Copy of October 6, 2014 Bulletin

October 6, 2014

President Nick - Announcements:

Juran is in the hospital with knee replacement and in pain. So keep him in your thoughts and perhaps stop by for a quick visit.

Though there is a great line up of speakers coming up, Ramon needs more suggestions. Starting January 1, 2015 there will be a vocational speaker from a club member each month.

Back Tie Gala:
Foster & Sons Jewellers and Lethbridge Volkswagen are donating another Rolex this year. Also, there is a variety of New York entertainment to look forward to for the Gala.
Please work hard to sell raffle tickets. Event tickets can be picked up from Amber Rebbit.

Darryl Alexander - funds from the gala are a huge chunk of funds that we use for doing good in our community. For the event to sell out we need to sell 352 tickets. We are at 169 right now. And… we only have 30 recorded raffle tickets sold. This is urgent!!! Please take two seconds and let someone know you are coming if you plan to attend. If you are not able to join us, don’t forget to buy a raffle ticket.

Lina's Highlights:
Lina met with other exchange students over the past week.
They went to a pizza party and she attended her first football game.
Sherry’s threw a 9th birthday party at the bowling lanes so Lina had an opportunity to attend that and had a good time as well.
She also went to a play with Shilpa called Jake’s Gift.

Sergeant at arms – Charles Funk:
Fines – will all the blondes stand up (Brandie Lea went blonde and resembles someone in Hollywood that Charles knows from curling), shorts only for July or Aug (Darryl Alexander is still wearing shorts!)... Someone asked "Are those your legs or are you riding a chicken?" Darryl, I think they are all just jealous!

Ed Fetting – thinks that Darryl’s legs are an insult to the chickens because he processes 80,000 chickens a day.

Shanaley Galts - is now a proud Canadian because she passed the test! Congratulations Shanaley!

Clint Dunford - just learned that the Bulls Baseball club will have Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald coming for their dinner. Stay tuned for dates and more information!

Phil North- was happy to be on the ice with his son and grandson yesterday morning

Dawn Leite- went to Cuba last week and it was very hot at 45 degrees for her cousins wedding. There were only thunderstorms in the evening – luckily no hurricanes. She also appreciated more the availability of water. You don’t realize how much you appreciate it until you don’t have it. She has had lots of water since she has been back.

Dale Merchant - Beth went through hip replacement on the same day as Juran. She was discharged on Saturday and seems to have had very little pain. Dale stopped to see Juran while there and Juran’s knee was bigger around than Beth's waist!

Chris Yauck- He attended the Harvest Moon Ball for St. Michael's Foundation over the weekend and had a great time.

Pat Killoran – was able to represent the district president in Oklahoma and was treated very well. They asked him what the weather was like back in Canada and he was happy to report that it was 88 here and 84 in Oklahoma!

Brandie Lea – her hair color is not the only change right now. She has also accepted a position with the University of Lethbridge and will no longer be with the St. Michael's Foundation.  She will be raising funds for the new Science Building at the University.

Darren Newberger - changed his hair and is proud to be Canadian.

President Nick - Oct 24 is world polio day.
He hopes to tie it in to the Black Tie Gala and plans to do something on Friday evening as well.

Ramon Ramirez – introduction of guest speaker
Jenalee is the president of kids help phone. She has been working in not for profits for 7 years and with Kids Help Phone for 2. She joins us from Calgary. Her position is Manager of community events and fundraising.

Jenalee:
Kids Help Phone gives kids a trusted person in their life to help them ready themselves to talk to a parent or other adult and inform them of what is going on in their life.
They can talk to someone in English or French.

One misconception about Kids Help Phone is that they have volunteers, but the counselors are actually paid professionals.

In 2002 they began offering online services. They have 4 websites by 2010 with various aspects (English French or age specific). Live chat is also available.
There is also an app available to them called "Always There".

On the websites they have a map that shows resources around the individual’s location. They can view a list of topics for the services they are interested in and see the location of the various locations for the services of interests.

Regional stats - kids from 181 communities in Alberta contacted kids help phone.
Calls from Alberta are 10% or 58 kids call their service each day.
As for the "Ask us" option for online posts, 15% of them are from Alberta.

Funding– another misconception is that they are a government funded organization. They rely heavily on funds that they receive through businesses, and fundraisers.
One of their fundraisers is "Lets walk so kids can talk" which happens in 3 communities in Alberta - Calgary Edmonton & Red Deer. They would like to start it up again in Lethbridge.

#beahero

Q & A:
How do kids find out about this? They do school mail outs to over 200 schools. They also do presentations in schools. They only usually do presentations if the school asks for them.

What is the biggest concerns? Students that are contemplating suicide, struggling with school issues, homework issues etc. Mental health is a big challenge that young people contact them for.

When the counselors opens a case, is there follow up? There is no follow up by Kids Help Phone. If the youth calls in more than once, they are not guaranteed to get the same counsellor. That is part of the confidentiality. The councillor will not end the conversation until they have given the young person on the line resources to help them.

How do you track the outcomes from the calls? There is no real way to follow up so they often ask the young person in advance if they would answer a few questions about how the service has helped them with their challenges.

What about confidentiality with kids and the web based conversations? They do not keep the chat records or phone records. Only two people can see the numbers are calling in from which is mainly used for statically reporting.

Winnerof the Draw - Darryl Alexander

There is no meeting next week due to Thanksgiving!
Have a great long weekend next week.