Connections | March 2020

Every Woman's Place for Support, Connections and Community.

Celebrate International Women's Day!

Join us to celebrate the strengths and achievements of women at our annual 
International Women's Day potluck!

The Women's Centre will host IWD celebrations in our space on Saturday, March 7, 11:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Come and connect with community.  Bring food if you are able (for example: dips and crackers, salads, or baking)

This event is open to everyone! To RSVP please visit our website. 

We are also still looking for volunteers to support this event. Please see the below shifts and times:
  • set-up (including some furniture-moving) March 6, 11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M.
  • greet and sign-in, March 7, 10:30 A.M.-1:00 P.M.
  • assistance in the kitchen, and with food set up, serving etc, March 7, 10:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M.
  • assistance with clean up and take down (moving chairs and desks) March 7, 1:30 to 3:00 P.M.
If you are interested in signing up for a shift please contact Diane by email: [email protected].

Sunnyside Natural Market's BYOB Program

Our friends  Sunnyside Natural Market have selected the Women's Centre for this month's BYOB program.
Shop at Sunnyside Natural Market ( 338 10 St NW Unit 10) from now til March 15 and when you bring your own bag 5 cents will be donated to the Centre. This is a great way to support women in our communities and reduce single use plastics. Thank you!

International Women's Day: The Word from Girls

Join us in celebration of International Women's Day and the launch of Girls Lead: A Toolkit for Supporting Girls' Leadership and Activism. Hear stories of allyship, audacity and ambition from young women in our community. Hosted at the Central Public Library (800 3 St. S.E.) on Sunday, March 8. Activities and information at 12:00 pm; refreshments at 1:30; program at 2:30.

For details please visit the Library's website here. 

Elder's Teaching Series: Women's Voices

Join ii' taa'poh'to'p, UCalgary's Indigenous Strategy, to hear traditional oral teachings, stories and reflections from Elders from the Treaty 7 region of southern Alberta. All are welcome to this conversational series moderated by Dr. Reg Crowshoe, UCalgary's Traditional Knowledge Keeper in Residence.

Kainai Elder Jackie Bromley and Saulteaus Spiritual Healer and Cree Elder Vinnia Van Overdyke will tell stories about traditional Indigenous women's roles and how women can walk forward with power and pride.

Friday, March 13, 12:00 - 1:00 P.M. at the University of Calgary,  Blue Room, Dining Centre

To register click here. 

Bollywood Dance Fundraiser

To celebrate International Women's Day, The Bolly Moms On The Go and Naacho Bolly Fitness invite you to dance with us to support Women's Centre of Calgary .

Join them on Saturday, March 14 from 3:00 - 4:30 P.M. for fun Naacho Bollywood Fitness. Every level is welcome. No dance skills required.

Participation is made by donation:  $20 minimum per adult.

All the proceeds will go to the Women's Centre. Click here for details. 

9th Annual Peace Walk

Join this Free, Family-friendly event! Calgarians from all walks of life take a short Walk near Eau Claire to take a STAND FOR PEACE (rather than march/protest/fight against anything).

9th Annual Peace Walk on March 28 (2:00 -3:15 P.M.) begins at the north end of the Peace Bridge (red pedestrian bridge on Memorial Drive and 8th street west).

Meditation, walk and sharing of peace quotes is about 1 hour + 15 minutes.

Climate & Labour: A New Politics of the Public Good

Public Interest Alberta is proud to present an evening keynote presentation in Calgary as a part of their 14th annual advocacy conference. 

A time of unprecedented crisis--climate change, economic inequality, and the proliferation of regressive conservative governments--is creating the conditions for large-scale mass mobilization of citizens and civil society to push for audacious solutions. This is the power of the Green New Deal, which knits together seemingly disparate movements for climate justice, public services, and workers' rights and reveals the core truth that all of our struggles are connected. James Hutt's keynote address on April 1 @ 7:00 P.M. at the Calgary Unitarian Church (1703 1 St N.W.) will explore these connections and how we can use them to create a more equal, sustainable, and socially just province and country.

Please note there is a fee for this event. For details and tickets please visit their website. 

Femme Wave Volunteer Opportunities

Femme Wave arts fesitival has a variety of  Volunteer Opportunities open right now! Check out their website for a full list and to apply. 
















































































































































Ways to Connect 

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Benevity's IWD Donation Matching Campaign 
Our friends Benevity  are featuring the Women's Centre as one of three causes in their 2020 International Women's Day (IWD) matching campaign!
 
This year's campaign features YWCA, The Women's Centre of Calgary and YYJ Tech Ladies and gives supporters the opportunity to receive a 200% match to monetary donations made to any of the three mentioned causes through their Community Impact (CI) Portal. This year's total matching budget for the campaign is $50,000 CAD and will be divided between the 3 causes based on individual amounts raised through the campaign from Monday, March 2 until end of day on Monday, March 9.  

To contribute please visit Benevity's Community Impact (CI) Portal. Thank you for your support! 
Personal Care Items Drive for IWD
This International Women's Day, we're asking for your support  with our Personal Care program. Through this program, any woman in Calgary is able to access personal care items on a monthly basis.

Our Personal Care program is made possible through donations from our community partners, and community members like you. As International Women's Day draws near, we're asking our community to support women by supporting a program that helps them meet their basic needs, and live with dignity.

For a full list of in demand items and how you can contribute please visit our website. 

The Women's Centre Website has a New Look
Thanks to the generous support of the Calgary Foundation we invite you to take a look at our fresh new website! Check out the site for info on programs, sign up for events and workshops, and read the latest blog updates. 

Spring Break Camps for Girls 
In our spring break camp, girls will explore issues relevant to their lives, including gender, body image, relationships, and leadership. They will also try new activities including: an art project led by our current Artist in Residence Penny Gunderson, creating animations, learning about women in STEM, and leading sessions of their own! Every year participants build strong connections with each other during the week, and many return to participate in the after-school programs offered at the Centre during the remainder of school year.
 
This year, our Spring Break Camp will run during the week of March 23-27 from 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. on Monday-Thursday, and 9:00 A.M. -12:30 P.M. on Friday. Camp is free of charge, and all food, bus tickets and supplies are provided.
 
Know a girl in grades 5-9 who might want to participate? For more information or to register, email:

Now Accepting Applications for Women Lead YYC Spring Session 
Women Lead YYC applications for the spring program are now open! Women Lead YYC is a program designed to support women who want to lead, influence or participate in collective action in order to improve their community. This program explores mindsets, leadership approaches and communication strategies that boost the chances of successfully influencing change.

The next program runs May 5 - June 9 from 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. at the Women's Centre. For more details and to apply please visit our website. 
Social Issues Discussion: Women and Water - Stories from our Community            
Join us Wednesday, March 18, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. for an evening of story telling and discussion. The Women's Centre of Calgary is hosting an event for World Water Day to celebrate and share stories of how water is being used, the ways our communities come together to protect access to clean drinking water and how some communities that haven't had clean water supply are taking matters into their own hands. 

For more details or to RSVP please visit our website. 

Environmental Issues Discussion: Fork This!          
How does our diet impact the environment? What food choices reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the Earth's land and oceans, and conserve its fresh water? Learn about healthy food choices that benefit you and the planet.

Join us Wednesday, March 4, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. for this workshop facilitated by Linda Grandinetti and Jo Hildebrand on whole-food and plant based eating. ALL women are welcome: please join us whether you've been eating vegetarian your whole life or if you've never had a meal without meat and everyone in between.

To register please visit our website. 

Run for the Centre    
Once again the Women's Centre is part of the charity challenge in the Scotiabank Marathon on May 31, 2020. 

If you are a runner, or know some runners looking for a charity to support in this year's run please sign up to support the Women's Centre.  

Interested? Join the Women's Centre Fundraising team by clicking the link here. 

Meet Nadia, Our new Basic Needs Coordinator               
New on the Women's Centre blog.  Meet Nadia, our new Basic Needs Coordinator! We're very excited for her to join the team.

Read Nadia's blog here . 

March Workshops

For a full list of upcoming March workshops and to register view our calendar here. 
The Women's Centre Reconciliation volunteer training workshop will provide some details of Indigenous history for background and context to some of the issues impacting Indigenous populations. The workshop applies a gender lens on colonization and the barriers faced by Indigenous women in particular. We will also explore Indigenous social issues and decolonization. Participants of the Reconciliation volunteer training have an opportunity to learn about Indigenous women in a safe space, and some of the tools needed to be an ally.

Join us on the second Wednesday of every month. Together, we will eat some food, connect with other women, share our skills, and learn from each other. This month the workshop will be on Indigenous cultural beading.

The Women's Centre is holding an Indigenous cultural workshop! This workshop will be based on Original Sound: "History of Past, Present and Future First Nations on Turtle Island".  We are holding space to have conversations and learn more about Indigenous cultures with the Aboriginal Friendship Centre.
Our Vision: Women Supporting Communities, Communities Supporting Women.