Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get Your Hands Dirty
Randy Topolnitsky & Peter Harrison
It will be time soon to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, maybe even swing a hammer with Peter Harrison. We'll be helping YCC with inside renovations of YCC's Forest Lawn Marmie's House!. Find out more at our club meeting today or read on.
Our Relationship with YCC
The Rotary Club of Calgary has been a steadfast supporter of Jane Wachowich and Youth Centres Calgary, particularly at their YCC – Ogden House. The remarkable work that Jane and her team are accomplishing in Ogden, in their unwavering commitment to the youth within the community, is the driving force behind Rotary's decision to partner with the new YCC – Forest Lawn facility. The mission and programs of Youth Centres Calgary align seamlessly with Rotary's core values and our dedicated mission to support at-risk youth through the various programs we sponsor.
A New House in Forest Lawn - Marmie's House
In July 2022, representatives from our Rotary Club had the privilege of meeting with Jane at the Ogden House. This meeting allowed us to delve into the plans for YCC and identify areas where Rotary could offer further support. When Jane shared her vision to establish a new Youth Centre in Forest Lawn, we enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to collaborate with her. Knowing that we have a trustworthy and like-minded partner in Jane, whose vision aligns perfectly with Rotary's, we made the decision to commit $300,000 to aid Jane and YCC in launching the new Youth Centre in Forest Lawn.
Location Location Location
The Rotary Club of Calgary has been a fervent advocate and patron of programs aimed at bolstering youth within the community. We have proudly operated our Stay-in-School (SIS) mentoring program for nearly three decades in schools within the vicinity. Notably, four out of our five partner elementary schools, from which our SIS students are selected, are located in close proximity to YCC – Forest Lawn, namely Valley View, Holy Cross Elementary, St. Damien, and West Dover. Subsequently, these students progress to Junior High, with Holy Cross and Ian Bazalgette situated directly across the street from YCC – Forest Lawn.
In addition to our core programs, Rotary administers a Christmas Hamper initiative that runs in conjunction with our Stay-in-School program. Under this program, each of our partner elementary schools selects 15 families to receive hampers. With another 20-25 SIS families, this totals approximately 100 hampers distributed annually, all benefiting families in the Forest Lawn area.
Youth Centres Calgary had a long-standing partnership with Calgary Reads, and Rotary has continued this. Jane and her team deeply understand the significance of literacy, actively incorporating reading activities and book gifting into every child's experience at the Centres. We are proud to share that a dedicated reading room is currently an integral part of the Ogden Youth Centre and will similarly be incorporated into the new centre in Forest Lawn.
Swing a Hammer - Paint a Wall - Be a Gopher/Supervisor (wear a white hard hat!)
Join Peter & his team (that's you guys) at Marmie's house in the near future (date will be confirmed shortly) will help with the interior renovations. As Peter will mention at today's club meeting, the lead contractor and engineers involved in the renovation will make sure that the home stands the test of time. They will assign the various tasks we can do to help.
This Rotary Day of ACTION will be fun and we will have tasks that ALL Rotarians can get involved in. You can swing a hammer with Peter or there will be other ways you can contribute to the day and make Marmie's House a reality for the many kids it will serve over the years.
Details about our Rotary Day of Service will be communicated soon!