Calgary

Guest blogger – Karine Aviv

A couple of Sundays ago, I took my two older girls (ages 8 and 11) to a community volunteering event (J-Serve), at our local Jewish Centre.  As a mother of 3, I believe that getting my kids involved in community events is important for a number of reasons.  As they grow and develop, being involved in a larger community teaches them about social responsibility.  As a parent, I want them to learn not to focus only on themselves but rather to learn that there is a whole world around them. I want my daughters to learn to be giving, considerate and compassionate towards others.  Volunteering is important for character building in children.  They learn to care for other people and learn that selfless actions feel good.

I sat down with Mr. Hotchkiss 3 years ago and interviewed him about his philanthropy.  I am re-posting the blog post here today in memory of an extraordinary man who was a committed member of Calgary's community as well as an integral part of Canada's fabric. Read more »

Guest Blogger: Michele Frugel-Gartner is the Executive Director Social Venture Partners Calgary. Prior to this role, Michele was employed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and participated in Rotary Internationals Group Study Exchange to Saitama, Japan where she studied the role of philanthropy and Japanese civil society.  She received her M.A. degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and is an alumna of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, HI.

Note about this post: Michele and I are on the planning committee of the Innovation Exchange.  This blog originally appread on the Social Finance site.  It has been reposted with permission from the author.

A year ago, I started quietly along a path to understand the legal and regulatory structures and challenges of social enterprise. It was a quest for knowledge and was parlayed into a course on public policy for nonprofits. For six months, I diligently read everything published on the topic with the hopes that my knowledge in the topic would expand and I'd be able to influence the topic. Starting out slowly and independently, I never imagined how quickly the ball would start to roll. Read more »

My daughter’s first exposure to volunteering came at an early age. I used to be a regular volunteer for Inn from the Cold (IFTC), an awesome Calgary charity that provides a place to sleep and warm meals to families without homes.

Read more »

What does being the official sponsor of the 2010 Olympic Games mean? Well for one thing it means that rival competition everywhere is going to try and capitalize on the event without paying any sponsorship bucks. Canadian retailer Lululemon is showing that they are not too Zen or too nice to play dirty. Organizers of the 2010 Olympics publicly scolded Lululemon Athletica, after Lulu released their new special edition clothing line called "Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition". This new special edition clothing line ruffled many feathers because Lululemon is not an official sponsor of the games. In 2005 Lululemon and long time Canadian athlete supporter Roots lost the bid to be the official outfitter of Canada's Olympic team, to Hudson's BayCo. for the 2006 Games in Italy; subsequently resulting with The Bay having contract rights to outfit the Canadian team from the 2006 Olympics until 2012. Read more »

Just a quick post to say congratulations to this years National Philanthropy Day honourees.  The message that I got out of today's luncheon and the presentation is one of hope.  As we are climbing (slowly) out of turbulent economic times it was amazing and very HOPEFUL to hear about ways that people were stepping up to the plate and supporting our communities.

Thank you to each and every person who donates time, money and other resources to making our world a better place to live.

(Photo provided by Mike Scullen) 

I was just at the anti-G.W. Bush rally outside the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, Alberta. 

Here's the image: A line of predominantly white men over the age of 50 with a smattering of women and perhaps a handful of others representing other minority groups in suits wrapped around the Hyatt hotel along Stephen Avenue Mall.  Across from them a group of protestors who, in contrast to the well-dress businessmen, looked like a rag-tag bunch.  In-between the media, some police on bikes, some cops with cameras and others like myself who are there because we don't support Bush and his former agenda, but we also recognize that our city is built on oil dollars and, right or wrong, it is Bush's policies that made some of our city (read those who were standing in line) very wealthy over the past decade.

So here's my limited take on the whole thing - when you have a legitimate claim that Bush has committed crimes against humanity and then you put up a placard that equates what is happening in Iraq with genocide you water down your argument and make your cause look like a joke.  If you want Bush on trial for what he has done and to be held accountable for his actions, make legitimate claims on the poster-board. 

One of my favourite signs was one that read, "The Geneva Convention Does Not Apply to the Elite."  This passed in front of me when I was standing beside Brett Wilson, CEO of First Energy and member of CBC's the Dragon's Den, standing out from the rest of the suits in his signature jeans and sneakers.  There is something to be said about Calgary's elite standing in line to listen to the man who single-handedly ruined the American economy through poor foreign policy and economic decisions and who is going to be sharing his thoughts on where business should be directing their energies over the next few years. 

I wonder what these people are going to take out of this presentation, what are they going to apply to their own lives, what are they going to tell their kids when they go home tonight about what they learned from the former leader of the United States?

A friend asked me if I had a ticket (which was selling for $400 each... and they say we are in a recession) would I use it.  For sure I would! I want to know what he is saying inside those hallowed halls of the Telus Convention Centre.  I especially want to know how the City of Calgary is justifying the expenses that are being put towards Bush's visit.  Let's be clear, whether you supported Bush and his administration or not, it is your tax payer dollars that are being sucked up during his visit here.

That's my rant for the day.  Back to philanthropy and such next post.

Jar-O-Karma: Sandra Casey Trust Fund

This is a program that Spoon Fed Soup is running in the memory of Sandra Casey.

Below is a piece from the email that Carmie sent out to her customers.

Typically, when we want to help raise money for a particular benefit, we will develop a soup specifically for the cause - we call it a Jar-O-Karma soup. Unfortunately, the cause that we would like to raise money for arose so unexpectedly, that it left us no time to develop anything in advance. That cause is related to the sudden and tragic passing of Sandra Casey. She was struck down in a hit & run accident, outside of a Calgary Bar early Sunday morning. Though I do not know Sandra directly, a good friend of mine knows her quite well. Sandra, was originally from Ireland and had only been in Calgary for about two years.

Sandra's family would like Ireland to be her final resting place. A fund has been setup to raise money to make this happen. To help with this cause, 10% of the profits from this week's sales will be donated to Sandra's fund, on behalf of the members of the Spoon Federation. If you wish to learn more about this story or donate directly, you can learn more by clicking this link.

Carmie makes the best soup ever... She's an amazing woman whose company is growing by leaps and bounds and is contributing back to her community.

Enjoy this week's soup.  Carmie - thank you for all that you are doing!

Mr. Daryl "Doc" Seaman passed away on Sunday.  Mr. Seaman brought the NHL to Calgary - THE FLAMES.  But he did more than that - he put his community first, leading by example, as a businessman and a philanthropist.

In today's Calgary Herald there is an article that shares part of Doc's story.  Enjoy the read and be inspired to do something for your community in his memory.

Dexterity Consulting will be making a donation in his memory to the Seaman Family Septic Shock Research Fund.  If you would like to join with us in supporting this Fund please drop me an  or you can donate directly through The Calgary Foundation.

Photo credit: Sun Media/Bill Brooks

I am conducting two focus groups on people's perceptions of charity and philanthropy.  If you are interested in participating and you are over 16yrs (with parental consent) please email me at . 

Toronto:

Tuesday, June 17th from noon-1pm.  A light lunch will be provided.  Location will be shared upon RSVP. 

Calgary:

Thursday, June 26th from 5-6pm.  Refreshments will be served.  Location will be shared upon RSVP.

Space is limited.

Opinions shared during the sessions may be used in a book, on my blog or as part of a resource kit that is being developed on Strategic Philanthropy.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.