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

Planning Underway for 2012 Kids in the Kitchen Event

The Winter 2012 Provisional Class will host the Junior League of Calgary’s 7th annual Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) event on May 1.  An enthusiastic group of women are already making great strides to pull it all together!  A large undertaking is the nutrition board used at the “Mission Nutrition” station, which is getting a glossy overhaul and is sure to engage the students.

KITK 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 195 children from grades three through six at Rundle School will participate in a fun-filled day of interactive activities, including how to make nutritious wraps and smoothies, learning about portion control and creative dance and exercise that is sure to get everyone moving.

Actives and Sustainers are welcome to volunteer for the morning (8:30am - 12:30pm) or afternoon (12:15pm - 3:30pm) shifts or for the entire day. Your help is needed to fuel the event - 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!

JLC Future Program Planning Update

As it continues to research future program possibilities within our Focus Area of “Strengthening families through education and support” and our Issue Area of “Healthy and Active Living, the Future Program Planning Group (FPPG) met before the February GM to review the flip chart and sticky notes procedure we would be using a bit later to acquire member input into our planning process. 

Here is a summary of the results of this brainstorming session in order of most membership interest to least:

l Mentoring programs: group educational sessions for new Canadians, specifically mentoring women; mentoring mothers to help their families adjust to life in Canada through cultural-based programming and life skills resources.

l Mentoring young women through life skills and activities that encourage self-esteem. 

l Helping seniors with general issues such as chores, meals and fitness activities to specifically working with families who have parents challenged with Alzheimer's Disease.

l Specific area needs in regards to children with mental illness and mentoring at-risk mothers and their children through parent education and activities promoting parental engagement.

A big THANK YOU to our members for helping to guide us in the direction we should take. We will begin to narrow our focus in the coming months with your continued input and support.

Also a special thank you to Carla Gustafson and Jocelyn Egden, who did a fantastic job in facilitating the brainstorming session.

Alice Gardner-Boreta Slated as the International Director on the AJLI Board of Directors

The Nominating Committee of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) is pleased to announce that Alice Gardner-Boreta has been slated as the International Director for the 2012 -2015 AJLI Board of Directors. The results of the Association elections will be announced at AJLI Annual Conference in San Francisco in April.