Since 1950, Junior League of Calgary volunteers have been working to bridge the gap between society's needs and existing community resources.  The result is a legacy of training, leadership and volunteerism that has made a difference in Calgary.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary

In 1966, the JLC started the Renfrew Girls Club in cooperation with the Boys Club of Calgary and the YWCA, and with the assistance of the Woods Foundation. Three representatives of the JLC were on the steering committee, with one of the League representatives acting as chairperson.The Club provided hobbies and athletics for girls aged 8-18 years. Professional assistance was provided by a Recreation Supervisor and an Arts and Crafts Supervisor. Volunteers supervised physical education programs, arts and crafts, and served as team club advisors.

The Renfrew Boys Club took over the day-to-day operations in 1969 and it became the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary. The JLC’s Board representation and financial obligations continued until 1972. Over the five years, the JLC contributed a total of $150,340.In 1990 - 1991, the JLC received the Friends of Youth Award, presented by the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary, for dedicated service on behalf of youth.

Avenue 15 - The Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary Avenue 15 program is a shelter for runaway teens. In coalition with Avenue 15, JLC members offered evening recreational programs and other special events to teens in this program. The JLC's involvement started in 1986 and continued until May 1992.

Visit www.calgaryboysandgirlsclub.ca to learn more about the club.

Bundles of Hope

The JLC created the Bundles of Hope project after contact with child and family services organizations and their associated social workers determined that one of the most pressing needs in Calgary was for personal care items for emergent-need families with children.  During 2004 - 2006  the JLC monthly filled large tote bags with various health and hygiene items for men, women and childern and delivered them to several Northeast Community Resource Centre (CRC) partners for distribution to their clients.  These bundles positively impacted over 200 families.

Responding to our partners pleas for school backpacks and supplies for the children of many of their clients, we added the 'backpack' bundle concept to the Bundles of Hope project. The original 40 backpacks produced swelled to 174 by the summer of 2006.

For Christmas 2005 we again expanded the concept of Bundles of Hope to include a 'stocking' bundle, and stuffed 30 Teen Christmas stockings.  In addition to the health and hygiene items we added some 'teen-oriented' items such as movie passes and certificates for video rentals. This was a unique event because it focused on a group (teens) within distressed families that seem to be forgotten by charities around the holiday season.  In 2006 we provided 150 stockings for teenagers.  This element of Bundles of Hope has subsequently become a JLC stand-alone seasonal project (see Current Projects).

We again thank all the many donors who contributed funds and gift items to this project!

Calgary Reads

"Research has shown that a child's reading level at the end of Grade 3 is a more accurate predictor of school success than any other variable, including family income, educational attainment of parents, or ethnic, cultural or linguistic background. Eighty per cent of children identified as "learning disabled" have reading difficulties. Many difficulties, which all too frequently become permanent, are preventable, if provided with effective intervention early. That's why we're trying to get them young."
-- Miriam Trehearn, CBE Literacy Specialist

This project, launched in September 1998 in collaboration with the Calgary Board of Education (CBE), was designed to recruit, train and organize volunteers to read one-on-one with grade one and grade two children with reading difficulties.

Calgary Reads provided participating schools with a facilitator who recruited and trained volunteer tutors for the school. Each tutor met twice a week to listen to a child read, following a special program designed to improve reading skills. Volunteers ranged in age and background, and included high school and university students, senior citizens and employees from companies like Indigo Books, Kinkos and the local Fire Department and Police Services.  Also, older students in the school were paired with a child in the program and trained to become buddy readers, ensuring that students read every day.

Other elements of the Calgary Reads program included a resource manual, video and newsletters for the tutors, literacy celebrations with the community and corporate sponsorship opportunities.

Calgary Reads continues its work in the community and is always recruiting volunteers. If you are interested, call the CBE at 294-8759 or Calgary Reads.  For more information visit www.calgaryreads.com.

Children's Cottage Crisis Nursery

The Children's Cottage Crisis Nursery offers short-term relief to highly stressed parents in crisis situations and links parents to the larger system of social services for concrete assistance or long-term counselling. The goal is to reduce the incidence of child abuse and help actual and potential child abusers deal with their problems.The Nursery operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve infants and children six years and under, for periods up to 72 hours.The idea for a Crisis Nursery in Calgary was initiated by the Child Abuse Team at Alberta Children’s Hospital. They recommended Parents Anonymous as an appropriate service agency to undertake the project. A JLC member served on the Board of Parents Anonymous and at one point chaired the Board.Parents Anonymous opened the Crisis Nursery on December 18, 1986. The Burns Memorial Fund donated initial capital funding of $150,000. The JLC donated $15,000 towards furnishings, and the Minerva Foundation provided $7,000, also for furnishings. Alberta Social Services agreed to provide all operating costs for two years before evaluation.The JLC started work on this project in June 1986. In addition to providing support at the Board level, the JLC provided volunteers to assist with Public Information and Education (e.g. develop pamphlets, a public transportation guide, a list of licensed baby-sitters and daycare centers in all quadrants of Calgary) and Operations (e.g. volunteer scheduling, volunteer recruitment and training, maintaining a clothing bank, inventory control, menu planning and finding recipes for children’s meals and special events programming).  JLC involvement concluded in May 1989.For more information on the continued program, visit www.childrenscottage.ab.ca.

Deane House

The Deane House restoration was a project lovingly worked on by active JLC members from the planning stages in 1982 until the doors opened in 1986.  Members gave approximately 4,000 volunteer hours and $55,000 of JLC money to see this heritage dream come true. The JLC’s focus on heritage projects ended with the official opening of the Deane House.

JLC sustainers were also involved in this project. In 1984, the sustainers undertook the restoration of the Deane House gardens which was completed in 1985 . The sustainers continued to look after the gardens for many years.

In 1986-87, the Deane House project won the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation Award.

Read more about the history and current operations of the Deane House (including information on the tea house) through the Fort Calgary website.

Family Violence and Prevention

In 1990-1991, the JLC developed a Family Violence and Prevention Program for high school students.  It consisted of three workshops – Abuse, Dating Violence and Conflict Resolution – and was facilitated by trained volunteers. The objectives of the program were to increase awareness of the types of family violence and the reasons for it, and to develop skills that would prevent violence from occurring or recurring in the home.

The research and development of materials for the project was partially funded by a grant from the Muttart Foundation. A complete kit for the program was developed and orders were received from across Canada. The JLC started coordinating visits to high schools in 1992. In addition to JLC members, the committee recruited community volunteers to go into the classrooms to facilitate the workshops; some of the volunteers had experienced abuse in the past. All volunteers went through a training program for facilitators and observed experienced facilitators several times before handling a workshop themselves.  In May 1994, the JLC was asked to present the project at the AJLI Annual Conference as a model project.Our involvement with this project formally ended that same year. The program was donated to the Calgary Board of Education and volunteers outside of the JLC continue to assist schools with the program.

Golden Age Club

In the fall of 1949, three representatives of the Junior Service League (now the Junior League of Calgary) and other volunteers were asked to sit on a committee under Dr. Alexander Calhoun, former City of Calgary Chief Librarian, to consider what might be done to provide much needed recreational facilities for the senior citizens of Calgary.The committee’s first task was to find a suitable meeting place. The Golden Age Club officially opened on December 6th, 1950 in the old "Sally Ann" hut opposite the Mewata Armoury on 11th Street. From that day forward, League volunteers performed many varied duties ranging from program arrangements to serving tea three afternoons a week.In the first 3 1/2 months, membership grew from 96 to 195 registered members. In the second year, the membership rose to 300 and continued to grow every year after that. In order to ease crowding at the Mewata, a second branch opened in the East side of the city in January 1952.In 1954, the "Sally Ann" hut had to be demolished and the JLC donated $10,000 towards building a new clubhouse. The new club opened at 6th Ave. and 11th St. in October 1956. Shortly after that, it was mutually agreed that the Club was sufficiently well organized to assume responsibility for its own social programs and the League terminated its services. However, a JLC member, Lil McAra, continued in her own right on the Club’s Board and held the position of Mewata House Committee Chairman for 17 years!The club is now located at 6th Street and 8th Avenue.  Golden Age Club Website.

Junior Chefs

Junior Chefs was created by the Junior League of Calgary in 2001 in response to the startling statistics of child hunger and obesity in Calgary. The Junior Chefs project assists children in developing long-term nutritional knowledge, food preparation and kitchen safety skills.

The project originally operated in elementary schools throughout the city of Calgary as well as with other community partners.   From January until October 2007, the program was operated exclusively out of the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary(BGCC).  In the spring of 2008, the project will be turned over to the BGCC. 

Since its creation, the Junior Chefs project was the proud recipient of the following awards: Association of Junior Leagues International - Award for Community Impact - 2003; Canadian Federation of Junior Leagues - Community Impact Award - 2005; Calgary Board of Education - Lighthouse Award - 2006; Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation Mayors' Excellence Award - Health and Wellness Category - 2006;   Canadian Medical Association - Award for Excellence in Health Promotion - Nominee in 2005 and 2006.

The project is indebted to the funding support it received from the Canada Safeway Foundation, The Calgary Foundation and other community donors. 

Kids Help Phone

In 1988, the JLC agreed to set up a Chapter of the Canadian Children’s Foundation in Calgary. The purpose of the Chapter was to fundraise and promote awareness in Alberta of the Kids Help Phone, a toll-free number that kids can call anonymously from anywhere in Canada for advice from professional counsellors.

In 1989-1990 the JLC worked to set up a Chapter Board consisting of many corporate and community representatives including JLC members, Lanny McDonald from the Calgary Flames and representatives from the Bank of Montreal and the Bank of Nova Scotia.

In June 1991, the JLC designated all funds raised from the bi-annual Stir-Up fundraiser to the Kids Help Phone. The JLC was subsequently presented with a recognition award for our volunteer work and our $34,000 contribution from this fundraiser.

From June 1991- May 1993, the JLC took responsibility for an Alberta-wide school awareness campaign. This involved contacting and working with school boards throughout Alberta and mailing out information kits including letters, teacher guides, stickers, magnets and posters for every school in the province. JLC representatives also spoke at several schools in Calgary.In June 1993, the Kids Help Foundation Board assumed responsibility for the school awareness program and the JLC's  formal involvement ended. However, several former members still sat on the Chapter Board.

For more information visit the Calgary Chapter website.

Ronald McDonald House

The Ronald McDonald House is a temporary residential facility that serves as a "home way from home" for families with children facing life-threatening illnesses or undergoing complex diagnostic procedures at the Alberta Children's Hospital.

In 1984, the JLC organized a fundraising dinner and raised $55,000 to help kick-off the project. With support from the JLC, McDonalds, service clubs, foundations, and individual donors, the House opened in March of 1985.

The JLC provided a Board Member and other volunteers to assist and support the staff and board of the Ronald McDonald House from 1984 to 1987. During that period, volunteers set up the volunteer program and filled the position of Volunteer Coordinator until one was hired, established and ran the Volunteer Training program, helped hire the House Manager provided the administrative assistant to the House Manager, and planned and furnished the playroom, supplying all toys, books, furniture and play equipment.

For more information visit the Ronald McDonald House Calgary website.

Walk In Closet (formerly Suited for the Job)

This project was created in 1995 when the JLC community research process revealed that many female graduates from local job training programs did not own, nor could they afford, appropriate business attire for interviews and work. Using trained volunteers to seek out, collect and organize donated clothing, and providing one-on-one wardrobe and colour consultations at no cost, Suited for the Job was able to help increase the employment potential of these women. In 1997, the JLC won the Volunteer Calgary Gold Laurel Award for innovation and creativity within a non-profit organization for the Suited for the Job project.  The project provided outfits to more than 1000 women, over 80% of whom were successful in obtaining employment.

In March 2001, Suited for the Job was amalgamated with the Walk-In Closet.

Business clothing can be donated to this program by contacting the Walk-In Closet: 262-5776.  For more information visit www.walk-incloset.ca.

Talbots Clothing Drive

For several years the Junior League of Calgary, as well as other leagues in Canada,  partnered in the Fall with specialty retailer Talbots to invite members, friends, Talbots' customers and the general public to drop off their gently used fall and winter clothing at the Talbots stores in Calgary. In 2007, this drive collected over 4500 pounds of clothing that was donated to women in need within our community.

Teen Panel

Initiated in 1988, the Teen Panel was one of our most visible JLC projects. Entirely developed and run by the JLC, the Teen Panel explored the issues of teen pregnancy. The JLC volunteers recruited and trained teenagers to speak about their life and decisions to junior high school students in a panel discussion format.

Teenagers with varied backgrounds were represented on the panel; teens who had elected to remain sexually non-active, those who had given birth and kept their child, and those who had given up their child for adoption. In a typical presentation, the teens on the panel would briefly tell their stories and then spend the majority of the time fielding questions from the audience. Through questions and answers, teens could draw their own conclusions about the choices they have to make.

The JLC worked directly with the school boards and was responsible for scheduling and coordinating all panel presentations to junior high schools in Calgary. The JLC also held socials and training sessions on life skills and parenting for the panel participants. A video of the Teen Panel was made with the financial assistance of a private corporation, and was donated to every school board in Alberta. The video was used in place of live presentations throughout Alberta (outside of Calgary) and across Canada.

The JLC’s involvement concluded in May 1994 when the project was turned over to the Louise Dean School for pregnant teens.  Louise Dean Website.

Volunteer Calgary

In March 1955, the JLC voted to establish a Central Volunteer Bureau in Calgary. The League agreed to finance the Bureau's operations while its policies were to be determined by a Board of Directors elected from the community. The JLC provided input via two of its members serving on the Board.

The League found the original office space for the Bureau and hired an Executive Secretary. In it's initial year, the Centre served 47 agencies via 260 registered volunteers. During the period 1955-1958, the JLC donated approximately $12,000.

In 1958, the Central Volunteer Bureau was accepted as a Community Chest (now United Way) Agency, and so the JLC left the Bureau in the capable hands of the community. The Bureau now operates under the name of "Volunteer Calgary", serving over 200 member agencies with over 3000 volunteers.

For more information on Volunteer Calgary, visit www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca.