Weekly News Recap: April 16, 2021

A simple act of kindness by nine-year-old Hana Fatima at an Ontario grocery store last year has since snowballed into a major volunteer project to get supplies to the most vulnerable. (Chris Glover/CBC)

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation. -- Pearl S. Buck

SOME GOOD NEWS

• Meet the 9-year-old girl whose simple act of kindness during COVID-19 spurred an army of volunteers (CBC) MISSISSAUGA STORY This is a beautiful story. #BeLikeHana "At just nine years old, Hana Fatima doesn't quite know what she wants to be when she grows up, but she does know she wants to help people realize the power they have to make a difference. 'When I go, somebody has to know it and carry it down to the next generations. I want to be somebody who teaches others about the good,' she told CBC News."

• Calgary gravel pit turned park clinches national landscape award (CBC) CALGARY STORY I ride by this spot often. I watched them build it but I had no idea it was going to be a park. This is awesome. "A Calgary park, formerly a gravel pit, has won the highest award of honour from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects for its use of environmental landscape design. [...] Dale Hodges Park, on the Bow River south of Varsity Estates, is the transformed site of the former Klippert gravel pit."

• VIDEO: How B.C.-designed tugboats helped free a giant cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT #CanadianIngenuity "Did you know that some of the tugboats that helped free the Ever Given from the Suez Canal were designed in B.C.? The naval architects who designed the tugboats explain how the vessels were able to move a ship more than ten times their size."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

1. Why philanthropy needs to prepare itself for a world powered by AI (World Economic Forum) "Philanthropy occupies a position of financial privilege, moral responsibility, and public leadership. We must use that position as a platform for collaboration among those inside and outside of our field to build a future in which A.I. works safely and effectively to help solve humanity’s greatest challenges."

2. U of A institute gets $20 million funding for vaccine and virus research (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY A smart move. "Funding for the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology – which has been working on a COVID-19 vaccine and anti-viral drugs since last year – is meant to help it expand research capacity, its ability to attract and retain world-class scientists, and a chance for Alberta to play a larger role in the bio-science [industry.]"

3. OPINION: Revitalizing downtown Calgary: a 60-year history of over-promising and under-delivering (CBC) CALGARY STORY "The city of Calgary's planning department has authored yet another 100-plus page planning document, called 'Calgary's Greater Downtown Plan.' [...] The big difference between this plan and the one from 2007 is the need to find new uses for empty office towers, rather than find ways to accommodate new ones."

4. VIDEO: Personal vs. Professional values (Bow Valley College) CALGARY STORY An important and authentic video. ViTreo is proud to be working with Bow Valley College. "Each of us is raised with family, cultural, or religious values that shape our personal beliefs. Sometimes our personal beliefs may be different from the norms of our workplace, profession, or industry. Bow Valley College, like most workplaces, has standards for treating everyone with equality, respect, dignity, and opportunity, regardless of culture, race, ability, gender, or sexual orientation."

5. Edmontonians turn to outdoor gyms and fitness parks during pandemic (CBC) EDMONTON STORY #MorePlease "Avneet Hayer, wellness coordinator for campus and community recreation at the University of Alberta, points to QR codes on the equipment that can be scanned to find videos demonstrating how to use it. 'I'm sure citizens will find creative ways to use the equipment; it's kind of open to anyone's imagination,' Hayer says. The concept of outdoor gyms and adult fitness playgrounds isn't new, says Brennan Link, the city's management supervisor of playspaces and sports field structure. 'They are a growing amenity through Canada and North America,' Link says."

6. How billionaire is using financial muscle for racial equity (ABC) This is terrific. "Inspired by the racial justice protests of 2020, Jahm Najafi is ready to shed his normally low profile to make some headlines for his partnerships and philanthropy. In February, Najafi, a billionaire who runs the Phoenix-based investment firm Najafi Cos., joined former NFL star Colin Kaepernick to form Mission Advancement, a special purpose acquisition company. They hope the SPAC, which would create a new public company without using the initial public offering process, will also raise $287 million to acquire a private company that shares their commitment to diversity and equity."

7. Asian Canadians see flaws in federal anti-racism strategy (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Advocates for Asian Canadians are calling for improvements to the federal government's anti-racism strategy to confront a surge in anti-Asian racism. Avvy Go, executive director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic in Toronto, said the strategy failed to specifically mention anti-Asian racism in its foundational policy document. The document does cite anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia as key targets."

8. Canadian Museum of History's CEO resigns amid probe into allegations of workplace harassment (CBC) OTTAWA STORY "The CEO of the Canadian Museum of History, who was at the centre of a workplace harassment investigation, has resigned just two months before his official retirement date. Mark O'Neill was the subject of a complaint last summer that prompted the investigation. Sources have told Radio-Canada that the complaint was related to O'Neill's management style and his temperament. The investigation was finished in late January and submitted to Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault."

9. OPINION: We're smug about violent racism in the U.S., but there's blood on Canadian hands, too (CBC) CALGARY STORY "There's a strange thing that happens in Canada when we are exposed to the murders of Black people in the U.S. Every time we bear witness to the violation of Black lives in America, Canadians relish in smuggery. It's incomprehensible to me that we share this collective denial and are shocked every time the news reports on yet another Black life taken with violence — though we easily dismiss the blood on our country's hands."

10. Retail giant W. Galen Weston has died at age 80 (CBC) CALGARY STORY The Weston Foundation, founded by Galen Weston Sr.'s father, Garfield Weston, is one of Canada's most significant foundations. RIP Mr. Weston. "W. Galen Weston, the patriarch of the Weston empire that controls Loblaws and other retail holdings, has died at the age of 80. 'My father's greatest gift was inspiring those around him to achieve more than they thought possible,' said his son Galen G. Weston, known as Galen Weston Jr., who is CEO of both Loblaws and the George Weston Company Ltd."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

1. Want to Be Happier and More in Control? Science Says Sleep Like This Every Night (Inc.) Turns out, consistency is more important than how many hours.

2. Project Management for Your Personal Life (Better Humans) "It's not about the plan. It's about the planning" #CouldNotAgreeMore

3. 5 Obscure Quotes for Excellent Leadership (Max Klein) If only for #4, this is worth the short read. I love quotes.

4. 3 Minimalist Habits That Improved My Life Immensely (Alyssa's Healthy Tidbits) Are you clearing your countertops?

5. The Powerful Two-Part Strategy to Tackle Any Problem (Personal Growth) #LoveThis "Make a decision. Flood yourself with certainty and take massive action."

6. 4 Personal Growth Skills Content Creators Should Master (Start It Up) You can do a lot in a 20 minute break. You need to plan for it though.

7. The Day I Realized that I Should Start Wearing a Personal Uniform (Be Yourself) Guilty! I definitely have 'personal uniform'. Who wants to spend every day figuring out what to wear?

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

1. Kitchener hospitals receive $1M donation (Kitchener Today) KITCHENER STORY Nice gift! "'While the donor and his family wish to remain anonymous, they hope their gift will inspire others to give while they live,' said Paul McInytre Royston, President and CEO of the Grand River Hospital Foundation, in a release. The 90-year-old donor reportedly immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1954 and eventually established a successful manufacturing business."

2. Huge donation to create advanced computing center at SJTU (Shine) "Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) will soon have a first-class high performance computing center (HPC) with the most advanced technologies of any Chinese university, donated by alumnus Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo, China’s top computer maker."

3. LA Opera Announces Major Donation, Summer Production (Classical Voice) "Buoyed by a $5 million donation, Los Angeles Opera is planning its return to live, in-person performances with a major outdoor production this summer. The gift by philanthropists Terri and Jerry Kohl will, among other things, fund the company’s first-ever production of Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus [Rex.]"

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

• 'Remarkable' Bow Valley pack sighting of 6 wolves lounging on Lake Minnewanka (CBC)

• Darren Walker: How the head of the Ford Foundation wants to change philanthropy (CBS)

• Three-quarters of oil and gas sector jobs could be displaced by 2050 in move to cut emissions: TD report (CBC)

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