NEWSLETTER

MAY 2022

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The Grande Prairie Regional Association of Volunteer Organizations is a membership organization for the civic sector in the Northwest Peace Region, serving charitable and non-profit community organizations in the City and County of Grande Prairie and beyond.  Our member agencies and clients represent a broad region. They range from; small rural agricultural groups to large agencies providing services to families and individuals in distress, through to indigenous agencies, cultural agencies, sports groups, and more.

Ever thought about the phenomena of aging? Some people age very quickly and others are ‘on pause’ until suddenly…they… are not. 

I have always been one of the fortunate who never truly ‘looked’ my age. That is, right up until the last six (6) months, when it all changed. Now, I look down and see my grandmother’s hands, the swollenness of arthritis settling into my knuckles, a loosening of ligature structure and the increasing menace of that, crepe-like appearance. White, silver, and grey has appeared in my hair and it would take three pages to explain all the new aches, creaks and groans that are becoming part of my daily routines. I also have written proof that I am aging; Alberta Blue Cross sent a package to confirm my “senior status”.  

Old Wives Tales/Urban Myths (currently called social media news) often linked aging to environmental stress; there is some truth to this. A 2015, International study using biomarkers and funded by the New Zealand Health Research Council, the U.S. National Institute on Aging, the U.K. Medical Research Council, the Jacobs Foundation and the Yad Hanadiv Rothschild Foundation showed that “between ages 26 and 38 most participants aged at an equal biological pace.” However, the study also proved that some were gaining three biological years for every one chronological year. Still others had essentially stopped getting older, as their biological age was essentially on "pause."  

The study goes on to reason that genetics (hand-me-downs as defined by my dad) and environment are the primary factors that influence this process. I am claiming world events and change as the environmental factors precipitating my rapid-aging-sprint. 

Organizations also experience a series of ‘life stages’ and aging. While some may be in a period of growth or maturity given the events of the last two years, many more are grappling with their own ‘rapid-aging-sprint’. Predictors indicate turning that around will take a different approach than what worked before. This does not mean leaving behind all previous working systems and methods, but rather redefining the process: learning new skills, generating new ideas and incorporating (or at least opening the door) to a fundamental shift in operational and social structures.

By all accounts, re-invigorating, re-inventing and re-what-evering the sector is next on the agenda. We all may be tired as well, we all may be ‘aging’, the thing to remember is that age brings wisdom and anything worth doing is worth doing well. At the end of the day, everyone wins.

Cheers,

CAP 

Cool Aid Society

Dreaming Dancers Guild

Drive Happiness

Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association 

Communities Building Youth Futures

Regional EMS Foundation

Grande Prairie Taekwondo Society

Thank you for joining the Association!

During the Pandemic, many non-profits reported increased demand for programs and services while lacking resources to provide them. Half reported pandemic-related losses in revenue. Despite these challenges, organizations, staff and volunteers continue to deliver programs, providing necessary and lifesaving support. Non-profits, their staff, and volunteers enrich our quality of life by promoting mental and physical health, social equity, education, the arts, sports and recreation, the environment, child development, senior care, and much more. 

This year the Grande Prairie Regional Association of Volunteer Organizations (the Association) celebrated and recognized the volunteers and not-for-profit organizations in our community that make a difference.

Recognizing Volunteer Board Members

Often overlooked throughout the year the Association encouraged non-profits/charities to recognize their volunteer Board Members for NVW. With a special week of our Tim Hortons Volunteers of the Week program we recognized 59 volunteer directors from eight different organizations.

View all the April Tim Hortons Volunteers of the Week further down in this newsletter.

The Association would like to thank the Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce, the City of Grande Prairie, Government of Alberta and Volunteer Alberta for supporting this year’s National Volunteer Week.

Visit https://www.volunteergrandeprairie.com/events-calendar/volunteer-celebrations/national-volunteer-week/ for more on this year's National Volunteer Week activities.

The Grande Prairie Regional Association of Volunteer Organizations is inviting all local non-profit and charitable organizations operating in Grande Prairie and area to take part in a survey of your organizations for the purposes of compiling a comprehensive composite of the sector. 

Our non-profit & charitable sector encompasses hundreds of small, medium and large organizations dedicated to providing service, programs or supports to their identified user groups. At one point or another over the years, most have participated in surveys for a variety of surveyors measuring different components of organizational viability.  

However, local data regarding the strength, breadth and diversity of the Grande Prairie and area non-profit and charitable sector is not readily available, consistent or comprehensive. In light of the challenges the local sector recently faced and is, still facing there is a need to formulate a comprehensive baseline picture of the local sector. The baseline will assist in focusing on the long-term viability and structural adaptability of our local organizations immediately and into the future. 

The compiled data will be made accessible to local organizations, private and public funders as well as other research initiatives. The combined results can be used to foster sustainability, identify social and infrastructure issues, assist in local decision-making as well as providing specific supports for marketing and fundraising as well as tailoring processes towards better results. 

The survey will be administered in eight sections over a period of eight weeks. Your responses to the survey will be kept confidential. Each interview will be assigned a number code to help ensure that personal identifiers are not revealed during the analysis and write up of findings. There is no compensation for participating in this survey. However, each participating organization who completes a section of the survey will have their name entered into a random draw with the chance of winning $500.00.  Complete all 8 sections of the survey and gain one extra chance. Maximum of 9 chances.  

Please note: The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the number and frequency of survey requests from all levels of government, advocacy groups, funders and others. Provincial and National surveys clearly indicate that their operations, financial and human resources and ability to function at previous levels has been damaged. Through anecdotal stories, facilitated local surveys and plain common sense, it is apparent that our local and regional organizations have also been impacted. Impacts of the COVID-19 crisis will only be explored as a component of the overall survey. 

We hope you will join us in completing this very important project. Please watch your email and social media networks for more information and launch date.  

For more information and to register email: cdcoordinator@volunteergrandeprairie.com

Wet Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter Softened
• ¾ Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Eggs
• ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil 

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Combine sugar, oil, butter, eggs, vanilla and cream them. Then combine wet and dry ingredients together in one bowl and mix.
3. Spoon onto cookie sheet covered in Pam or parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 12 – 15 minutes.

The Alberta Healthy Living Program (AHLP) offers free workshops to help adults better manage their chronic conditions. Monthly workshops are offered virtually (by Zoom) to all those living in Northern Alberta. Visit www.healthylivingprogram.ca for more information and to register.

Grande Prairie Businesses be part of a fun night of comedy and support a great cause! If you are interested in participating please email info@eclproductions.com or call 778-890-0980 and speak with Alex about how you can get involved!

MARCH 2022 VOLUNTEERS OF THE WEEK

APRIL 2022 VOLUNTEERS OF THE WEEK

With the last week of April (24-30) being National Volunteer Week our Tim Hortons Volunteers of the Week program went into overdrive as we recognized 59 volunteer board member in 7 days

Sources: https://www.celiac.ca/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bul73e9maiY

The Association acknowledges the homeland of the many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis people whose ancestors have walked this land since time immemorial. I am grateful to work, live and learn on the traditional territory of Treaty 8.

Disclaimer of Liability: This newsletter contains links to third-party service provider websites. Grande Prairie Regional Association of Volunteer Organizations is not responsible and assumes no liability for the content or materials available on any linked third-party sites.