How does your community grow?

I understand we did things differently!

2012-03-09T10:26:00.001-08:00

Recently, ACE Cold Lake celebrated the success of their ACE project with a luncheon. Invited guests included program participants, community partners, community champions and honoured community individuals. I was able to attend as a representative of the core ACE team.

I anticipated a nice lunch, a visit with old friends, and an opportunity to meet new ones. Directions to the luncheon venue were easy and I found my way there after scoping out a city where I’d never been before.

Prior to my arrival in Cold Lake I had learned that participants had been involved in a weekly program hosted by the Lakeland Centre for FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) and would speak to the impact and changes the ACE program had made in their life. These clients, affected by FASD, learned life skills as well as coping and relationship skills. They also took part in activities that exposed them to nature, recreation, community, and environmental activities.

With help, I carried in the materials I brought to share with those present, and set up my display. My first observations told me that people were excited and thrilled to be there, and the anticipation of many guests arriving set a tone of excitement. Additionally, there were people practicing speeches by reading out loud or just reading over notes. Their concern about doing a great job was apparent by the jitters they were all trying to overcome.

The guests arrived with greetings and hugs, everyone seated themselves, and the emcee started the program with character and comedy. We dug into lunch, which was terrific, and then the formal part of the program began. That’s what caught me off guard as I wasn’t prepared for witnessing the emotions of the clients, their champions, families and support workers. It rocked me to the core. Some champions spoke the words of the clients, who were overwhelmed with joy, other clients spoke on their own behalf, and moved the crowd to tears. Each story different, but profoundly life altering for the individual and the LCFASD. I was very moved.

As the stories unfolded, it was clear the other guests were moved as well even though they were already champions for this cause. At the conclusion of the event, joyous emotions filled the room. In her closing comments, the Executive Director, stated that when offered $10,000 dollars she might typically tend to say no, as the expectations that go with the money are far greater than the dollar amount. She offered up an apology, stating that this was a wonderful investment and worth far more than the dollar value.

The seed funding provided by the ACE Initiative covered the tangible costs for over 5000 km of travel to transport clients, 225 hours of childcare for clients, and numerous supplies for life skills training. What is more difficult to measure but the greatest investment was dignity for 10 clients, pride for two staff, accolades for two organizations, numerous community partnerships, community pride and awareness, new community partners looking to invest in this creative and successful program, and a template for changing lives.

Congratulations ACE Cold Lake for exceeding your own expectations and adding to the collective of ACE success stories.

As the event concluded the Executive Director approached me stating that she was aware they had used their seed funding in a way that was different from the other ACE communities. I sensed she was asking if I thought that was okay. My one and only possible reply was that the funding was intended to include as many citizens as possible in building and growing a community. To my way of thinking I believe ACE Cold Lake did exactly just that.

Thank you ACE Cold Lake for a day of wonder.

Tis the Season - Giving Creativity

2011-12-16T12:08:00.001-08:00

This time of year, could be quite dull if it were not for the onset of Christmas. I almost have a practical interest in the holiday seeing that, with gardening going into hibernation for the winter season, I simply need something to do with my hands.

Many of my more industrious habits are rooted in my childhood. Being on a limited budget and as a sanity saver, my mom (I am one of 6 children) spent the fall and winter making practical items (mitt, toques, sweaters, quilts) for the lot of us. The Christmas season saw the creation of decorations, gifts and anything Christmas-related from almost nothing. Good Housekeeping magazines were the motivators for many ideas. Funny enough, this practice is now called recycling or up-cycling.

When I started out on my own and after getting married, limited finances also fueled my creativity. Once my children entered the picture, ornaments, canning, baked goods and whatever my hands could create for gifts was the agenda for Christmas giving.

September became the planning month. October, November and December the months for preparation with the critical delivery before December 25th. Some years the list was long so working late into the night was essential for production and quality control.

Have I mentioned that I am a nurturer by nature? I love to give and I most love to give at Christmas.

Lately, I have noticed that my creativity is evolving and going places that I have never been. My most recent projects include using vintage materials like old fur coats, fabrics, clothing, old buttons, laces, jewelry, and, the one thing I enjoy the most, old wedding dresses.

To support my creativity habit I visit garage sales during the summer months and seek out the most cherished items I have just listed to develop my stash for the winter projects. As the projects are completed, and I show them off, I find I receive gifts of stashes of long forgotten goodies from others who also believe that formerly cherished items deserve a new lease on life.

My most favourite projects of the moment are creating Christmas stockings from my ferreted out collections of garage sale/thrift store finds. I am thrilled to be able to give these as gifts and watch the surprise from the receivers as I explain the source of my materials. I have created the term “sentimentos” (sentimental mementos) for items that are created from sentimental pieces, (e.g. my mother’s graduation dress, a friend’s fur coat, a wedding dress, a nana’s lace collection).

A couple of years ago, I hit the jackpot. It was at a garage sale on a late Saturday afternoon. Everyone was tired and ready to close, but “what to my wondering eyes do appear” but two beautiful mink coats. I made the bold move of asking the sellers if they would trade their fur coats for me making them a Father Christmas.

“You are a crafter?” they asked and my response was yes.

By the time I left there 30 minutes later, I had a 60 year old wedding dress, two Eaton’s wool blankets, fur coats, a grocery bag of jewelry and ornaments, and a promise that I would convert the items into sentimentos for the family. Their dad had passed away and mom was no longer able to live on her own. The family was at a loss of what to do with these precious items and I provided a solution to their dilemma.

In the end, I did return to this family a box of transformed items a week before Christmas – a Christmas stocking from the wedding dress and fur coat, two stockings from each wool blanket, a Father Christmas from the fur coat, jewelry and ornaments. I have to admit that I was all over the map when I delivered the items. Would they like them? Did I do a good job? Was I possibly a little insane for doing this?

The answers came in a phone call on Christmas Eve while preparing for my own family events. The conversation started slow as the caller sounded confused. Five minutes into the call I was able to determine that the caller was the owner of the wedding dress. Obviously overwhelmed, she thanked me for her old man (Father Christmas), and the stockings, and wondered out loud why I would do such a thing as to remake and return the items without charge. It was her question, and obvious sense of gratitude, that made me truly understand what the gift of giving meant. The memories still bring me to tears.

Finding these items does many things - it keeps me busy year round, supports the garage sale economy, recycles items that people would not normally recycle, and enhances my creative right brain. I have a strong belief that when you are blessed with gifts it is important to share those gifts. So beyond giving my creations to friends and family, I donate items to organizations and charities for their silent auctions to raise funds.

Ultimately, this is what I know: creativity is passion, using resources that seem to have no value can be merged and re-purposed, using things from the past can benefit and transform the present and future, simple trust and lessons come when you least expect them, be thankful for unexpected gifts, and be comfortable with who you are. Never pass up an opportunity to play and explore possibilities as some of the greatest lessons may come from them. You can go into a community and find small treasures in the most unlikely places, use ingenuity and creativity, invest some sweat equity, play a whole lot and what comes out the other side of transformation can become truly incredible.

You too have the ability find your creative comfort and make changes where you live and play.

I am attracted to limit pushers

2011-10-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

What is a limit pusher? Based on the context it was used the first time I heard it, the definition implies a limit pusher is someone who works beyond accepted comfort norms to challenge and encourage change and growth in a specific area.

This was one of those weeks where work took me away from home, to support leaders new to the ACE Communities Initiative. Their focus is creating change in their community that will shift thinking and behaviours to reflect diverse and inclusive habits within the community. Meeting these forward thinking leaders was inspiring. The demographics of the group were also something that deserved reflection. There were a greater number of males than we have ever engaged, and, 50% of the whole group was under 35 years old. Listening to their stories, goals, and achievements moved me and drew me back to the term limit pusher. Each was passionate about changing their community beyond its current accepted standards of engaging fellow humans to something more diversity friendly. Every one of them was a limit pusher.

At this same retreat for the new leaders was a facilitator who works to educate others about diversity and inclusivity. She moved me deeply. Her story of the country of her birth, the traumatic situation that forced her family to leave that country, the challenge of being a refugee for 3 years, losing both parents in the process - all before she turned 18 - shook every empathic, compassionate, and nurturing bone in my body. She continued to share her story of moving to Canada and living here for 35 years. Her childhood and life experiences have resulted in a thriving, compassionate, well educated, and well spoken voice for those who may not always be heard or understood. Her talk included stories of where she accumulated lessons in the most emotionally charged environments - some were national headlines. She works now to change the collective thinking of a community one person, group, or business at a time. She mentioned that she has ego and must constantly learn to remember the humility and appreciation she was taught by a spiritual mother but all I saw was her grace, dignity, and humility. She made me evaluate my own values around incorporating diversity habits in interactions in the communities where I travel. Once again, the phrase limit pusher came to mind.

Upon returning home, my husband took me out to enjoy a gift he had given me, tickets to a speaking event with Sir Sidney Poitier. For a person approaching 85 years old, the clarity of his stories, the depth of the memories, and the passion in which it was all delivered, seemed casual, but it most definitely was not. I believe his intent was more than casual, and I believe my response was probably what he hoped to accomplish with his stories. The challenge he presented in his closing remarks - to respect the earth, humankind, your neighbours and family, with every ounce of yourself and always using your values to guide the way, stirred deep thoughts within me. Then, limit pusher came to mind one more time.

Within a forty eight hour time frame the universe came together and presented me with the most amazing experiences, and a question - Am I a limit pusher?

Each and every one of these individuals shares a common path; chaos, triumphs, difficulties, and learnings. Each of them works toward challenging their community - whether it is rural Alberta, urban Alberta, or globally. They all seem to fit the definition of what I believe it means to be a limit pusher. I too am a limit pusher. Could you be called a limit pusher?