Jennifer Pollock Addresses Members at the March General Meeting

Jennifer Pollock

Jennifer Pollock, JLC Sustainer and Calgary community and civic leader, informed and entertained members as the guest speaker at the March 19 General Meeting.   Drawing on her JLC Active experience, Jennifer related what she regards as the skills and experience she gained from the League that have influenced her ensuing work in the law and her numerous community and civic positions.

The Junior League of Calgary is all about change according to Jennifer, but while working toward community change, she has made it a trademark to ensure her actions are consistent with her values and to clearly communicate that message.

Jennifer values the learning that occurs and relationships established between women in the League.  Although it’s been 20 years since she moved from Active to Sustainer status, she credits a number of JLC members for greatly influencing her journey since then.

It was during a JLC General Meeting that Jennifer heard Sheldon Chumir, a respected Calgary lawyer, politician and civil liberties and rights leader, speak.  It was her question to him during that meeting that eventually led him to encourage Jennifer to run as a Liberal Party candidate for MP in several Calgary ridings. 

In closing, Jennifer encouraged members to use their time in the JLC to develop their strategy for community impact and to meet and establish relationships with League members and community influencers.

Lynne Christensen

Treasure Trunk Program at Brenda's House

Our eighth Treasure Trunk session, held at Brenda's House on March 7, was a great success! It was a busy night with lots of children, all of whom seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.  Several were repeat customers who were looking forward to Treasure Trunk and added to the lively atmosphere.

Kids in the Arts (KARTS) started the evening creating rain sticks.  Everyone was so enthusiastic that the event started ten minutes early!  KARTS was led by Melanie Tewksbury and assisted by Marla McCutcheon-Grant, Jen Cox and Jocelyn Egden.  The 15 children assembled rain sticks out of materials that can be found around the home.  Many of the children showed their decorating creativity with stickers, markers and ribbons.  After most had finished, they sat in a circle and played with the sticks for ten minutes.

Kids in Motion & Music (KIMM) was led by Emily Roback and Nikki Stevenson.  They led a game of "Freeze" where we had some of the boys show off their ability to do the "worm", played hot potato with one and then two "potatoes", created what looked like a human puzzle called "tickle box" and then wrapped up with some stretches.

Babies in the Story (BITS), led by Tammy Figol and assisted by Christina Murez, had the mothers and babies listening to engaging stories and rhymes and singing along.

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

Northwest Exchange

NW Exchange 2012 delegates with keynote speakers Katie Harman Ebner and Allison Clarke

On the weekend of March 9-11 Jennifer Cox, Robyn Ketchey and Liz Walker traveled to The City of Roses – Portland, Oregon – for the 2012 Junior League Northwest Exchange conference.  As members of the only Canadian League attending Northwest Exchange, we enjoyed the opportunity to engage with women from different U.S. Leagues and exchange ideas about, and enthusiasm for, the role the Junior League plays in our respective communities.

Our keynote speaker for the weekend, Allison Clarke of Allison Clarke Consulting, got us on our feet and moving around the room so we could introduce ourselves to the other Leagues.  We proudly identified ourselves as members of the Junior League of Calgary – the League responsible for starting the Junior Chefs Program that is now the all-League initiative called Kids in the Kitchen.  Many great community program ideas were shared and discussions had regarding the evolving make-up of League memberships.  Junior Leagues in the Northwest U.S. are focusing on creating a lasting impact in their communities by improving the lives of foster children, military families, children of the incarcerated and children in at-risk schools. 

We participated in group sessions with topics such as Strategic Planning and Constructive Confrontation, as well as seminars on Executive, Community and Membership activities.  Many insights were gained during these small group brainstorming sessions, all of which reaffirmed our commitment to the Junior League and magnified the impact our programs bring to the community, as well as the personal growth gained from being a trained volunteer in an organization of like-minded women.

Thank you to the JLC for affording each of us the opportunity to be a part of this dynamic and inspiring conference.

Jennifer Cox, Robyn Ketchey, Liz Walker

Kids in the Kitchen 2012

With less than a month until the big day on May 1, preparations are well underway for the Seventh Annual Kids in the Kitchen event. Thanks to some great donations from community partners, this year's totes will not only be brimming with fun items for the students, but are branded with the Junior League of Calgary logo to increase our visibility with Calgarians. 

Kids in the Kitchen 2012 will be taking place at Rundle School (4120 Rundlehorn Dr NE) with over 190 children from grades three through six participating in a fun-filled day of interactive activities. Along with our volunteers, Chef Will Kwong, Executive Chef, Premium Seating, Calgary Stampede and JLC members Emily Roback and Natalie Wynn-Dempsey are returning to educate the students about healthy food and active lifestyle choices in an effort to prevent and reverse childhood obesity.  Activities will include how to make nutritious wraps and smoothies, learning about portion control and creative dance and exercise that is sure to get everyone moving. 

All Actives and Sustainers are encouraged to volunteer -  your help is needed to fuel the day!  Lend your time with snack preparation or assist with staffing the always-popular nutrition stations. We provide all the training you need to do your job.  Just remember, you must have your Police and Child Intervention Checks in place. There are three shift options available: morning (8:30am - 11:30pm), afternoon (12:00pm - 3:00pm) or the entire day. 

                             Josie Kirkpatrick

Moms U Matter (MUM) Program at Highbanks Society

On March 22 the Junior League led another successful Moms U Matter session. The Moms were taught how to make turkey and white bean soup, sweet corn muffins and light, decadent brownies. Donna and Deb showed the moms how to think ahead and make sure there are planned leftovers after each meal. They also reviewed the nutritional value of leafy greens and we introduced the Moms to kale, a new vegetable that many of them had never heard of before. We also taught the Moms baking tips such as how to separate eggs and substitute healthy ingredients in a lower calorie dessert.

There were six Moms in attendance and many volunteers, including Kristin Briard, Erin Ferguson, Donna Fan, Julianne Lorehn, Melissa MacRae, Marie Starich and Deb Vanderberg. Thank you to Julianne for baking the delicious sweet corn muffins. The Moms were very happy to receive 

new mini muffin tins and pot scrubbers as their participation gift. Overall it was an excellent community event thanks to our appreciative participants and the efforts of our excellent volunteers. Great work everyone!

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

President's Message - National Volunteer Week 2012

The 69^th National Volunteer Week (NVW) pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who graciously donate their time and energy to improving their communities. This year's NVW takes place the week of April 15-21 and it is Canada's largest celebration of volunteers, volunteerism, and civic participation

Volunteering is part of our identity as Canadians – we value civic participation and embrace a spirit of community. In the latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating Data, we see that 13.3 million Canadian volunteers contribute 2.1 billion total hours to their country, with younger Canadians delivering the highest volunteer rate of any group.

The work of volunteers is essential to maintaining healthy, dynamic communities at home and around the world. National Volunteer Week is all about taking time to recognize the incredible contributions of Canada’s volunteers and letting them know how much their efforts are appreciated.

In this spirit we want to once again recognize, honour, salute and thank all of you for the tremendous time and talents you bring to our organization, the Calgary community, the nation and the world at large!

The Junior League: Women Around the World as Catalysts for Lasting Community Change!

                                                                                                                                   Alice Gardner-Boreta

For more information visit:

National Volunteer Week at  http://nationalvolunteerweek.ca

Imagine Canada at www.imaginecanada.ca

Volunteer Alberta at www.volunteeralberta.ab.ca                

Volunteer Calgary at www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca

Safety Expo 2012

On March 20 and 21 the Junior League of Calgary once again participated in Safety Expo, held at the Calgary Municipal Building Atrium. Safety Expo was designed to educate students about their own personal safety and offers over 3,100 students in grades 4 – 7 the opportunity to explore and participate in 30 interactive displays. The City has spearheaded Safety Expo since 2003 to increase safety awareness and promote citizen safety at home, school and play, and 2012 marked the ninth year for the event and the third year that the JLC has participated.

Our booth remains one of the most highly-visited booths, as students are engaged in all the activities our station provides. JLC members wore chef hats and red aprons as they informed students about cooking and knife safety, proper food handling, correct hand washing   techniques and germs. The students continue to love using the plush germs, Glo Germ activity box and the opportunity to cut the rubber chickens and fish!

This year our JLC booth was selected to be one of the exhibitors to be featured in the media. President Alice Gardner-Boreta spoke on behalf of the JLC, informing Global TV viewers that we created our double-wide booth in response to a request from the City, which in turn was based on the success of our Junior Chefs and Kids in the Kitchen programs within the Calgary community. The exhibits and workshops at Safety Expo are connected to the Alberta Education curriculum outcomes and are designed to engage and educate students to make responsible decisions about their personal safety.

Dianne Lyle, the Coordinator of Safety Expo, thanked us for our fantastic booth and made a point of asking us to consider doing it again next year.

We appreciate all of the talented women who took the time to help run this educational event. Many thanks to: Wendy Baillie, Kathryn Berkson, Candice Behm, Lynne Christensen, Susan Cruess, Kathy Deyell, Erin Ferguson, Donna Fan, Tammy Figol, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Kate Hanna, Josie Kirkpatrick, Julianne Lorehn, Velvet Matheson, Marilou Mitchell, Christina Murez, Emily Roback, Marie Starich, Melanie Tewksbury, Elaine Tsekouras, Deb Vanderberg, Norma Westcott and Emily Wood.

                                     Elaine Tsekouras