Barb Francis Addresses November General Meeting

Members were inspired at the November 14 General Meeting by the remarks made by our guest speaker, JLC Past President and Sustainer Barb Francis.  Barb recounted her career as an Active member in the League and how the leadership training she received here helped prepare her for her post-League life as a businesswoman and community leader. Among some of her comments:

• The League is the perfect place in which to utilize the skills you already have and a secure place in which to acquire new ones;
• Don’t be afraid to try something outside of your personal “comfort zone” – challenge yourself;
• Consider taking on leadership positions.

Barb Francis addresses members at
the November GM

Barb is currently an organizational consultant and certified executive coach with Stillwater Coaching Ltd., a professional services firm that specializes in leadership coaching, leadership development workshops, high-performance team coaching and mentoring initiatives.

She has also served as a volunteer with the University of Calgary’s Women’s Resource Centre and as President and Immediate Past President for multiple years with the Business & Professional Women’s Club of Calgary.  She currently volunteers with The Walk-In Closet (formerly the JLC’s Suited for the Job project) and the CRIEC (Calgary Regional Immigrant Employment Council), as well as serving as the Alberta Liaison for the Business & Professional Women’s Club of Canada.

Barb was an active member of the Junior League of Calgary from 1992 to 2002.  During those years she served as Chair of the Membership Development Committee, was a member of the Suited for the Job Project Committee and the Nominating/Placement Committee, and was President-Elect and then JLC President in 2000 - 2001.  She is currently serving her third term as a member of the League’s Community Advisory Panel.

Joan Crocker Community and Civic Leadership Award

Deborah Maw (far left), former CFJL Coordinator, holds a
photo of Joan Crocker as CFJL leadership gather behind
a quilt crafted by members of Joan's family. This quilt
will be incorporated into each Leagues' annual Joan
Crocker Community and Civic Leadership Award

A leader is a person who influences a group of people toward the achievement of their goals. Sadly, The Junior League lost a remarkable leader with the passing of Joan Crocker (National Director of the CFJL from 2005-2007) on December 24, 2010. In Joan’s memory, as well as to foster and honour exemplary volunteer community and civic leadership, the Canadian Federation of Junior Leagues is pleased to introduce the Joan Crocker Community and Civic Leadership Award. Following in Joan’s style, award recipients will be actively engaged in their respective Leagues while they embrace and demonstrate exemplary volunteer community and civic leadership.

The Award will come into effect in this 2011-2012 Junior League year. The five annual award recipients will be one member from each of the Canadian Junior Leagues (Halifax, Toronto, Hamilton-Burlington, Calgary and Edmonton). All actively participating Junior League members in good standing are eligible candidates. Each Canadian Junior League will determine its own recipient according to the specific criteria outlined for the Award.

JLC Community Advisory Panel Meeting

JLC Community Advisory Panel members at the JLC office for their November 1 meeting: 

(L to R):  Lynne Christensen, Janet Burstall, Mimi Harris, Marie Starich, Alison Love,Barb Francis, 

Alice Gardner-Boreta, Norma Westcott, Dian Goods, Marilou Mitchell and Lois Wozney

Members of our Community Advisory Panel (CAP) met at the JLC office on November 1. Our CAP comprises well-respected women who live, work and/or serve in the Calgary community.  They are individuals who have corporate, not-for-profit and small business expertise in addressing community needs. They provide counsel, guidance and input on community needs, our current and future projects, fund-raising activities, marketing and public relations efforts, membership growth and any other issue on which we seek feedback.

Continued thanks to our Community Advisory Panel members for their time and commitment to the JLC and our impact on the Calgary community.

Marion Goard and "Voluntarism" in Canada

Q&A With the New Canadian Federation of Junior Leagues Coordinator

The following transcript of a Q&A with Marion Goard is from The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc’s “connected” newsletter posted to the AJLI website on November 3.

AJLI:  What do Canadians think of when they hear the name “Junior League”?

Marion Goard
CFJL Coordinator

Marion:  There are two different perspectives. Where we’re engaged in the community and having an impact, The League is very well known and highly regarded. Our partners come away with a very good impression of our members and the organization. At the same time, there is less recognition than we would like among the general population but over the past several years, we have been making positive strides and I think we’re making significant inroads. It’s just a question of continuing to go down that path and get our message and brand out there. We were less inclined in the past to speak about our achievements and now learning first hand about the importance of doing so. Recruiting and retaining members may be a bit easier if we were more of a household name. There’s always room for increased national and local awareness; right now our efforts will come at the individual league level rather than as a broad stroke across the country.

AJLI:  What are the challenges faced by the Canadian Leagues, and are they any different from those faced by leagues in other countries?

Marion:  Our challenges are really no different than the challenges identified in the Strategic Roadmap. There are more demands on women’s time, and more opportunities for them as volunteers in many different outlets. We’ll need to recruit differently and think differently on how to retain and utilize members’ time effectively. Maintaining a consistent knowledge base and transferring it through leadership and generational changes continues to be a challenge. There is also a very competitive arena for fund-raising, one that is fairly tightly regulated in Canada. But in the end, our challenges are no different than the ones faced by all Leagues.

AJLI:  Are your member demographics changing?

Marion:  It varies across the Leagues. In my League (Hamilton-Burlington), in the last few years we are seeing more new members in their late 20s, early 30s. In Edmonton, over 50% are under 30 and they have also recruited five recent grads from the local university. Calgary is also seeing younger members and tends to have a higher percentage of members transferring from American Leagues, likely because of the location of the city and involvement in the oil industry. Halifax is a younger League than the others – their youngest active is 23; the oldest is 54 with the average about 35. Like all our other Canadian Leagues, Toronto has also dealt with membership declines but is now attracting women from areas across the entire city. So it’s changing in different ways. All of our Leagues are feeling better about themselves and see a brighter future. Right now we’re smaller but stronger and building. I think we’ve seen an end to the “membership declines” of the last 15 years.

AJLI:  How strong is the voluntarism ethic in Canada? Has that changed over the last decade?

Marion:  Canada has a very strong volunteer environment, and it’s been strong for a long time. Based on a 2004 study, Canada has 161,000 charitable and nonprofit organizations, split fairly evenly between registered charities and nonprofits. About half are run entirely by volunteers. Some 2 million people are employed by these organizations, and that’s in a country with a population of 35 million. This sector contributes 7.8% of GDP and about 2 billion volunteer hours annually. There is a wide range of activity – from sports and recreation to social services. At the same time, it increases the competition for volunteers, funding and other support.

AJLI:  What are your goals for the next two years?

Marion:  I hope that I can personally and through the Federation increase the collective and individual impact of our five Junior Leagues. It’s early days for me, but I see some great opportunities. We will continue to work closely wit the Association and represent a strong voice within the larger group. I will be CFJL’s representative to external shareholders as well as with AJLI and I’m encouraged by the energy I am seeing there. I welcome the opportunity to work closely with our five Leagues and learn more about the political and social realities across Canada and how they impact The League, and how we can work them to our advantage. On a personal level, I am always motivated by challenges and I am looking forward to unleashing my creative energy on the national level. I will remain involved with our League in Hamilton-Burlington and its Focus on Poverty initiatives.

Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda's House

Brenda‘s House is a re-housing program with a sheltering component aimed at moving families toward independence and their own sustainable housing.  The Treasure Trunk program, presented by the JLC at Brenda’s House, targets key issues of nutrition and healthy eating, literacy, music and movement, and the arts.  We offer developmentally appropriate, themed activities for the various ages of children who may be in residence during our twice-monthly sessions.

Our fourth Treasure Trunk session of this season was delivered on November 9 with Babies in the Story (BITS), Kids in Motion & Music (KIMM), and Kids in the Arts (KARTS).  Twelve children and four babies were in attendance.  The night was filled with great stories, lively activities and a craft that really got the children's creative juices flowing. 

BITS - Jodie Bereznay, with the help of Christina Murez, led moms and babies through an evening of songs and stories.  Each child left with a bag that included a puppet book and other reading materials. 

KIMM - Emily Roback lead an exciting night of KIMM. The limbo stick was a huge hit and the children danced and sang and passed the bean bag.  Everyone had a blast and could have kept going longer but.... the KARTS craft was more than they could resist. 

Melanie Tewksbury guided the children through creating their very own ocean scene port-hole. This craft was made from everyday supplies that may be around the house.  Everyone was covered in glue and marker by the evening's end but the smiling faces made the clean-up a joy.

PLEASE sign up to be a part of this terrific program!  The remaining eight sessions of Treasure Trunk for this program year will be delivered at the Brenda’s House facility located in the SW neighbourhood of Killarney in Calgary.

Moms U Matter (MUM) Program at HIghbanks Society

The Junior League of Calgary partners with Highbanks Society to implement a program to help young mothers learn about “Healthy and Active Living” through the practice of good nutrition and physical activity.  These moms live at Highbanks, which provides a safe, stable and affordable place for them to stay while they complete their educations and outline plans for their specific education, career and personal goals.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

The theme at the November session was “One Dish Meal.”  The moms made Spanish Chicken and Rice, Strawberry and Chevre Salad, and enjoyed the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares for dessert that Natalie Wynn-Dempsey had prebaked.  The meal was delicious and any leftovers were taken home by the moms.  We presented three main topics at this session:  “One Dish Meal”, “Why We Need Iron”, and “Eating Out Smarts.”  The gifts for this session were a glass storage container with lid plus a Safeway Gift card for use during the upcoming holidays.

Thank you to JLC members Lynne Christensen, Donna Fan, Dani Flowerday, Deb Vanderberg and Natalie Wynn-Dempsey for helping with this session.

The five future MUM sessions scheduled for this program year will continue to be delivered at the newly remodelled kitchen at Highbanks Society.

JLC Future Program Planning Update

The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) is in the exciting phase of exploring future program directions by a review of feedback we received at our June, 2009 Forum (“Exploring Issues Impacting Calgary Youth”) when we brought representatives from 12 Calgary agencies together; by talking to key organizations to identify community needs; asking our Community Advisory Panel for input; and by turning to one of our greatest resources—OUR MEMBERS!

Our JLC members have a great variety of experience and connections to Calgary and other communities.  We invite all JLC members (Provisionals, Actives and Sustainers) to take time to think about Calgary issues and community needs and offer any suggestions you may have about future program and delivery opportunities.

Please keep our FOCUS area of “Strengthening families through education and support” and our ISSUE area of “Healthy and Active Living” in mind as you brainstorm.   Think about things you’ve read, places you’ve been in Calgary, and any time the concept of “The JLC would be great at working in this area” have come to mind.

We welcome your thoughts and ideas.  Please contact us to discuss any and all of them!

President's Message - Remembering 2011

Alice Gardner-Boreta
President

As the “old” year passes and the “new” year is about to begin, it is a 

time for the traditional reflection on the previous 365 days.  Well, we 

can certainly remember and be proud that 2011 was:

A year of continuing our Community Impact!

As part of our Healthy & Active Living Issue Area, we continued to implement the MUM (Moms U Matter) program at Highbanks Society and the Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda’s House with the Children’s Cottage Society.  The City of Calgary again asked us to participate in their annual Safety Expo at City Hall in March, we held two meetings with our amazing Community Advisory Panel, and we distributed three Bursary Awards for tuition expenses to Highbanks Society residents.

A year in which our Provisional Classes continued our two seasonal projects!

The Winter 2011 Provisional Class implemented our sixth annual Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) event in May (the international KITK initiative is based on the former JLC “Junior Chefs” project!), and the Fall 2011 Provisional Class organized another  fantastic Teen Totes Project, providing 350 totes for deserving Calgary teens!

A year of other very special events!

We held our Past President’s Luncheon in April; an advanced screening in early August of the movie “The Help”; the Cupcake Social recruitment event in mid-August; the September Welcome Back DIAD and Social, an evening of five and ten pin bowling, with funds being donated to KidSport Calgary; another lovely Christmas Luncheon in November; and a special Holiday Social put on this month by the Membership Team.

General Meetings

January focused on early literacy with guest speakers Steacy Collyer, a JLC Past President and Executive Director of Calgary Reads, and her colleague Madeleine Baerg; February’s guest speaker was Cecilia de la Rocha, Executive Director of Highbanks Society speaking on “Holistically Supporting Calgary’s Parenting Youth”;  March celebrated National Nutrition Month with the meeting being led by Active member and Registered Dietician Dani Flowerday; April celebrated National Volunteer Week with Past President Dariel Bateman as our guest speaker; and May was once again our Annual Celebration and Awards Dinner.  September’s GM welcomed us back to another exciting JLC year, with emphasis on “Women as Community and Civic Leaders”. In this vein our guest speaker at the October Annual General Meeting was Bobbie Sparrow, who, among many other accomplishments, is a former Member of Parliament as well as a Past President of the JLC, and in November we were truly inspired by the remarks of Community Leader and JLC Past President Barb Francis.

A year of continued Training!

Never forgetting our mission to develop the potential of women, in January we held a Retreat for the Winter 2011 Provisional Class; a Welcome Dinner and “basic training” in September for the Fall 2011 Provisional Class; and in October Sustainer Melinda Pearson offered DiSC training to members of the 2010 - 2011 Fall and Winter Provisional classes. There was more training for JLC board and active members at both AJLI Leadership Conferences and Northwest Exchange, and AJLI began its new on-line training curriculum, “Webinar Wednesdays”, for all JL members.  Various function-based training was also offered within the Calgary community. 

Happy Holidays and see you in 2012!

Alice Gardner-Boreta

Teen Totes Done-In-A-Day (DIAD): Santa’s Workshop at the JLC Office!

The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) and its members helped bring holiday cheer this season to 350 Calgary teens by providing tote bags filled with both must-have personal hygiene items as well as many “fun” items. On December 6 members joined the 2011 Fall Provisional Class at the JLC 
office to assemble the totes and get into the holiday spirit with festive music and some of Nikki’s delicious treats!

Totes were filled with hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, store gift cards, movie passes, library cards, candy canes, granola bars, gloves, toques, agendas, Hitmen tickets, bus passes, swim passes, eye exam certificates and other miscellaneous items. They will be distributed to the teen clients of The Alex Youth Health Centre and various Community Resource Centers via the efforts of Drew Brown of Saint Jude’s Health Management Institute.

We were honoured to have as our special guests Drew Brown, and Kate Hawksworth and Judy McCuaigh from The Alex Youth Health Care Center and prospective Winter Provisional Emily Wood! 

Teen Tote "stuffers" with some of the 350 bags prepared during the DIAD

Thank you to all the generous donors of the 2011 Teen Totes!

Pick up of the Totes for distribution to Calgary area teens

Teen Tote Stuffing - Fall Provisional Class Project

With the holiday season and cold weather upon us, the Fall 2011 Provisional Class members have been hard at work with this year’s annual Teen Totes project!

In 2004 the JLC became aware that teenagers were an often overlooked age group during the holiday gift-giving programs within the city. Thus we began our Teen Totes project to deliver tote bags filled with items such as personal hygiene products, food and entertainment certificates, toques and gloves to Calgary area teens.

Our goal this year is to fill another 300 totes! If you would like to donate items for these Teen Totes, please consider donating movie passes or gift cards to either Superstore or Wal-Mart in the amount of $10.00.

The Fall Provisional Class also invites all Active and Sustaining members to put on your Santa hats and join us for some holiday cheer while we assemble this year’s totes!

Contact the JLC office to make a donation or to volunteer to assemble the totes.

JLC Members at the 2011 Teen Tote Stuffing DIAD

Future Program Planning Update

The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) is entering an exciting phase of exploring future program directions by a review of feedback we received at our June, 2009 Forum (“Exploring Issues Impacting Calgary Youth”) when we brought representatives from 12 Calgary agencies together; by talking to key organizations to identify community needs; by asking our Community Advisory Panel for input; and by turning to one of our greatest resources—OUR MEMBERS!

Our JLC members have a great variety of experience and connections to Calgary and other communities.  We invite all JLC members (Actives, Sustainers and Provisionals) to take time to think about community needs in Calgary and offer any suggestions you have about future JLC program direction and delivery.

Please keep our FOCUS area of “Strengthening families through education and support” and our ISSUE area of “Healthy and Active Living” in mind as you brainstorm ideas.   Think about things you’ve read, places you’ve been in Calgary and any time the concept of “The JLC would be great at working in this area” has come to mind.

We welcome your thoughts and ideas. If you have suggestions please post a comment below.

JLC Receives Donation from Mackenzie Financial

In October the Junior League of Calgary received a $500 donation from the Mackenzie Financial Charitable Foundation through their Committed Volunteer Program. This donation was thanks to JLC Active Liz Walker, an employee with Mackenzie Financial, who submitted a funding request to her employer.

Thank you to Mackenzie Financial for supporting Canadian communities through their charitable giving and to Liz for making the request on our behalf. Many employers offer similar giving programs. Check your company’s website for more information.

Moms U Matter (MUM) Program at HIghbanks Society

JLC members (L to R): Sharyl  Madigan,

 Philippa Gear and Donna Fan 

The Junior League of Calgary partners with Highbanks Society to implement a program to help young mothers learn about “Healthy and Active Living” through the practice of good nutrition and physical activity.  These moms live at Highbanks, which provides a safe, stable and affordable place for them to stay while they complete their educations and outline plans for their specific educational, career and personal goals.

Moms prepare a meal as part of the 

MUM Program at Highbanks Society

The theme at the October session was “Fall Savoury Flavours.” The moms made Pinto Bean Tortilla Soup and baked oatmeal cookies for dessert. Philippa Gear pre-baked Cheddar Biscuits, which were served with the soup. The meal was delicious, and any leftovers were taken home by the moms.  We presented three main topics at this session:  “Adding Fibre to your diet ", Why and how to “deglaze" and the "Difference between Parchment and Wax paper". The gifts for this session were a Brown Sugar Bear Disc, a Pastry Blender and Parchment Paper.

Thank you to JLC members Donna Fan, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Philippa Gear and Sharyl Madigan for helping with the session.

The six future MUM sessions scheduled for this year will continue to be delivered at the newly remodelled kitchen at Highbanks Society.

JLC Sustainers - We Need Your Help With our Archives!

JLC Past Presidents and Sustainers Marlene Doherty (L)
and Jeri Sherban working on the JLC archives

The JLC is working to update and re-organize its archives – both what we have at the office and to update our archive file at the Glenbow Museum, which only contains items through 1986.

We will be delighted to receive anything you wish to pass on – issues of the Lasso, JLC rosters and/or Whitebooks, board and/or committee minutes, pictures or documents related to our various community projects, programs or events over the years, the Next-To-New Shop, etc., etc.!

In particular, our own archives appear to be lacking:

l Copies of JLC rosters for the years 1957-1958 and 1959 -1960

l Copies of all editions of the “Lasso” for the decade of the ‘90’s

So we encourage you to check your closets, attics and basements for any of these items and donate them back to the League.  All items can be delivered to our office during office hours.  If that is not possible, we will be more than happy to come by and pick them up!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda's House

Brenda’s House is a re-housing program with a sheltering component aimed at moving families toward independence and their own sustainable housing. The Treasure Trunk program presented by the JLC targets key issues of nutrition and healthy eating, literacy, music and movement and the arts.  We offer developmentally appropriate, themed activities for the various ages of children who may be in residence during our twice-monthly sessions.

Our second Treasure Trunk session of this season was delivered on October 12 with Babies in the Story (BITS), Kids in Motion & Music (KIMM), and Kids in the Arts (KARTS).

In Babies in the Story, the parents, babies and toddlers were engaged with reading books, singing songs, playing hand clapping games, and laughter within the shared delight of reading and discovery.  Each family left with a bag of reading materials and finger puppet books.

The Kids in Motion & Music component was led by JLC member Natalie Wynn-Dempsey, who had the young children dancing, moving with scarves, chasing bubbles and shrieking with laughter and delight at the various surprises she pulled out of her hat to engage and stimulate the children.

During the Kids in the Arts component, the children made masks with an ample supply of objects, feathers, jewels and glitter to stick on them.  Several of the children stated they would use the masks for their Halloween activities, as they planned on being animals, princesses and pirates!

On October 25 we delivered our third Treasure Trunk session with the Kids in the Story (KITS) and Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) components presented to a house full of children by our JLC members.

JLC President Alice Gardner-Boreta (L) and local author
Lisa Youns share Lisa's book at Treasure Trunk

Local Calgary author Lisa Young came as a guest and read her book, “Friendship of Magpie and Crow” to all the children present.  She sat on the floor with the children, engaged them with her delightful story- telling style and had the children acting out parts of the book.  Each child was given a signed copy of her book for their personal libraries.  Many, many thanks to Lisa for adding such an enriching component to our Treasure Trunk!

KITS then progressed to the children making their own Friendship Bracelets, which complimented the theme about friendship in Lisa’s book.

Kids in the Kitchen capped a great evening with the children creating “spider snacks” with cracker bodies, pretzel legs, raisin eyes and Cheese Whiz gluing the animals together. Each child left with their own apron to wear in future cooking fun.

The nine future sessions of Treasure Trunk for this year will be delivered at the Brenda’s House facility located in the SW neighbourhood of Killarney in Calgary

Junior League of Calgary Kicks Off Its Annual Campaign

With Canada's National Philanthropy Day fast approaching on November 15, the JLC is preparing to launch its 2011 - 2012 Annual Campaign.
With your help we can continue the League's wonderful programs like Moms U Matter at Highbanks Society and Treasure Trunk at Brenda's House, both of which have been highly successful.  Teen Totes continues to meet some of the needs of vulnerable young Calgarians, and Kids in the Kitchen continues to inspire children to make healthy food and lifestyle choices and raise the awareness of childhood obesity.     
Each year members are asked to help sustain the League's many activities with tax deductible donations. Alberta increased the tax credit to 21% for donations over $200 to eligible charities.  Combined with the Federal tax credit of 29%, it gives donors in Alberta a 50% tax credit – one of the highest in Canada!  And under the Alberta Community Spirit Program, charities can receive a grant based on the total eligible cash donations received from individual Albertans over a 12-month period, so your donations count twice!
Please watch for your Annual Campaign letter and please continue your generous support of the JLC!
Thank you! 

JLC Holds Annual General Meeting - "Women as Community and Civic Leaders"

JLC members chat with guest speaker
Bobbie Sparrow at the AGM

On the evening of Monday, October 17 the Junior League of Calgary held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Holiday Inn South.  The theme for the AGM, as well as for many of the upcoming 2011 – 2012 General Meetings, was “Junior League Women as Community and Civic Leaders”.  In this regard the meeting opened with a video of the History of the Junior League, a truly impressive depiction of the accomplishments of our 110 year old organization.

Guest Speaker

Our guest speaker was Barbara J. Sparrow, better known to us as Bobbie, an extraordinary example of Junior League women as community and civic leaders.   Bobbie’s list of accomplishments is long and impressive, and most of them occurred after she was President of the JLC in 1969!

Bobbie enthralled us all with accounts of her multi-faceted career in the political, business and non-profit arenas. She was a Member of Parliament from 1984 - 1993, serving under Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell. During this time she was the Chair of two Standing Committees (Energy, Mines and Resources and Industry, Science and Technology), the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Natural Resources – Government of Canada.  Her contributions at the local level included serving as Director, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Calgary General Hospital, member of the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary and Director, Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons.  Bobbie also was and is an officer of several corporations and participates in numerous volunteer activities.

Governance

After approval by the Voting Members of the minutes of our September 19, 2011 General Meeting and a motion relating to minor revisions to Policies 3.1 and 3.2 (Membership), members of the Board of Directors gave a presentation on the 2011 – 2014 Strategic Plan and the 2011 – 2012 Annual Plan.  President Alice Gardner-Boreta, Vice President - Membership Lynne Christensen, Co-Vice President - Community Marilou Mitchell and Vice President - Finance Norma Westcott in turn reviewed their respective portions of the Strategic and Annual Plans.

Finance and Community Presentations

Vice President - Finance Norma Westcott presented a review of our Audited 2010 – 2011 Financials, summarizing the year’s revenue and expenses and highlighting operational trends over the recent past.  She also made a motion, approved by the Voting Members, to retain the accounting firm of Buchanan Barry LLP to perform the JLC’s 2011 - 2012 financial audit.

Co-Vice President - Community Marilou Mitchell concluded the evening with a special slide presentation on the Community Impact Programs the JLC will be delivering during the 2011 – 2012 year: Moms U Matter (MUM), Treasure Trunk at Brenda’s House, Teen Totes, Safety Expo and Kids in the Kitchen. 

Note: Both the current Strategic Plan and the Audited 2010-2011 Financials presentation are available in the Members’ Only section of the JLC website under the Governance and Finance tabs respectively. Information on our Community Impact Programs can be found in the Public Section of our website under the Current Projects tab. 

President's Message - AJLI Connecting to You!

The opportunities for JL members to be “connected” with AJLI (The Association of Junior Leagues International) and other Leagues continue to expand!

Webinar Wednesdays

As one of the many methods to help Junior League women develop as community and civic leaders, AJLI is launching Webinar Wednesdays.  They are designed to appeal to every JL member, regardless of age or current engagement in her community.  Webinar Wednesdays will begin this month and run through May 2012, and will be offered on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 1pm (Eastern Time Zone). For more details, see page 7 of last month’s Lasso.
Other AJLI Webinars

AJLI has scheduled, and will continue to schedule, other webinars on various issues of importance to the Roadmap for the Future Strategic Plan, such as one on Collaborative League Engagement and Governance Structure. See page 10 of this Lasso for more details.

Quarterly All-Member Emails

By now you should have received the quarterly email that AJLI will send every Junior League member with an email address. These emails are designed to share resources, benefits, opportunities to learn and connect, provide information and demystify what the Association does throughout the year, as well as build a stronger relationship with and among members. It is hoped that these emails will foster a more networked Association whose individual members and Leagues are aware of what their peers are doing and are better equipped to make an impact in the communities they serve through the sharing of ideas and best practices. Naturally, each of you will be able to opt out of the All Member Emails if you so choose.

So, as the quarterly AJLI newsletter is entitled - get “connected”!

First Fall Session of Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda’s House

Our first Treasure Trunk session of this season was delivered on September 28 with the Babies in the Story (BITS), Kids in the Story (KITS) and Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) components delivered by our JLC volunteers to a house full of children.  What a splendid time we had at this Treasure Trunk session!! With 12 children present, it made for a lively night.

BITS, lead by Tammy Figol with Marie Starich as her faithful assistant, engaged both babes and moms in books and song. Toes were tapping and hands were clapping!

Elaine Tsekouras read, "Caps for Sale" for KITS and then the children followed up the story by making their own caps. Glue, stickers and jewels were everywhere!

Yummy yogurt parfaits were on the menu for KITK. Nicole Nodolf & Jessie Seymour had the kids chopping and spooning and eating. Even a few parents joined in.

Fall Provisional Velvet Matheson floated between the parfaits and caps and helped both run smoothly, including a quick save of a leaking sink in the kitchen!

If all this sounds like the splendid but meaningful fun it is, please sign-up to volunteer for Treasure Trunk at Brenda's House. We'd love to see you there!

The 11 future sessions of Treasure Trunk for this year will also be delivered at the Brenda’s House facility located in the SW neighbourhood of Killarney.

MOMS U Matter (MUM) Program at Highbanks Society - Premier Session

Beef Shish Kebobs on the BBQ - yummy!

MUM’s premier session, delivered on September 22, had the theme of Backyard BBQ and was complemented by sunshine and warm weather.  This was the first session held in the brand new kitchen at Highbanks Society and the kitchen layout worked out well for interacting with the moms.  We had five mom participants, four Highbanks Society volunteers and five JLC volunteers.  The 2 D’s (Donna Fan and Deb Vanderberg) ran the session and the third D, Dani Flowerday, helped to plan the menus and nutrition portions of the September, October and November sessions.

The menu for this first session included Beef Shish Kebobs served with Ancient Grains Rice, Greek Salad, Pita and Humus and Apple Crisp. Melanie Tewksbury, Cyndi Cox and Tammy Nazari volunteered for this session, with Cyndi and Tammy  baking  the Apple Crisp Desserts.   Menu adjustments were made for our new Vegetarian participant.

All the moms were given a MUM binder and Cook! by Dietitians of Canada.  All the returning residents were given copies of the day’s menu and the gifts for this session were BBQ tongs and “Fire Wire” skewers.

The seven future MUM sessions scheduled for this year will also be delivered at the newly remodelled kitchen at Highbanks Society.

2011-2012 Community Programs Off to a Great Start!

With MUM participants at the BBQ

Elaine enjoying the Kids in the Story
craft at Brenda's House

The JLC 2011-2012 program year has begun!  Through the MUM program at Highbanks Society, the Treasure Trunk program at Brenda’s House, Teen Totes, Safety Expo on March 20-21, 2012 and the Kids in the Kitchen initiative being delivered May 1, 2012 at Rundle School, we will continue to impact the Calgary community.  Our Future Program Planning Group will be exploring new directions in programming for the JLC.

Donna (L) and Tammy at the MUM program

Jessie, Velvet (back) and Nicole (R) in the kitchen during Treasure Trunk on September 28

Cyndi with tongs and Melanie

Making shish kebabs at the MUM program

Jessie helping at Kids in the Kitchen during the
Treasure Trunk program