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Newsletter  - April 2016

 

Don’t Miss Out on this Opportunity to Participate in Wine Survivor!
Sign up Now!



How it works
  • You will be a member of a 6 person team. You can form your own team or we can assign you to a team. Entry deadline is May 15th, 2016.
  • Each person will donate $20 to participate* and a bottle of wine of a minimum value of $20. You also have the option to donate $40 and we will purchase a bottle of wine on your behalf. Payment can be made in person at our office (cash or cheque) or through Paypal on our website.
  • Starting on May 16th, daily draws will be held and individual names will be eliminated. However, as long as at least one member of your team is still in the draw, your entire team is still in the game.
  • On May 20th, only 24 names will remain in the draw. The final 24 individuals and their teammates will be invited to attend an event that will be held on May 26th where the winners will be declared.
  • The number of bottles to be won will depend on the number of entries but the distribution will be as followed:
 
1st Prize: 55% of the wine split 6 ways with your team
2nd Prize: 30% of the wine split 6 ways with your team
3rd Prize: 10% of the wine split 6 ways with your team
4th Prize: 5% of the wine split 6 ways with your team
Biggest loser (1st team eliminated) receives 6 bottles of wine
 
For more details or to register to participate visit: makingchangesassociation.ca
 
Remember, the entry deadline is May 15th, 2016
 
 * Please note that your donation for your participation will be matched by up to 50% by Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink



 
LEARN MORE ABOUT WINE SURVIVOR

 

Participating in the Scotia Marathon?
We Have Some Tips for You!

 

We would like to thank everyone who has signed up to support Making Changes as part of this year’s Scotia Marathon Charity Challenge.  For anyone who would still like to participate, it is not too late to register. Simply email us at marathon@makingchangesassociation.ca and we will send you a discount promo code and all the instructions needed to complete your registration.
 
We are currently at 40% of our fundraising goal and your support will truly help us make a difference in the lives of so many women and teens.  Have you started fundraising yet? Are you having trouble getting started? There is still time for you to fundraise and we are happy to share the following tips to help you raise some funds!

  • Set an initial goal for yourself. For example, challenge yourself to raise $100 and then once you reach that goal bump it up to $150 and keep moving up from there. Who knows how high you might go!
  • Get organized. Be prepared to tell people why you are fundraising and share your passion for our organization. People appreciate knowing where their money is going.
  • Brainstorm! Find creative ways to get people to donate. Set up a collection jar at work, rake up leaves for your neighbor in exchange for a donation, or collect small change from your family and friends.
  • Use your social media skills. When you initially signed up you should have received some information regarding a personal fundraising page that would have been automatically created for you by Scotia Marathon. That page contains some great fundraising tools for you to use, including one for social media. Use these tools to let all your friends, family and social media followers know that you are going to be running or walking in the Scotia Marathon Charity Challenge in support of Making Changes. Encourage them to support our organization by contributing to your fundraising effort.

Everything dollar truly does count when you are fundraising so be creative!
 
But wait that’s not everything, we have more tips for you!
 
Training is a big thing when you decide to take on a walk, a race or a marathon. You need to be ready for the challenges and successes ahead. So here are some training tips for you:

 

  • Wait about two hours after a meal before you run.
  • Start every training session with ten minutes of slow walking or light running. It will help you pace yourself.
  • If something hurts for two straight days of training, take two days off.
  • If you are running a full marathon build up at least one training run up to 30km before you run in the marathon.
These are our simple tips for this month. If you would like more tips feel free to contact Reanna at marathon@makingchangesassociation.com
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT

 

 Register for our Employment and
Life Skills Program 

 

Are you an immigrant woman who feels the need for a better future?
Do you need information about education and work opportunities?
Do you wish to improve your job search skills?
 
This is an opportunity to:

  • Increase your confidence
  • Identify and learn to market your skills
  • Practice job interviews and networking
  • Learn about Canadian Business Culture
  • Further develop your English language skills
  • Develop a plan to reach your goals

This spring, in addition to our regular program for Permanent Resident only, we have added a new program that is open to all immigrant women regardless of their status. Here are the details for both programs:
 
Program # 1

Requirements: Permanent Resident or Convention Refugee
Minimum Canadian Language Benchmark 3
 
Place: Salvation Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre
1731 – 29 Street SW T3C 1M6
(10 minutes from Shaganappi Point Station)
 
Classes begin: May 2 – June 20, 2016; every Monday for 7 weeks
No session May 23rd
 
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm (Bring your lunch)
 
Childcare: Register for free childcare
 
Program #2 
 
Requirements: Open to all immigrant women regardless of status: Permanent Residents, Refugees, Refugee Claimants, Citizens, Work Permit
Canadian Language Benchmark 3
 
Place: VIVO for Healthier Generations
11950 Country Village Link NE T3K 6E3
 
Classes begin: May 11 – June 22, 2016; every Wednesday for 7 weeks
 
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm (Bring your lunch)
 
Childcare: Register for free childcare
 
To register: email Elaine Lupul at EmploymentLifeSkills@makingchangesassociation.ca
 
Please indicate which session you want to register for and include your telephone number, immigration status and ages of the children requiring childcare.

 

learn more about our employment and life skills program

Thank You to All our Volunteers!


At Making Changes, we truly appreciate every single one of our 240 volunteers. Their contribution is invaluable to the success or our programs and to show our gratitude, we held our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Party on April 14 during National Volunteer Week. This fun-filled evening was marked by a presentation by Nordstrom’s styling staff on "What's Trending this Spring" and the launch of our Wine Survivor fundraiser. Our guests also enjoyed some great music performed by Brad Abel and Brad Lawlor and some delicious food made by Shaunna Haas-Jack from Satiate Catering. We truly have the best volunteers and we would like to thank each and every one of them for their contribution.
 

 

Learn more about volunteering 

 Volunteers Needed


 We are looking to recruit volunteers who have experience screening, interviewing, and hiring people to lead small groups of immigrant women in the Employment and Life Skills Program during our Interview Skills Activity. This is an ongoing component of the program so we schedule volunteers every session. The goal of the activity is provide a greater awareness and understanding of the interview process in Canada and to discuss many of the interview questions they might receive as well as those to ask.
 
Upcoming dates when volunteers are needed:

  • Monday, June 20th, 1:30 - 3:00 pm - Salvation Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre, 1731 - 29 Street SW  T3C 1M6 (10 minutes from Shaganappi Point train station)
  • Wednesday, June 22nd, 1:30 - 3:00 pm - VIVO for Healthier Generations, 11950 Country Village Link NE  T3K 6E3
If you are interested in these volunteering opportunities, please email Elaine Lupul at EmploymentLifeSkills@makingchangesassociation.ca 
 

Learn more about volunteering 

Urgent Needs: Running Shoes

My Best Friend’s Closet is in urgent need of new or gently loved running shoes. Because we really want everyone to be able to participate in sports and recreational activities, each one of our participants usually receives a pair of running shoes. Your donation of athletic footwear will help us achieve this goal!

 


LEARN MORE ABOUT DONATION DROP OFFS

 

Bouquet of Thanks


We are very appreciative to everyone who contributes in various ways to the success of our organization. This month, we would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations:

  • Mary Laughren and Laurie Coughlin for connecting us with Nordstrom.
  • Bijal Dattani for volunteering her time over the past 6 months to support the Employment and Life Skills Program.
  • The staff from Cenovus who volunteered their time at My Best Friend’s Closet and the Walk-In Closet for the third consecutive year.
  • All the Benevity Calgary employees for their generous donation and for volunteering with us during National Volunteer week.
  • Jenny Chanthabouala for leading a spoken word workshop at My Best Friend’s Closet.
  • Gerry, Joy, Germaine, Marcela, Ann, Paisley and Cheryl for taking the time to represent Making Changes in the community this month.
  • Telus Connections for collecting funds and clothing donations at their annual International Women’s Day breakfast.
  • Accenture for featuring Making Changes at their International Women’s Day breakfast.
  • Aditya, Martin, Negin, and Shashank, our Accenture Student Consultants who conducted extensive research to provide us with recommendations on client relationship management systems for potential implementation at Making Changes.
  • C-Quest for collecting gently used shoes for the Walk-In-Closet as part of their Fiesta Zapatos fundraising event.
  • Closet Raid YYC for their donation of clothing and accessories following their event on April 24th.
  • REAP Business Association for inviting us to participate in their “Sustainable Style YYC” event on April 12th.
 
 

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK OR ON TWITTER AT "@MAKINGCHANGESCA"

 

 

 Making Changes Employment Association of Alberta. © 2015