It looks like April is going to be a busy month for Albertans … trying to get in a few last ski days to enjoy the record snowfall the mountains have received, starting to clean up our yards (and maybe those closets and garages), getting taxes filed and keeping up with political campaigns in anticipation of the April 23 election. Hopefully you’ll find set aside some time to join us for an EWB event or two this month.
Before we get down to business, we’d like thank all those who came out to our National Engineering and Geoscience Month events throughout March. We were fortunate to have George Roter, CEO of EWB, speak at one of our events. The annual EWB National Conference will be held Calgary next year so if you missed him this time, you should be able to catch him in January 2013.
And in case you haven’t heard, there is a new little Facebook game “Beer2Water” that will get you an entry for a trip for 2 to Oktoberfest in Munich and a $1 donation to EWB. See below for details.
Socially Responsible Investing
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012
Time: 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Location: Mountain Equipment Co-op, Community Room, 830 – 10th Avenue, SW
Cost: Free.
Learn about the history and principles of responsible investing. Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is a method of choosing investments that are screened by criteria using environmental, social and governance practices. Find out how you can form a personal investment strategy to align your investments to your own social and moral convictions. Presented by Patti B. Dolan, CFP, CSWP, FCSI, Financial Advisor with Raymond James Ltd. Patti is a board member with Social Investment Organization, the national non-profit association for the socially responsible investment industry in Canada.
Patti’s presentation will be followed by two speakers, Paul Gomes and Emily Zhang, who will provide information about Oikocredit, a socially responsible investment cooperative. Paul Gomes is Executive Director of the Fig Tree Charitable Foundation, as well as Director and Vice President of Oikocredit Canada West and Member of the Oikocredit Alberta Advisory Group. Emily Zhang is an active EWB volunteer and member of the Oikocredit Alberta Advisory Group.
Celebrate!Africa
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012
Time: 6:00 to 10:00 pm, Fair Trade Village Opens at 5:30 pm
Location: Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre, 1320 5 Avenue NW
Cost: $25 Advance (by April 11), $30 at the Door, Children Under 8 – Free
Please click here to purchase your advance ticket online.
Color! Music! Dancing! There’s no better way to start off your Saturday evening than celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the vast African continent. Celebrate! Africa is an annual event hosted by Engineers Without Borders to celebrate African Heritage and Culture in support of their international development work in water and agriculture. There will be a Fair Trade Village set-up, with items for purchase from Fair Trade Vendors, as well as opportunities to learn more about Fair Trade. Entertainment includes interactive drumming provided by Circles of Rhythm and African/Caribbean dance performance. Ticket includes dinner and entertainment.
Please mark down the evening of Saturday April 14 on your calendar for this very special event!
International Development Drinks
co-hosted by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation
Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Time: 5:00 to 8:30 pm
Location: Upstairs, The Barley Mill, Eau Claire Market
We held our first International Development Drinks in January and great representation from a range of non-profits and NGOs based in Alberta, government, industry and academia all interested in international development. Join us at the end of April for round 2 of great conversations and networking.
The 2012 Run to End Poverty
The calendar says it’s spring; the weather even suggests it might be spring. There is no excuse now to not pull out your running shoes and start training for the Run to End Poverty. We already have some corporate teams signed up, but would love to see a few more.
The Run to End Poverty (R2EP) is an event in partnership with Calgary’s Scotiabank Marathon / Half / 10k & 5k run scheduled to take place on May 27, 2012. Thank you to all who have signed up for the run. For those who haven’t, you can still do so by visiting www.runtoendpoverty.ca
This spring, do something new. It doesn’t matter if you are an individual, a group of friends or a company, form a team to compete in the Run to End Poverty (R2EP) Corporate Challenge. You can register your team in the 5km, 10km, Half or Full-Marathon events. With every kilometer logged and dollar raised, you can help to connect the skills and ambition of our African Partners to real opportunity and alleviate poverty there. a real difference.
Here’s how:
- Register for your run at www.calgarymarathon.com
- Create a stylish profile of yourself or your team at www.runtoendpoverty.ca. (While you’re at it, why not link it to Facebook or Twitter?). Don’t forget to ‘like’ us on Facebook while you’re there.
- Start pledging! Get your family, friends and co-workers to help you reach your goal.
More questions? Click here for more information or email us at calgary@runtoendpoverty.ca.
Beer2Water: Win a trip to Oktoberfest
Have you heard about the Beer2Water game? If you can successfully connect the pipes to turn beer to water, $1 will be donated to EWB by Digital Rapids, and you’ll be entered to win a trip for two to Oktoberfest in Munich.
Volunteer Opportunities
1. National Distributed Teams
What is a distributed team? It’s a group of individuals, located across Canada, working together remotely to tackle a problem for EWB, develop an idea or a program. Most teams are a 12+ month commitment from May 2011 to May 2012, with planning happening over the summer.
There are currently 18 new teams to get involved with, ranging from Bilingualism and Speakers Networks to Admitting Failure Ventures and IT.
To learn more visit: http://my.ewb.ca/posts/92326/. Applications are due April 7.
2. Conference 2013
The Conference Planning Team has posted a few volunteer opportunities, including Graphic Designer, Web Master and Media Director, on our website. Please take a look, and share with your friends. There will be plenty of more opportunities to get involved over the next 6 months. More postings will be added in the upcoming weeks and months, but if you already know you’re interested, or have a special skill you think would help the team out, drop us an email at calgary@ewb.ca and we will connect you with the conference team.
3. Opportunities within the Chapter
We are starting to think about what the chapter will look like in the 2012/2013 year and beyond. If you’re interested in getting involved a little more with our local chapter, but aren’t quite sure what you’re interested in, drop us an email at calgary@ewb.ca and we’ll be happy to chat with you.
Save the Date: Calgary City Chapter Annual General Meeting
Our 2012 AGM is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2013, at 7:00 pm. Mark this date in your calendar! Additional details will be provided in the up-coming weeks.