Alberta Communities Receive Funds for Healthy Living Initiatives

Communities ChooseWell: A committee representing health, recreation, and community development reviewed 58 applications from ChooseWell communities for seed funding for local projects to reduce barriers to healthy living.

In the end, sixteen projects were selected from across Alberta, encompassing many different demographic groups and healthy living strategies, and $30,045 was dispersed. Congratulations and best wishes to the following communities who received grant funding:

Bonnyville
Bowden
Boyle Street (Edmonton)
Coronation
Delburne
Fort Vermilion
Innisfail
Kainai
Kate Chegwin School (Edmonton)
Langdon
Lethbridge
Meadowbrook School (Airdrie)
Morinville
Sexsmith
MD of Smoky River
Trochu

Eckville Continues to Build Community Through Partnerships

‘Building a Community of Choice for Family Through Partnerships’ is the motto of the Eckville Community Development Association (ECDA). This commitment to partnerships is what led Eckville to apply to be an ACE Community in 2008. Using their ACE seed funding, in combination with other funds also raised through partnering, Eckville not only hired the town’s first-ever Recreation Director, they also created the town’s Recreation Plan.

Flash forward to 2013 and Eckville is happy to report that the results from this partnership with ARPA has just kept growing! The Town of Eckville has recently committed $20,000 to help maintain the Recreation Director’s position for an additional two years.

“Creating a strong sense of community and including all citizens in meaningful and enjoyable recreational opportunities will greatly enhance the quality of life in our community,” says former ECDA board member Amy Cunningham.

Ongoing work towards establishing a local Spray Park has also been successful, seeing the Town not only approving a site but also committing to its upkeep. The Recreation Board has also recently received notice that a Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant for the Spray Park has been approved which is quite the achievement seeing that the community itself had to raise matching funds in order to qualify for the grant.  The CFEP also recently funded some renovations of the Eckville Community Center.  These successes reflect the power of a community working together on prioritized goals to enhance the community for everyone.

“We have ARPA and ACE to thank for this,” says Karin Engen, Coordinator at Eckville Neighborhood Place. “ACE facilitated our community to consult citizens, identified a community need, and then helped us work together to achieve our goal.”

Welcoming Newcomers in Carstairs

Congrats goes out to the ACE 'Diversity Friendly' Communities (DFC) group in Carstairs.  Their recent application for their $10,000 seed funding for their 'Welcoming Newcomers' initiative has been successful!

The Welcoming Newcomers initiative will help new residents including people of different ethnic groups, income levels, and ages feel welcomed and included in the Carstairs community.

The “welcomers”, called “Carstairs Connectors”, will match new residents, and those that may not feel connected, with more established residents who live in the same neighborhood of town. These volunteers will meet with new and other interested residents; informing them about activities, services, and organizations in Carstairs, answering their questions, and linking them with other residents, if desired.

Welcoming Neighbours extends a personal and individualized welcome to newcomers and other people who may feel excluded.  One-on-one conversations will support inclusion of residents from diverse backgrounds, socio-economic status, family composition, and age.  A friendly face, a welcoming handshake and a conversation over coffee at a kitchen table will help the individuals feel supported and included.

Welcoming Newcomers will build a more inclusive community through the conversations between established and new residents. New residents who have been personally welcomed might be more inclined to support local business, participate in community efforts, contribute to local decision making or welcome new residents in the future.

The Welcoming Newcomers project will also link nicely with the Seniors at Risk program, a Town initiative to support people living alone through Public Works staff and bylaw officers checking in on registered participants of the program.

Carstairs is experiencing an increase in newcomers including more visible minorities and a high commuter population as people move to Carstairs and work in Calgary. Carstairs also has a significant number of lone-parent families.  Welcoming Newcomers will build a more inclusive community through the conversations between established and new residents.  

We at ARPA can't wait to see how this project unfolds.  Great work to the ACE DFC group in Carstairs!

Longview wins ARPA 'Parks Excellence Award'!

Congratulations goes out to the Longview Arts, Recreation and Community (ARC) Society for winning the ARPA 'Parks Excellence Award'!  This award was initiated by ARPA's Parks and Open Space Network to recognize achievements or innovative ideas for parks and open space operations, and also to increase the profile of the parks and open space professionals in Alberta.

The Longview ARC Society was formed as a natural progression from their involvement as an ACE Community. A number of areas for improvement were identified upon completion of the community scanning tool including two community desires: a gathering spot and recreational opportunities for the community.  The ARC devised a wish list for an inclusive community space that included everything from necessities to playground, fitness and skateboard equipment.

May 2011, ARC partnered with Longview Council, the Serenity Garden and Veteran’s Memorial Committee, Longview Stampede Association and the Longview Recreation Board to spearhead a fundraising program for the project which they named Longview “Xtreme Makeover”.  The ARC applied for a CFEP Grant with the Longview Recreation Board, Council and the MD of Foothills #31 to put a concrete pad in the rink making it multi season/multi use.

The ARC secured one of 30 annual Canada wide awards from Let Them Be Kids of which 50% went towards all of the above mentioned equipment and matched this award with a variety of corporate donations, fund raising, philanthropic foundations and provincial grants. With the assistance of volunteer labour from the village and surrounding area, the group installed a junior and senior playground, thirteen pieces of outdoor fitness equipment, picnic tables, benches and litter receptacles in Centennial Park. The group also secured funding to install skate board equipment in the outdoor rink adding another use to the structure.

The ARC Society secured funding from Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Association to purchase additional fitness and were able to hired a fitness instructor to teach the community how to use the new equipment. This fitness program was called Go ME!!, an acronym for Go Out Move and Exercise. The program ran for the entire summer free of charge and welcomed adults, seniors, youth, moms and tots. The ARC Society has had numerous citizens report increased mobility, increased stamina, weight loss and cases of uncontrollable laughter as they have more and more fun together!

The Centennial Park in Longview has truly become the focal point of Longview’s small rural community.

Carstairs evaluates their priorities!

ARPA’s ‘Diversity Friendly’ Communities (DFC) have now entered into the second and final year of their activities.  Sponsored by the Alberta Government’s Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund (HREMF), this group of four communities is working to use recreation as a catalyst to support efforts to foster equality, promote fairness, and encourage the creation of inclusive communities.

Carstairs, Grande Cache, Jasper, and Rocky Mountain House are all working diligently to positively affect the quality of life in their communities. The DFC group in Carstairs, in fact, met recently at an event hosted by Carstairs Connections.  The goal of the meeting: 1) to learn about the State of the Carstairs Community through an update on health, recreation, and culture programs and projects, 2) to give input about what’s important in Carstairs in health, recreation, and culture 3) to give input about one to three priorities to make Carstairs more diversity friendly 4) and to set priorities for the use of their $10,000 Seed funding grant and the next actions of Carstairs Connections.

Participants, under the superb guidance of ACE Coach Barb Pedersen, discussed six theme areas identified at a previous community meeting. These included:

• Improved communication
• New People and Commuters
• Promote Carstairs as a place for business, tourism, a place to live, etc.
• Promote Volunteerism
• Leisure activities
• Engage our youth

After much discussion, ‘Engaging Youth’, ‘Promoting Carstairs’, and ‘Improved Communication’ surfaced as the participants top three general priorities.  The objective for Carstairs now is to dovetail these priorities with the goal of making the community more inclusive and diversity friendly.  We can’t wait to see to the final results!

Looking for some foolishness?

The ACE Community of Longview is currently looking for local talent who would like to share their talent in a "Night of Foolishness" at the local Longview hall on Sept 29th from 7 - 11 pm.  This event is part of the town's Alberta Culture Days activities.

There will be lots of snacks and refreshments for free and a cash Beer/wine bar. Would you like to do a few numbers or a skit? Let your hidden talents shine! This fun evening welcomes talent in any form - music, cowboy poetry, skits etc.

On the Friday night, Sept. 28th, from 5 - 9:30 pm, Longview is also hosting a "Culture Cafe" at the hall and you are invited to set up a display about your background and cultural heritage. The hope is that by getting to know one another's cultural background, it will foster a greater understanding of one another, more tolerance and perhaps create new friends!

Also, the Longview ACE Team supplied all the school children a canvas last week and asked them to choose their own medium and depict their favorite family cultural tradition or something they love about  Longview. These works of art will be on display at Longview School on Friday, September 28th from 4 - 8 pm along with area artists. They are calling the event Longview ART WALK!

If you are interested in setting up an art or craft display or participating in any of these events, email Michele at michelegeistlinger@gmail.com

Suntree Music Festival & Neighbourhood BBQ in Okotoks

The Okotoks Suntree Village Residents Association is hosting their 2nd annual Suntree Music Festival & Neighbourhood BBQ on Sept 8th starting at 1:00 pm.  (Rain out date is Saturday, Septh 15th)

This festival is put on by the residents of Suntree as a way to bring their neighbourhood together in a beautiful local park.

The festival features a mix of neighbourhood musicians that will entertain throughout the afternoon, culminating in a two hour performance from Suntree resident Jeff Stillie and his band Wildcard (who are a professional band in the Calgary area).

Neighbourhood volunteers will man the BBQ and Beer Garden Party adjacent the festival, while children can participate in games and other activities.

This is the second year for the event and community leaders are working at fundraising to make it a sustainable event. The music festival is part of a local summer program that also includes the Kids Camp out and pancake breakfast in August.

The goal is to host one event a season that brings the neighbourhood together to enhance both the quality of life in the neighbourhood and the sense of community.

This Residents Association is a member of ACE Okotoks and encourages as well as supports the creation of neighbourhood associations, events, and activities that build community.