Projects

Junior Chefs Summer Camps A Big Success

July and August 2006

  During July and August, Junior League of Calgary's Junior Chefs Program held summer cooking camps at community centres in Marlborough Park and Bridgeland/Riverside. Sixteen children, ages12-15, attended the three teen camps and thirty-five children, ages 8-11, attended the five kids’ camps. Registration was open to the public and participants learned about the camps through our ad in the summer camp section of the Herald, fliers distributed at schools that hosted our classes, as well as word of mouth. The children who attended the camps came from all four quadrants of the city.

Talbot's Clothing Drive a Huge Success

November 2006

November 2006 - Thanks to the tremendous work of League members, the Community Team and Jodie Bereznay’s marketing efforts, theTalbots second annual Clear Our Your Closet clothing drive was hugely successful.

Clothing was collected from both Calgary stores and BC stores. From Southcentre, we received 2102 pounds of clothing while the Market Mall location brought in 1336 pounds for a total of 3438 pounds. Boxes of clothing were sent to us from Vancouver which added an additional 40 pounds.

Thank you to everyone who participated in helping make this project fun and rewarding. The women at the Sheriff King Home, Women in Need Society and Walk-in Closet greatly appreciate having winter coats and more items for their wardrobes.

The winner of the Talbots in-store draw was a Talbot's regular customer, Norma Brown. Congratulations Norma!

Junior League of Calgary Stuffs Christmas Stockings for Northeast Calgary Teenagers

December 2006

The Junior League of Calgary (JLC) is pleased to announce the third annual Teen Christmas Stocking initiative. The JLC is striving to make a difference by providing Christmas stockings to 150 teens in Calgary who would otherwise be missed during the holiday season. Most Christmas giving programs focus on younger children. In 2004, the JLC identified that teenagers were being overlooked and established this initiative to meet the community need.

The Junior League of Calgary has purchased personal hygiene items such as shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and dental floss as well as socks, gloves and candy canes. These items will be tailored for 75 male and 75 female recipients. The Christmas stockings will also include toothbrushes donated by Dr. Moez Lakhani and Dr. Leonard B. Smith, gift certificates donated by McDonalds and Sunridge Spectrum Cinemas plus passes to the Village Square Leisure Centre donated by MLA Yvonne Fritz.  Special thanks to Primrose Drilling Ventures Ltd for a generous cash donation to the Teen Christmas Stocking initiative.

The stockings will be distributed to the teenagers through five community agencies:  the Heart of the Northeast Community Solutions Resource Centre, North of McKnight Community Resource Centre, the Sunrise Community Link Resource Center, Awo Taan Native Women’s Shelter and the Women’s Centre of Calgary. 

Carol Smith, President of the Junior League of Calgary, states, “We are thrilled with the community support for the Teen Christmas Stocking initiative.  These Christmas stockings will brighten the holiday season for these teenagers by making them feel special and showing that they are not forgotten members of the community.”

As part of the JLC mission of promoting volunteerism, members of the donating organizations and the community agencies have been invited to participate in the event.

Note: Members of the Junior League of Calgary stuffed the stockings on Monday, December 11th during their monthly membership meeting. The final tally for clothes collected was 4,500 lbs! 

DIADS

Junior League of Calgary's "Pink Crusaders" Run for the Cure

October 2006

On October 1st, members of the Junior League of Calgary and their families braved the rainy weather to participate in  CIBC's annual Run for the Cure in support of Breast Cancer.  A great time was had by all who ran or walked in support of this worthy cause. 

JLC Volunteers at Ronald McDonald House

November 2006

Junior League Members are volunteering their time throughout the coming months to providing meals and baking to the Ronald McDonald House. Our first effort took place on November 27, 2006, and was a great success!

Other Happenings

Junior League of Calgary Hits the Road and Helps out in New Orleans

The Junior Leagues Rebuilding a Better New Orleans initiative came to a successful close on Sunday, October 8. The week-long project marked the largest gathering of Junior Leaguers from across the Association outside of an AJLI annual conference, with Sustainers, Actives and New Members and their friends and family putting in over 12,000 volunteer hours during the week’s projects. What began as an invitation by Junior League of New Orleans Past Presidents and co-chairs of the initiative, Liz Creel, Wendy Beron and Ellen Coleman, resulted in the mobilization close to 1,000 volunteers over the course of just nine days. More than 600 were Junior League volunteers who traveled from 200 cities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The fruits of their labour are truly inspiring. 

Four members of the Junior League of Calgary, Cindy Fergusen, Alice Gardner-Boreta, Denise Bottomley and Carol Smith,  traveled to New Orleans to participate in this initiative.   Junior League of Calgary President, Carol Smith, described her experience:

"The trip to New Orleans was an unbelievable experience. While it was discouraging to see the devastation that is still evident everywhere, it was very positive to be part of over 600 Junior League members from 200 different leagues, with another 400 family and friends, supporting a community in need. The enthusiasm and commitment of these women truly encapsulated our vision - Woman Building Better Communities. "