Welcome to the Summer 2023 issue of our Making Changes newsletter! 

We had a very busy Spring with several events, programming milestones, and our inaugural annual Powerful You! Luncheon. We are very excited to bring you updates and a sneak peek into our spectacular Fall plans! 

As always, we thank our sponsors, donors, and other partners for their continued support!

Stay up to date on upcoming events and news on our website and social media channels (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook).

Happy reading!

Making Changes Association Annual General Meeting

Mark your calendars for our virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will be hosted via Zoom on September 27, 2023, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm.

Join our celebration to look back at the 2022-23 fiscal year and learn about our plans for the future. 

Reserve your spot now through Eventbrite!

Casino Royale Fundraiser 2023

We are bringing you an evening experience to remember!

This fundraising event promises to be a night of entertainment and excitement offering a fun casino experience with $50,000 in casino fun money, drinks, snacks, dancing, a silent auction, and more. 

Make it a date night or a night with friends! This event will help raise essential funds to support the work of Making Changes. 

Mark your calendars for the evening of Friday, November 4th! Ticket sales and more details coming soon!

Powerful You! 2023: (Re)Defining Success Fundraising Luncheon Recap

The first annual Powerful You! Fundraising Luncheon was held on May 30, 2023. The event was a great success, bringing together over 170 generous supporters and community members, who are committed to advancing the futures of women, those who identify as women, and teen girls in Calgary. It was heartwarming to see such a strong show of support for an important cause. And the event generated over $34,000 in revenue in support of Making Changes Association. 

We express our sincere appreciation to our amazing panelists for sharing their valuable insights and engaging in an open discussion on redefining success. Their thought-provoking and candid dialogue about their personal and professional journeys illuminated what success truly means to them and the valuable lessons they have learned. Thank you, Michelle Cameron Coulter, Sue Riddell Rose, Chelsea Crowshoe, Nketti Johnston-Taylor, and Karen Judge.

The event could not have been possible without the support of our incredible sponsors. Thank you to all sponsors.

Diamond Sponsors: Boardwalk, Tourmaline Oil

Platinum Sponsor: ARC Financial

Supporting Sponsors: Fairmont Palliser Hotel, RnR Wellness, and Encore

The funds raised will go directly to supporting women and teenage girls in Calgary, helping them to flourish and achieve their maximum potential.



Check out the photos on our website's News & Updates section 

Women in Technology Program Graduation

On June 15, 2023, a graduation ceremony was held for the Fall 2022 cohort of the Women in Technology program. We congratulate the following graduates for completing the program:

- Ashionye Onwuka

- Baoer Huang

- Chell Zhang

- Charu Jain

- Folakemi Omotoye

- Gulnaz Nikitina

- Ihuaku Azuma-Awoyo

- Iryna Bilostotska

- Ivana Osorio

- Kanchan Maheshwari

- Khalisha Nelson

- Marwa Ali

- Naveeda Khowaja

- Ruchi Deshmukh

- Seema Bains

We take great pride in our graduates who are embarking on their journey to become outstanding professionals in the tech industry. We extend our best wishes to them for success in all their future endeavors. Check out photos of the event on our website's News & Updates section.

Intake for the next cohort is now open. Check out registration details on our website.

Employment and Life Skills Program

On June 28, 2023, the Employment and Life Skills 128th cohort ended their sessions with a closing celebration. During the event, the students engaged in an art activity, which served as a means of introspection, allowing them to reflect on all they learned and will be taking away from the program.

Intake for the next cohort is now open. Check out registration details on our website.

Wine Survivor Recap and Winners

Wine Survivor 2023 was an exciting fundraiser where 71 teams competed for prizes. We'd like to thank the 426 people who participated in this year’s fundraising event! Your participation generated over $25,000 in revenue in support of our programs!

Congratulation to our winning teams!

1st place won 149 bottles of wine - Team #7 - Loose Tannins

2nd place won 106 bottles of wine - Team #15 - Still Vertical

3rd place won 64 bottles of wine - Team #3 - Caber-YAY!

4th place won 42 bottles of wine - Team #49 - Syrah Sisters

5th place won 38 bottles of wine - Team #34 - Wine Snobs

6th place won 63 bottles of wine - Team #63 - Will You Accept This Rosé?

We cannot forget to mention the Biggest Losers -- Team Whine a Little, Wine a Lot. As the first team fully eliminated, they won 6 bottles of wine!

A big thank you to our sponsors; Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink and Olympia Liquor. Your contribution had a significant impact on the success of our event!

Proceeds raised will go directly towards our programs and services that help to empower women and teen girls in our community. 

Volunteer Appreciation Week

From April 16-22, 2023, we joined communities across Canada to celebrate National Volunteer Week in recognizing that spirit of volunteerism weaves us together, strengthening the fabric of our community by sharing our time, talent, and energy to support one another.

During the week, we featured a number of our volunteers on our website and social media platforms who contribute to our programs in various capacities. We are beyond grateful for their commitment and hard work! Check out the volunteer spotlights on our website. 

HSBC has been supporting Dress for Success Calgary programming since February 2023. As part of this funding, a career center was established with the necessary equipment to assist our clients with their job search activities and learn about financial literacy, personal branding, and work culture.

We are very happy to share that our Career Centre will remain open all summer long to support our clients' professional development needs. Monthly, 32 spots are offered to our clients, which can be booked online.

We sincerely thank HSBC for their generous funding that is enabling our clients to access essential technology for job searching, acquiring new skills, and familiarizing themselves with the Canadian work culture.

We are pleased to share that Dress for Success Calgary is now partnering with Gallagher. As part of the partnership, Gallagher hosted a panel discussion “Share Your Story with Gallagher: Mental Health, Well-Being, and Work-Life Balance” for our clients on May 9, 2023. Our clients shared their experiences and benefitted from the panel’s insights on the importance of mental health and how to create a balanced life.

Gallagher sponsors virtual workshops and creates mentoring opportunities in partnership with Dress for Success, globally helping women in the workforce gain skills, resources, and confidence to set them on their paths to rewarding careers. We look forward to working with Gallagher to provide more support to our clients for their future success.

Our Volunteer, Ingrid Martinez, Crowned Ms. Calgary 2023!

Heartiest congratulations to Ingrid Martinez, one of our volunteers, for winning Ms. Calgary 2023. She was crowned on June 10, 2023.

Ingrid was born in El Salvador and moved to Calgary when she was very young. She says, “I remember clearly it was the kindness and the community spirit of Calgarians that helped us make Calgary our home. I grew up in this beautiful city, and as I continue to watch the city flourish, I firmly believe with all my heart that Calgary is the best place to call home. I look forward to what I can only imagine will be an incredible year. And in my journey as Ms. Calgary, I want to share with you all the beautiful things that Calgary and Calgarians have to offer.”

Ingrid chose Making Changes Association as her charity of choice. She intends to continue supporting our mission of empowering women to advance their futures.

Ingrid, we are so proud of your achievement and grateful for your continued support.

Making Changes supports an AGLC casino every 18 months which raises funds that support our clients and students of all four programs. We would like to thank all the volunteers who helped with our AGLC casino in March 2023 which raised $79,593. This means the contribution of each volunteer shift was $2,095! We cannot thank our volunteers enough for their incredible support and commitment to ensure that our programs continue to impact over 2,400 women and teen girls annually. 



Making Changes also raises funds through bingo once a month. On average, we raise $2,500 per bingo. We are always open to welcoming new volunteers to our casinos and bingo events. If you would like to volunteer for bingo, the following are dates for upcoming events:

July 29 – 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

August 27 – 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm

September 30 – 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

October 22 – 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

November 19 – 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm

December 16 – 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

No experience is required and training is provided. If you would like to volunteer with us, please let Patti Dalsin know at volunteer@makingchangesassociation.ca

STAY IN TOUCH WITH US

Did you know that you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube?

If you aren’t already, follow us on social media where we share information about our programs and events. Share links with your networks to help us spread the word!