce and talk about how the Junior League of Calgary has changed over the years.