Our Club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. The 2nd Tuesday is a "Meeting with a Taste" - a social event, date and time to be determined. Members will be notified by email of the details. The Board Meeting is the 4thTuesday of the month.
Club President Loida Lumanlan with Catherine Shier, Conservation Co-ordinator, Edmonton Valley Zoo
This week we heard from Catherine Shier, the Conservation Co-ordinator for the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Catherine told us that zoos have and are continuing to change. In the distant past, beginning around five thousand years ago, zoos were mainly private collections of exotic animals, kept for the enjoyment of their owners. The first public zoo opened in 1793 in Paris, and in 1874 North America got is first public zoo, in Philadelphia. The Edmonton Zoo first opened in 1926 in Borden Park and later in 1959 moved to it’s current Laurier Heights location as a children’s zoo known as the Storyland Valley Zoo.
In the 1970’s people began to question the living conditions in zoos, concern for their role in conservation of wild animals came to the fore and subsequently Endangered Species Acts were established in many places. Zoos began to be accredited and in 1981 the Storyland Valley Zoo received CAZA (Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accreditation. At about that time the Valley Zoo started taking part in breeding programs for endangered species, one of which was the Swift Fox. In the 1990’s the Species Survival Program was established and our zoo took part by housing older animals retired from breeding programs such as Cougars and Snow Leopards. In today’s zoo the habitats are now much more natural and the emphasis is on protection, conservation and education of the public about our local wild animals and the need to preserve their habitat.
In 2005 the zoo Master Plan brought in a formal Conservation Program and started bringing in wild animals to breed and then releasing their off-spring into the wild. They now have financial support for the conservation of Snow Leopards, Red Pandas and River Otters. They have helped to re-establish the endangered Northern Leopard Frog back into it’s Central Parkland habitat, surrounding Edmonton. They help off site with local conservation programs by supplying their expertise to help with such things as neutering the invasive wild boar population in Elk Island Park. They also host researchers who wish to come and study the animals that they have at the zoo. In 2022 they established and formal conservation program and hired a Conservation Co-ordinator.
Our Zoo has over four hundred thousand visitors a year with more than twenty thousand children who take part in educational programs. It has been very busy lately expanding and updating it’s old infrastructure, building new habitats and structures and repurposing older ones. One of the old infrastructures that has been refurbished and updated is the children’s carousel where the old carousel animals have been replaced with endangered species for the children to ride.
Many Central Parkland animals and birds are still found in our river valley and surrounding areas, but we have also lost many since the 1950’s due to the expansion of farmland and cities. We need to be more aware of the wildlife around us and how to conserve it. The zoo is now there to increase our awareness and to educate us and future generations on the importance of our natural wildlife.
Club President Loida Lumanlan with Jenna Sparrow, Development Manager at KARA Family Resource Centre
Jenna Sparrow, Fund Development Manager at KARA Family Resources Centre, presented our Club with an in-depth review of services provided through their Centre.
KARA Family Resources are there to support parents and caregivers, lift up families, and create moments where children and parents can thrive, no matter the obstacles they face. Since they opened their doors nearly 40 years ago, they have grown to serve over 3,500 people each year. They believe that when families are strong, communities are strong.
They provide a broad range of programs and services, all free of charge and designed to meet families where they are. From early learning programs like Learning Through Play and Little Talkers to skill-building youth programs such as Kids in the Kitchen (6-12 years) where kids not only learn to cook but also bring home nutritious meals for their families. This is most evident in the pride of an Immigrant child learning to cook Canadian food to take home to their family. Through this program they have seen first-hand how crucial food security is for a family’s well-being.
One of the most impactful parts of their work is the personalized support provided by their team. Their Family Navigator and dedicated family support workers offer one-on-one assistance, helping families find their way through tough times. They believe people are their own best advocates; their role is to empower and support them as they work through their goals.
During COVID they saw a decrease in government funding which resulted in a large reduction of staff, program and services. They are a very resilient organization, working hard over the past couple of years to keep going. They have now reached a place where they are looking forward to once again growing and expanding through donations from the Community.
Posted by Carin Jansen van Vuuren on Nov. 12, 2024
Our club recently made a visit to STARS at the Edmonton International Airport where we toured their facilities and made a donation to their program. See more pictures from this event in the STARS Album below.
KIVA is a US based 501(c)3 non-profit microfinance program based in San Francisco started in 2005 that makes micro loans to small business people in third world countries and most recently in marginalized communities in the US. Since then KIVA has funded over 2 billion in loans through relending funds as they are repaid.
Individuals and groups what lend money through KIVA have control over where and to whom their money is loaned. Our current group manager is Ken Germain.
Since 2005 KIVA has had over two million lenders who have crowdfunded over two billion US dollars in loans to over five million borrowers and these loans have had an amazing ninety six percent repayment rate.
When you fund a KIVA loan, 100% of your money goes to supporting people. We don’t take a cut, and we’re proud of that.
KIVA can:
Help partners improve financial literacy for women
Provide outreach in refugee communities
Create resource centers for small business owners
Reach one person every minute with life-changing financial resources
Members of our club have been supporting KIVA for many years.
Recently we have lent funds to:
Lisseth Maria of Nicaragua $100 for a Housing project
Melisa De La Concepcion of Nicaragua $25 for a Food project
Las Doncellas Group of Guatemala, $75 for an Agriculture project
Liz of the US, $100 for an Agriculture project
Please visit KIVA at www.kiva.org for more in depth information or to sign up to donate funds to KIVA.
Nothing at all, we're just changing the name. As we mentioned in last month's newsletter, we wanted our name to honour the mothers who are making a new model of education possible. Also, this new name is the perfect answer for anyone who asks how we can overcome all the barriers to universal education: Start With Mothers.
Opening in a New Country!
We've spent years proving that our model of education works. In both Bangladesh and Pakistan, we've found a way to reach children who otherwise had no prospect of education. We've also seen the effects of empowering women: safer, more prosperous communities where human rights flourish and hope is abundant.
Now it's time to bring this model to more countries that need it.
We have opened a pilot school in India - a country with more out-of-school children than any other. Soon, we are hoping to open several more schools in India. After all, clustering schools together means that more mothers can support each other in this transformational work.
…And a New Continent!
We've also got our sights set on Africa!
In 2025, we plan to open four schools for mothers in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria. Nigeria is a country in desperate need of accessible education and we want to hit the ground running.
On World Children's Day (November 20th) we'll be launching a fundraising campaign to make this expansion possible.
We'll tell you all about this project then!
We are so excited about the changes we're making, and we are so grateful for our donors and supporters, without whom none of this would be possible! You are helping us reach the hardest to reach children and ensuring that no child is left behind. Stay tuned for all the details and be sure to follow us on social media with Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Want a Deeper Look?
For a close-up view of the places we work, plus a broader perspective on the issues impacting global education (from child marriage to organized crime to why children run away), sign up for The Heroes' Circle by clicking the button below. You can expect everything from insightful articles to beautiful art, plus GEM Munro's captivating new book series: …And Where the Wind Spun Them.
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905.829.5299
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