Active Kids!

On May 3 we will be holding our sixth annual Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) event, an Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) initiative based on our former Junior Chefs project. KITK focuses on teaching youngsters nutritious eating habits and the importance of physical activity throughout one’s life.

The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines are based on the concept that daily physical activity provides impressive health benefits for our youngsters. For both children 5 to 11 and youth 12 to 17, the guidelines are the same: accumulate at least 60 minutes of age-appropriate moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity daily. This could include moderate activities like bike riding and playground fun and more vigorous efforts such as running, swimming, skating, rollerblading and organized sports.

And healthy physical activity needs to start early - children under five require unstructured play and time outdoors for their physical, cognitive and emotional development. Obesity in Canadians under six is rising. National data shows that 15.2% of two to five year-olds are overweight and 6.3% are obese. Children who become obese before the age of six are likely to be obese later in childhood and have an increased risk of being obese as adults.

• What are some things outside of school that we can do to increase our children’s level of physical activity? How about:taking them to a playground after school

• in winter go sledding in the park

• if possible, walk, bike, rollerblade or skateboard to school

• take them to a gym for organized sports or a fitness class

• organize a neighbourhood game of basketball or hockey after dinner

• and reduce the time in front of the ―screen‖!

So with our Issue Area of Healthy and Active Living, we encourage everyone to ―get moving‖!

Alice Gardner-Boreta,
President, Junior League of Calgary

For more information visit:
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology at www.scep.ca/guidelines
- Active Healthy Kids Canada at www.activehealthykids.ca
- Kids in the Kitchen at www.kidsinthekitchen.org for some children’s games and activities

Kids in the Kitchen teaches healthy choices!

The sixth annual Kids in the Kitchen event will be held on May 3 at Cambrian Heights School, 640 Northmount Drive N.W. Approximately 165 students in grades four, five and six will participate as Chef Will Kwong, (Executive Chef, Premium Seating, Calgary Stampede) will dazzle the students with his culinary skills and healthy recipes, while two fitness instructors, Emily Roback and Natalie Wynn-Dempsey, will get everyone moving.

There will be food preparation, creative dance and exercise, a food group game and a "Mission Nutrition" food lab, which features Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide, Rate Your Breakfast Cereal, Quench Your Thirst and Fast Foods.

Since the creation of Kids in the Kitchen in 2006, the Junior League of Calgary (JLC) has dedicated itself to promoting healthy lifestyles and helping kids make nutritious eating choices. Go to the Kids in the Kitchen website for kid-friendly nutritious recipes and fitness and nutrition tips at http: //kidsinthekitchen.ajli.org

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Kids+Kitchen+teaches+healthy+choices/4688056/story.html#ixzz1Kpq6kRV6

JLC Receives Annual Calgary Foundation Grant!

The Junior League of Calgary is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from The Calgary Foundation. This grant is an annual distribution from the Junior League of Calgary Lasting Legacies Fund managed by The Calgary Foundation. For further information about The Calgary Foundation grants and awards, please visit The Calgary Foundation website.

Eight JLC Members Represent the JLC at Children’s Cottage Society Volunteer Appreciation Event

Children’s Cottage Society (CCS) hosted their annual Volunteer Appreciation event on April 12 at the Carriage House Inn. Junior League of Calgary members Lynne Christensen, Kathy Deyell, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Lorna Hamm, Marilou Mitchell, Christina Papazis, Carol Smith, and Marie Starich enjoyed socializing with CCS and Brenda’s House staff, eating the delicious dinner, listening to presentations acknowledging many volunteers’ contributions to their programs and being entertained by "Gospel Elvis." Elvis spotted Alice in the crowd singing along and quickly singled her out as a true fan, engaging her to join him in a duet!

JLC members at the Children’s Cottage Society Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Standing( (L to R): Marilou Mitchell, Lynne Christensen and Christina Papazis. Seated (L to R): Kathy Deyell, Lorna Hamm, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Carol Smith and Marie Starich

The JLC has a long history with the Children’s Cottage Society. We were involved with the creation of their Crisis Nursery program from 1986-1989, providing program development, Board support, volunteers who assisted with public information, education and operations as well as financial support. In 2010 we entered into collaboration with Brenda’s House for the development and implementation of the Treasure Trunk program.

Today, the Society offers four unique programs to the community, including the Crisis Nursery, Community Respite Program, Healthy Families and Brenda’s House.

Safety Expo 2011 - A great success!

On March 9 and 10 the Junior League of Calgary participated in the 2011 Safety Expo in the Calgary Municipal Building Atrium - the eighth year for this premier event to promote safe environments for children at home, school and play. Safety Expo offered over 3,200 Calgary grade 4-7 students innovative, interactive and engaging safety and injury prevention education. All booths, exhibits and workshops were designed to engage and educate students to make responsible decisions about their personal safety. The information presented was connected to Alberta Education Curriculum outcomes.

This year the City of Calgary invited the Junior League of Calgary to host a double-wide booth about Kitchen Safety based on the reputation of our Kids in the Kitchen initiative and former Junior Chefs project. To attract students to our booth, JLC members wore chef hats and red aprons plus put up an eye-catching display board that promoted key kitchen safety tips. Students specifically learned about cooking and knife safety, proper food handling, correct hand washing techniques and germs using the plushy germs and the Glo-Germ activity with our rubber chickens and fish!

The JLC booth was well received by the students. They were very engaged in all the activities our exhibit provided.  JLC member Judi Lee said: "I had one parent who was leading a group of kids. She wanted us to know that our booth was the 'go to' booth that all the kids were talking about. When she asked around to see which booths were the best, the kids said that ours was, with lots of fun, hands-on learning! Great job, ladies!"

We are very appreciative to the JLCers who took the time out of their busy schedules to help us out with this educational event. These dynamic volunteers delivered our message in a very fun, creative and professional manner.

2011 Kids in the Kitchen Event to be held May 3!

Kids in the Kitchen educates youth about healthy food and lifestyle choices in an effort to reverse and prevent childhood obesity and health issues related to poor eating habits. Approximately 165 children from grades 4, 5 and 6 will be participating in a fun-filled day of activities such as learning how to make healthy wraps and smoothies, learning about portion control and reading labels at the Mission Nutrition Stations.  This year's event will take place on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at Cambrian Heights School.  If you are a Junior League of Calgary member and would like to volunteer for this event, please contact the JLC office, or if you are interested in finding out how you can be a part of the Junior League of Calgary and participate in exciting events like this, click here.

National Volunteer Week!

The late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work among the poor in India, said about the idea of service: "We feel ourselves that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the oceans would be less because of that missing drop."

As you know, our three-part Mission is to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women and improve communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

April 10 to 16 is National Volunteer Week, an event originally developed in 1943 as a volunteer recruitment effort to enlist women for wartime voluntary service. In the late 1960’s, National Volunteer Week was revived and has since grown to engage volunteer-involving organizations from coast to coast.

This year’s theme is "Volunteers: Passion, Action, Impact". It aims to highlight the contribution volunteers make in our society. To quote Ruth MacKenzie, President & CEO of Volunteer Canada, "Canada’s 12.5 million volunteers are agents of social change and their effort, skills and time serve as the foundation for all community services".

This certainly describes our own JLC member volunteers, and we want to once again recognize, honour and salute all of you for the tremendous time and talents you bring to our organization and the Calgary community which it serves.  Thank you all!

Alice Gardner-Boreta, President, Junior League of Calgary

For more information visit:

• Volunteer Calgary at http://www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca/
• Volunteer Canada at http://www.volunteer.ca/
• Imagine Canada at www.imaginecanada.ca

New Blog Poll for JLC Members!

The Board of the Junior League of Calgary has formed a Marketing and Public Relations (MPR) task force to advance the awareness of the Junior League in the Calgary community.  To best use our resources, we ask the current membership to take a minute to help us understand your motivation in joining and being active in the JLC by completing the new blog poll that has been posted here. 

Thank you for your input.

JLC Marketing & Public Relations Task Force

MUM Program at Highbanks Society March Update!

The Junior League of Calgary is partnering with Highbanks Society to implement the "Moms U Matter" (MUM) program to help young mothers learn about "Healthy and Active Living" through the practice of good nutrition.  The JLC facilitated another fun-filled and successful MUM session on March 15 at the Co-Op Downtown Market kitchen. The theme was "Breakfast at Dinner" and the menu consisted of Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (see recipe below) topped with maple syrup and fresh fruit, Pork, Apple and Sage Patties (sounds a little odd but they are really good) and Berry Smoothies. The five young women of Highbanks that were in attendance made the pancakes, rolled the patties and made individual smoothies in the magic bullet. They were given gifts of a Magic Bullet and the Dietitians of Canada cookbook.
 
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Prep time 10 minutes Cooking time 5 minutes Makes 16 pancakes
Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) large-flake oatmeal
• 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) each baking powder and baking soda
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and nutmeg
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (250 mL) plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) melted butter or vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir oatmeal with flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In another large bowl, mash banana with a fork. Then whisk in eggs and yogurt. Stir in milk and vanilla. Make a well in oatmeal mixture. Pour in banana mixture and stir until blended. Then stir in butter.
2. Generously coat a large frying pan with a little more butter and set over medium heat. When butter is bubbly, scoop about 1/4 cup (50 mL) batter into pan. Repeat for each pancake. You should be able to fit 3 or 4 in the pan. Don't crowd pan. Cook until bubbles form on the top, 2 to 3 min. Then turn and cook until golden brown on each side, about 3 to 4 min more. Remove to a platter. Cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and batter. Yummy with maple syrup.

Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda’s House March Update!

The Junior League of Calgary is partnering with Brenda’s House/Children’s Cottage Society to implement the Treasure Trunk program. This program targets the key issues of literacy, nutrition and healthy eating and the fun of music and movement and the arts by developing a resource tool that staff will be able to utilize to implement developmentally stimulating activities with the ever changing residents in the home.

Our March 2 session focused on "Kids in Motion & Music" (KIMM) and "Kids in the Arts" (KARTS). The children were soon bowling, throwing bean bags, walking on a balance beam taped to the floor, talking about art, and making their own crowns. Each child was given a bag of arts and crafts supplies to create their own artwork and crafts projects and carry on with the impact that the JLC started with them.

Our March 23 session focused on "Kids in the Story" (KITS) and "Kids in the Kitchen" (KITK). In KITS, children listened to stories and then made crafts to reinforce the message in the story. Children were given their own books to take home to add to their personal libraries. In KITK, children donned aprons and cut food items on small cutting boards with safety knives, creating delicious snacks which they got to eat while chatting with JLC volunteers. Each participant took away their personal apron.

At both sessions several parents with young babies were engaged in our "Babies In the Story" (BITS) program, with JLC volunteers reading stories, singing songs and getting the parents to share their favourite songs as well. Each baby’s family was given a hand puppet book as a gift.

Many thanks to our JLC volunteers!